Roof Framing

[Joshw]

I have found some great coop ideas, and some people give great building details, but it seems that just about everyone glosses over the roof construction. I don't know if people are like me, and just don't understand it enough to explain, or they think it is so simple that we should know how to do it, but I have found it very hard to get framing information on roofs. I am wanting to build a 5 x 10 coop with a simple shed roof. 7' in the front and 5 1/2' in the back. I believe that would be a 3/12 pitch. What I need to know, how do you cut the birdsmouths in the rafters to fit over the top plate on the front and back wall? Any carpenters please help.

 

[jetdog]

You don't have to cut anything, goto home depot andbuy hurricane clips screw into the top and bottom plate and into the rafters, no cutting needed.

 

[tracecom]

Bird's mouth cuts can be confusing. Here's what I used.

http://www.construction-resource.com/calculators/roof-frame.php

 

[Fred's Hens]

YouTube is your friend.

Videos of cutting birds' mouth in rafters youtube

 

[tantor]

This and others are what I used when I built mine.

http://www.irwin.com/uploads/documents/97_rafterinstructionmanual.pdf

 

[tcstoehr]

My coop is 6'x10' and 6' tall in front and 5' tall in back. Very similar to yours. As suggested you can use metal brackets to attach the 2x4 ceiling joists to the top of the wall frame. I did the bird mouth cuts though. It is confusing especially to non carpentarcentric types like myself. I just took the joist and held it up to the outside of the existing outside wall, clamped it in place, and used a pencil to draw the cut line by simply tracing along the supporting 2x4. I then used a roto-zip routing tool to remove the notches. After I did one I used it as a stencil for the others. It was more difficult than using clips, but I do appreciate the solid feel of it. Here's what it looks like from the inside.



Here's a tip for if you are using perlins to support a corrugated roof. Make sure you install a perlin at both the front and back walls, just inside the siding material. This does several things. Firstly, it gives you a place to nail the top of your siding material. Secondly, it makes it more difficult for a predator to squeeze between the roofing material and the top of the siding, and thirdly it eliminates the hole that would otherwise exist between the top of each joist and the roofing. You need not use these two perlins for root attachment, but if you do it goes a long way towards securing the seam between the siding and the roof. If your roofing material is corrugated at all, it can be pushed up from underneath to provide an entry point.

I did not install the two extra perlins as I suggested. I had already installed the roof before I decided I had an issue. I would have had to remove the roof to do so. So instead I installed some notched lengths of 2x4 that you can see in the picture above (the pressure treated ones). They are secured with screws from underneath, what a pain in the rear. But it did give me a place to secure the top of the siding panels, and it did plug the holes above the joists. However, I can force my hand between the top of those pieces and the roof since the corrugations can be straightened out under pressure.

Below is a picture from the outside. You can see that I cut the siding panels to fit completely under the ceiling joists. I then cut individual pieces to fit between the ceiling joists. Lame... I know... but I didn't know how to do it any better. But you can see here how the interior pieces I installed now block the hole above the 2x4. A perlin laid across there, just behind the siding, would have been so much better.

 

[Joshw]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I think I need to frame the walls out, and then just work with the rafters until it makes since to me. I think it is one of those things that will make more since when I have the piece of wood in front of me, and walls to fit it to. I have thought about using the hurricane ties, but I guess I just want the satisfaction of saying I know how to make a rafter.