How To Size Roof Ridge Beam

Its the way i was trained to build sheds.

How to size roof ridge beam.

Most interior beams need to include the roof load. This means the example porch would need a 6 inch by 8 inch beam. I always always build trusses. The finished ridge beam height z above the top of the wall will be m plus the y height.

Because a ridge beam often carries a significant area of roof load they can exhibit structural distress due to a defect in wood impact on the roof or use of an undersize beam. Here s a picture of a gable style shed using a ridge beam. In the example d calculates to 7 75. You can also use the wood beam calculator from the american wood council website to determine maximum rafter and joist lengths.

This tells you the size of the beam needed to support the porch s roof. A ridge board is a non structural member that serves as a prop for opposing rafters to rest against and connect to. The ridge beam shown below at the living room of a 1950s modern style ranch house in gainesville has cracked at mid span and is slowly heading towards failure after. Now if you have done any looking around this site you ll quickly see that i am not a fan of using a ridge beam in shed construction.

It has been my experience to never use a beam smaller than a two ply 2 x 8. If there is are any questions about anything else then you should contact your supplier or an engineer. This calculator matches up with 90 of the applications in the 2012 international residential code book. Calculate the initial value for d then round it up to the nearest inch.

Ridge beam sizing is based on the span of the beam between supports and the amount of roof load supported by the beam. Determining the ridge beam height. Use the span tables below to determine allowable lengths of joists and rafters based on size and standard design loads. Ridge beams are required by code if the roof slope is less than 3 in 12 irc section r802 3.