Roof Framing

Driving through nearly any neighborhood, you can see that roofs have many different shapes. Houses have gable, hipped, mansard, gambrel, flat and shed roofs. And many homes combine varying roof types on one roof. It's quite common, for example to see a hipped roof with gable dormers. Roof shape is one of the key factors in setting the architectural style of a house.

Roof shape also dictates how difficult and costly a roof is to build and how it will serve. For example, flat, shed and-in some case-gable roofs tend to be relatively affordable to build. Gambrel and mansard roofs offer more head height for attic rooms. Shed roofs are usually the easiest type to connect to an existing roof when adding-on.

Roof framing can be simple or complex, depending on the roof. Overhangs, hips and dormers add greatly to the complexity of the framing. Here the major framing components are shown.

MORE ABOUT:
/ Load-bearing walls / / Foundations / / Foundation footings / / Standard wood framing /
/ Balloon framing / / Wall framing 1 / / Wall framing 2 / / Floor & ceiling framing 1 /
/ Floor & ceiling framing 2 / / Roof framing /

BACK TO:
House Bones Main Page > How Your House Works Main Page > RemodelGuide HOME PAGE