Cathedral Roofs With Rafters

A cathedral ceiling roof framed with no structural ridge and no ceiling joists sketch shown above risks suffering two problems.

Cathedral roofs with rafters.

Unvented roof assemblies such as conditioned attics and unvented cathedral ceilings are becoming common in north american construction. Sagging rafters worse on low slope roofs and outwards spreading of the building walls as the roof loads press down on the structure. There are two common ways of framing the roof of a house. The slanted pieces of wood are actual roof rafters.

You can see how combined all three pieces of wood make a strong triangle. If you use these gusset plates you will end up with a small flat ceiling area near the peak of the cathedral ceiling. When renovating an older home whose roof rafters are only 2x6 really 5 1 2 x 1 5 in dimension the available space for insulation and ventilation is limited therefore limiting the. In pitched roof systems such as hip roofs and gable end roofs collar ties and ceiling joists span across the ceiling space and obstruct the view.

The horizontal piece of wood is a collar tie. A truly open or cathedral ceiling provides a clear unobstructed view to the underside of the roof s rafters. High collar ties won t prevent these problems. With premanufactured trusses or with rafters and ceiling joists commonly called stick framing.

In conventional gable roof framing the slope of the roof is formed by rafters that run diagonally downward from the peak of the roof to the tops of the exterior walls of the building.