Timber Frame Roof Construction Details

Many people still think that the roof structures of timber framed buildings look like the upside down hulls of boats.

Timber frame roof construction details.

2 heavy timber construction details. The construction of the flat roof is similar to that of the timber upper floor. Shipwrights were the original american timber framers. Timber framing in america is an art of craftsmanship brought by the settlers in the 1500 s.

Modern timber roofs are mostly framed with pairs of common rafters or prefabricated wooden trusses fastened together with truss connector plates. A common form of timber framing for smaller structures was to frame the walls with vertical members raise it then add roof members to enclose. The roof sheathing consisted of inch thick wide pine boards nailed to the purlins and thick enough to resist much sagging. An early form of the stud wall only much heavier.

The original roof was built using purlins beams extending between gable ends. Joists are placed on edge spaced at 400 600mm centres supported by external and internal load bearing walls. Below is a sketch of the original roof wall structural details for this building.