what is a birds mouth on the coop top ?

[henlady777]

 

[jklett]

The birdsmouth is the cut where the rafter ties to the top plate of the wall. On a small roof like a shed or coop, the easiest way to mark it is to set the board against the end of the ridge and the top plate and just scribe for the cuts with a pencil. If you are using 2x4's for the rafters, try to leave about 3" of uncut wood above the birdsmouth. Take your time making sure the first one is perfect and use it for a template for the others on that side(unless it fits perfectly on the other side, then you can use it for all of them). There are plenty of images on Google so you can see what it looks like. Hope that helps.

 

[teach1rusl]

Ha! I was just making some birdsmouth cuts on some rafter boards this weekend! My first attempt looked like a darned beaver had done the cutting...lol...or maybe a woodpecker. Switched to a jig saw and they look a LOT cleaner. I'm a small, middle aged female, and lack muscle power. So after marking where I wanted to cut (I'm only using 2x3s, not 2x4s), I clamped each board tightly in a table vise - the jig saw did a good, clean job...

 

[henlady777]

Like this ?

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Like this ?

Exactly like that. The angles of cuts depend on pitch of roof so it sits on the top plate. Of course that detail is for large construction, you don't need a double top plate for shed size out buildings.

To make it easy for yourself make a template with scrap piece of wood that works then use it to mark all the rafters to cut.

 

[henlady777]

so far so good

 

[Kaylin]

Man I learn all kinds of cool stuff coming here.

 

[teach1rusl]

so far so good

Those look great!!

 

[henlady777]

Those look great!!

cant wait to get them out side
they wrecking the house


crazy girls lol

 

[teach1rusl]

Oh yeah...I remember the dust and mess...lol. I enjoy having them close to watch for those first few weeks, but the payoff is a mess... I'm sure they will enjoy their roomy new home too.