Removing Horizontal Beams From Hip Roof

The trick in framing a vaulted ceiling is figuring out what to do with the ceiling joists.

Removing horizontal beams from hip roof.

A structural ridge beam is a horizontal beam placed at the peak or ridge of a roof and is designed to carry much of the live and dead loads or weight of the roof structure by itself. King posts were used in timber framed roof construction in roman buildings and in medieval architecture in buildings such as parish churches and tithe barns the oldest surviving roof truss in the world is a king post truss in saint catherine s monastery egypt built between 548 and 565. How to frame a gable roof with no ceiling. The loads on the ridge beam are carried by vertical posts at the beam ends down through the building structural walls to the building foundation.

Without joists the walls can bow outward and the roof ridge line may sag. This project is an old residence 1956 with a hand framed hip roof. Without it the weight on the roof will cause the rafters to flatten particularly at the center of the span and bow the wall out where the rafters connect to the wall plate and ultimately fail. This calculator matches up with 90 of the applications in the 2012 international residential code book.

Most interior beams need to include the roof load. A gable roof is a heavy structure and if you want to prevent your roof from collapsing you ll have to frame the structure correctly. I had done the structural engineering for a 2 story addition. It has been my experience to never use a beam smaller than a two ply 2 x 8.

If you remove the ceiling joists its like removing the bottom leg of a triangle. These horizontal framing members tie a building s outer walls together and resist the outward force exerted by the roof rafters in conventional framing. Problem is the new owner wanted a cathedral look and during remodeling the contractor saw no problem in removing all the ceiling joists that basically act as tension ties and gave the owner what he wanted. The process of replacing existing rafters so that your roof remains intact without removing the roof to do it requires some basic carpentry skills and a few common tools.