Hip Roof Ridge Beam

This is the typical structure of a hip roof.

Hip roof ridge beam.

Ridge beams are required by code if the roof slope is less than 3 in 12 irc section r802 3. The hrc may be sloped downward a maximum of 45. The loads on the ridge beam are carried by vertical posts at the beam ends down through the building structural walls to the building foundation. The ridge beam shown below at the living room of a 1950s modern style ranch house in gainesville has cracked at mid span and is slowly heading towards failure after.

Determining the ridge beam height. The finished ridge beam height z above the top of the wall will be m plus the y height. Hrc is a field slopeable connector that attaches hip roof beams to the end of a ridge beam. A structural ridge beam is a horizontal beam placed at the peak or ridge of a roof and is designed to carry much of the live and dead loads or weight of the roof structure by itself.

Attach 4 6 centering rafters and lift the ridge beam into place. The rafters bear most of the weight of the roof. If you know the slope x in 12 you want to use for your roof framing design you can use it along with the run r to determine the height of the ridge beam for example if the slope is 4 in 12 and the run is 12 feet the ridge beam height m will be 4 feet. A ridge board is a non structural member that serves as a prop for opposing rafters to rest against and connect to.

Place the 4 6 common rafters in their designated positions along the 2 longest walls and nail them firmly to the wall with a nail gun. Ridge beam sizing is based on the span of the beam between supports and the amount of roof load supported by the beam. More accuracy could be achieved by taking each truss as an individual pt load. Because a ridge beam often carries a significant area of roof load they can exhibit structural distress due to a defect in wood impact on the roof or use of an undersize beam.

The ridge board holds them in place. A ridge board or beam runs through the tops of rafters or trusses from end to end along a gable roof tying those framing members together. Supporting hip truss roof load and under hip master concentrated load.