Open Beam Roof Construction

The image below shows a cross section of our simple 12 x 13 house from the joist span tables section of this tutorial.

Open beam roof construction.

Building an open ceiling hip roof without conventional crossbeams require alternative framing methods or construction materials. Keeping the beams close the walls allows for the highest possible uninterrupted views of a room or building s interior. Floor beam span tables of residential structural design we will now look at roof rafter and beam design. Here we have a wood framed gable roof.

Hammer beam ceiling hammer beams allow for a lot of open vertical space inside a building. A hammerbeam is a form of timber roof truss allowing a hammerbeam roof to span greater than the length of any individual piece of timber in place of a normal tie beam spanning the entire width of the roof short beams the hammer beams are supported by curved braces from the wall and hammer posts or arch braces are built on top to support the rafters and typically a collar beam. In an open porch however the rafters rest on horizontal beams. The so called hammer beams are short horizontal and vertical beams which are bracketed to the walls in order to support the roof.

In the case of a gable roof over an enclosed building the lower ends of the rafters rest on the exterior walls of the building. If you learn about the options for framing cathedral ceilings in hip roof structures you can choose a design that suits your budget and skill level. The ceiling with exposed beams is among the most beautiful ceiling roof treatments ever devised. Let s consider a basic gable wood roof framing design.