Roof Rafter Seperation

Rafter and roof joist spacing is only one part of a complex roof design that works together to form a structure that meets building codes and can hold up the weight of the roof and roof load.

Roof rafter seperation.

A ridge beam runs the length of the shed roof connecting every pair of rafters. Condition was only present on the rear. I m no engineer but it seems like this is due to settlement but how bad. With the proper tools anyone can do this.

The top portion of the rater was still in contact but by the bottom of the edge where the rafter abuts the ridge board a full one inch gap was present. Some shed rafters do not incorporate ridge beams either due to small size or lack of technical know how. This video shows how to repair a split rafter. The inspector recommends a structural engineer to determine cause.

The attached photos show rafter separation and broken collar ties. If anything has the ability to force the rafter ends up tight against the ridge it would be the formidable weight of the roof itself especially a tile roof. If your local building authority has a rafter spacing code you may not space rafters wider than required by code. The reason is that in a rafter ceiling joist roof system the ridge represents the apex of a truss.

Builders aren t bound by standard rafter spacing measurements. As home buyers should we walk from this purchase. Very easy to do. The sellers investors who are flipping a foreclosure have upgraded the floors that cover potential slab cracks.

Rafters must be strong enough to hold the roof sheathing and the shingles. As such the ridge and the adjoining rafter ends are entirely in compression.