What does the roof structure consist of? 8 elements you should know

The roof truss, or the wooden frame of the roof, is made up of many different components, and each of them performs different important functions that ultimately affect the stability and strength of the structure.

Let's look at the two types of roof trusses - rafter and rafter-collar - and the parts they consist of.

The rafter

The rafter is one of the basic elements of the roof structure, which has a very important function - it stabilizes the roof structure. In a nutshell, it is a sloping beam with a rectangular cross-section that rests on the masonry. Because it is the main support beams, they make the weight of the roofing transferred to the lower parts of the building structure.

One of the most important decisions is to choose the right size of rafters.

Rails are used in various types of roof trusses - for example, I-beam.

Calender

A valence is the highest horizontal edge of a roof where two roof slopes intersect. It is also often found under other names such as kipa or gable line. The simplest way to say it is that the main ridge is the point located at the intersection of the upper slopes.

The quality of the ridge affects the durability of the roof, its stability, but also the tightness and proper circulation of air under the roofing - which is why it is so important to create vents in the ridge.

Ridge vent

What elements does the roof structure consist of? Certainly it is worth mentioning the maypole. This is a horizontal beam, which is located at the top of the maypole truss. One of its most important tasks is to support the rafters. In addition, it performs the function of stiffening the trusses. An important tip is to make sure that the length of the mayfly does not exceed 3.5 meters.

The maypole strengthens the roof structure, allowing the construction of more durable roofs.

Masonry board

The next element of the roof is the masonry, or beam, which performs an extremely important task, because it connects the roof structure to the walls of the building. It is worth mentioning that the masonry beam can also be found under the name of floor purlin.

A masonry purlin is laid parallel on the wall of a house or other building, allowing the load of the roof truss to be transferred to the walls.

Another important piece of information about this element of the roof structure is that its cross-section is usually square in shape, e.g. 15×15 cm.

Roof batten

What you should know about a roof batten is that it is a wooden batten that is usually used for laying roofing. It is a basic component of the construction of wooden roofs.

When it comes to their construction, a roof batten can have either a rectangular cross-section, such as 32×50 mm, or a square cross-section, such as 90×90 mm.

In some cases, counter-battens are also used, which are laid perpendicular to the roof battens.

Platt

What are the characteristics of a purlin? This horizontal beam is installed so that it is parallel to the ridge. It is worth realizing that in the case of purlin roof construction, the purlin also has the task of supporting the rafters or is used for formwork for the roofing.

Plattice

Roof components are designed to increase the durability and stability of the roof. One of the important components of the structure is the windbreak, also known as gable flashing. The main task of the wind girder, as the name suggests, is to protect against the negative effects that the wind can cause. Installing this component reduces the risk of the roof breaking as a result of strong winds.

What does a windbreak look like? The most common are tin wind girders, which provide adequate protection of the roof slope from the elements. There are still wooden wind girders, but these days they are very rarely used.

Wind girders.

Moisture insulation

Moisture insulation is also a popular choice. This type of roofing element further protects the roof, in this case against moisture and rain. It is worth noting its location - it should be between the masonry and the wall. This effectively protects the wood from water.

It is crucial that the beam be mounted with special steel anchors straight to the wall or possibly to the tie beam. One more important tip is that the anchors should not be placed directly under the rafters.

The anchors should not be placed directly under the rafters.

In order to effectively protect the roof and the entire building from moisture, it is also important to insulate the masonry. This will avoid the formation of thermal bridging, which can make the temperature in the house unpleasantly low.

The temperature in the house can become unpleasantly low.

First, let's turn our attention to the simplest roof structure, the rafter truss. This is a structure that connects rafters based on masonry to each other at the ridge. It is possible to use this method, but only if the span of the exterior walls is less than 6.0 m.

It consists of elements such as rafters, ridge, tie beam or masonry.

Benefits of rafter roof trusses

Simplicity of construction - easy and quick to design, fabricate and install.
Economic solution - a major impact on price is due to, among other things, lower material consumption and fewer elements compared to more complex roof structures.
Lightweight - less weight of the structure, which reduces the load on the load-bearing walls of the building.
Steep roof - this can be an advantage, as due to the fact that the roof is quite steep, it becomes much easier and more effective to drain rainwater.
Universality - another important advantage is also its exceptional versatility, which makes it possible to use virtually any roofing material, such as tiles, shingles or metal sheets.

Disadvantages of rafter roof trusses

Limited wall span - it is not suitable for very large roofs, the maximum external wall span is about 6 meters.
Limited roof slope - the slope of the roof should be between 40-60 degrees for a rafter truss.
Less rigidity - compared to more complex roof structures, such as rafter-collar or purlin-rafter trusses.

Less rigidity - compared to more complex roof structures, such as rafter-collar or purlin-rafter trusses.

The rafter-collar roof truss, also known as a rafter-collar roof, is a popular type of roof structure. It is most often used during the construction of the roof of single-family houses and buildings of medium size.

It differs from the standard rafter roof in that it is still equipped with a maypole. This is very important, because the main task of the mayfly in such a case is to connect and stiffen the rafters The structure gains even more stability thanks to this.

The main task of the mayfly in this case is to connect and stiffen the rafters The structure gains even more stability.

Benefits of rafter and collar beam roof trusses

• Easy to build - it is easy to make and install, the cross-section consists of two triangles.
• Strength - the mayflies increase the load-bearing capacity and rigidity of the structure, which is beneficial for larger roofs.
• Recently low cost - just like a rafter roof truss, this type of roof does not generate high costs.
• More options - if we were to compare the two types of trusses, the rafter-collar truss definitely offers many more options, as it does not come with so many restrictions. For example, it can be used even when the span of the walls ranges from 5 to 12 meters. The allowable angle of inclination should be in the range of 25-67 degrees. The lack of restrictions also makes it possible to use different types of roofing materials.