![]() Perhaps the joists were strong enough if they didn’t break! But lack of stiffness leads to costly problems. For example, first-floor ceiling plaster would crack as occupants walked across a second-floor bedroom that was framed with bouncy floor joists. Strength and stiffness are equally important. Beams, studs, joists and rafters act as a structural skeleton and must be strong enough and stiff enough to resist these loads. The house acts as a structural system resisting dead loads (weight of materials), live loads (weights imposed by use and occupancy), like snow loads and wind loads. This article will focus on how simple beams like joists and rafters react to loading. If, when the loads of the house are combined, the house weighs more than the soil can support – the house will sink until it reaches a point at which the soil can support the load. ![]() Remember when your science teacher said: every action has an opposite and equal reaction? Well every building load has an equal “reaction load”. The structural goal of a house is to safely transfer building loads (weights) through the foundation to the supporting soil. A complete analysis of wood’s mechanical properties is complex, but understanding a few basics of lumber strength will allow you to size joists and rafters with the use of span tables. Wood is naturally engineered to serve as a structural material: The stem of a tree is fastened to the earth at its base (foundation), supports the weight of its branches (column) and bends as it is loaded by the wind (cantilever beam). Using span tables to size joists and rafters is a straight-forward process when you understand the structural principles that govern their use. Some information contained in it may be outdated. You might also be interested in our roofing calculator to find how many squares of shingles you’ll need to finish it off.Please note: This older article by our former faculty member remains available on our site for archival purposes. Remember that things like allowance, lumber size, and roof type can play into the overall length of each rafter. Meaning that your rafter length will equal: The rafter length is equal to the run divided by the cosine of the roof’s angle.Īnother method is to use the rise of the roof using this formula: Since the cosine of an angle in a right triangle is equal to the length of the adjacent side divided by the hypotenuse, we can derive the following formula to calculate the rafter length: Now that you know the run and the angle in degrees, you can use trigonometry to calculate the rafter length. Run = (total width ÷ 2) – (beam width ÷ 2) Step Four: Calculate the Rafter Length Then, account for the beam or ridge board by subtracting half of its width from the run. ![]() To calculate the run, divide the total width of the building in half. The rafter’s run is the horizontal distance between the end of the rafter and where it meets the beam, which is known as the rise. Measure the span by measuring the width of the building using a tape measure, then add the overhang on each side to the measurement. You’ll also need to account for the overhang beyond the building on either side. The roof’s span is the total length of the roof. You can also use our rise over run calculator to find this. The run is half the measure of the roof span. You can use the following formula to get the rise: The rise is also the term frequently used for the vertical beam that the rafters will butt against. If you have this figure, you can use it plus the run, to get the rafter length. ![]() Pitch can be used to help calculate the rise. Table showing the angle in degrees for various roof pitches. You can also find the angle for your roof pitch in the table below. ![]() The angle in degrees is equal to the inverse tangent of the pitch of the roof. But, in order to calculate the rafter length, we need to calculate the pitch in degrees. The roof pitch is the angle of the roof and can be measured in several ways, but is most commonly expressed in rise over a standard 12-inch run. ![]()
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