Iron Hill Shed

[theboman]

I'll try to get better pics of my hillbilly engineering tomorrow if it's not raining when I get back from a home inspection. Now this kinda looks like a saltbox roof, I think a true saltbox the roof pitch is the same on both sides...I think I read that somewhere in my hours of Google searches.

The center posts of the 16' wide building are 12-18" taller than the 8' front/back posts. On top the center posts is my "beam" of sorts that is two 2x4s nailed together (stagger so no joints are the same) with a 2x4 on top.

The center posts are braced front to back with one 16' 2x4 attached to all three posts (front, middle & back).

That long rafters run from the 2x4 top plate of the back wall (birdsmouth on the top plate) and rests on the beam (just toenailed on eachside to hold in place).

Anywhere there's a place there's another support brace: Each end. On each center support beam.

Now the long rafters has a ridge beam and it is attached to rafters on each side and again there are braces anywhere there's a place for support braces as just mentioned.

I have all the 2x4 purlins up on the long side (back) of the roof and I did up to the center beam from my scaffolding but the remainder I climped on top the rafters and purlins and nailed the remainder and she's a solid gal! No give and no wiggle with my 220 pounds of manhood climbing all about with aching 48 year old knees. I didn't even pay attention to where I was climbing either! I'll sit on the center beam when I attach the top run and maybe middle run, purlins to the front side.

Now I ain't no engineer, however I used to be a video engineer according to all the paperwork I had to signoff on back in the day, and I do like trains, so, IMHO I have zero worries about what my roof will hold and giving the fact that we get a few 1-3 inches of snows each year and one BIG snow of about 6" I'm not worrying about the snow load.

Oh, the back part of the shed is either just over or just under a 3x12 pitch, can't rightly recall but it was a 1/4 inch one way or another if I recall.

 

[theboman]

Ain't been to Spotys in YEARS! Back in the video engineering days I ran the roads for Adelphia in a 2000 Ford Explorer and that didn't help my knees! That vechile was made for someone 5'8" not someone 6'1" with long legs! They ached after 3-4 days driving 5 hours or more to work all over VA (Staunton, Harrisonburg, Fredricksburg, Grundy, and wherever Adelphia/Time Warner owned/operated cable systems). VA a beautiful state!

 

[theboman]

Big Boy Escavating doing some fill work. Notice the size of the bucket! The operator, I'm not that lucky to run this equipment has a large time with HER toys!

 

[theboman]

Not sure if I explained the last question correctly. Let me try again:

It looks like a ridgebeam at the peak and a beam further back on top of the center posts. Correct? What supports the peak on a salt box style roof like this? I thought a ridgebeam design needed to be symetrical so that the rafters pushed equally against the beam and the bird's mouths.

Here's a few more pics a bit closer of support and stuffies. I finished all the perlins today and was setting on the ridge beam in between all the support stuff and there wasn't even any wiggle with my big butt crawling all over it and the perlins.

I also got the first piece of metal on the back side too. It's needs a few more screws but I'm on my way to havin' my roof of many colors.

 

[theboman]

A few more pics.

 

[SuperCobra]

Bo,
Thanks for taking the time for the extra explanation and pictures. Understand perfectly now!

 

[SuperCobra]

Ain't been to Spotys in YEARS! Back in the video engineering days I ran the roads for Adelphia in a 2000 Ford Explorer and that didn't help my knees! That vechile was made for someone 5'8" not someone 6'1" with long legs! They ached after 3-4 days driving 5 hours or more to work all over VA (Staunton, Harrisonburg, Fredricksburg, Grundy, and wherever Adelphia/Time Warner owned/operated cable systems). VA a beautiful state!

Spotsy is a good place. I like it here and I'm a PNW transplant. A few too many leaves to take care of but that comes with the country. Never been to your part of the country but it looks beautiful too.

 

[dave1949]

Here is a quick reference to saltbox homes. BoMan is correct, the pitch is equal. It came about, I think I read once, as an inexpensive way to add on to an existing house. So it is practical and has some nice design lines at the same time.

Saltbox Houses in the Historic American Buildings Survey - Guides, Reference Aids, and Finding Aids (Prints andPhotographs ReadingRoom, Library of Congress)

Looks the barn is coming along nicely.
Dave.

 

[SuperCobra]

Thanks for the info. Looking at your post it looks like the original design/purpose added to a full sized symetrical rafter/ridgebeam style roof. The common application I see today on run-ins and sheds is to use the look to prematurely shorten one side so it isn't symetrical. I guess this is an advantage over a shed roof for a run-in since you have a bit of an overhang for shelter on the pasture (short) side.

I can see how the first application (addition) isn't compromising structure because you are resting the new rafter on the existing top plate. I still have to think through the implactions of truncating a side (as in the case of the second application). I haven't found any blueprints of this use - at least not with rafters/birds mouths - I have found ones designed with trusses.

 

[theboman]

We built this way to give it a kinder and gentler look than a typical shed roof. We have a few deed restrictions and this should be easier on the eyes to the neighbors than a typical shed. One things we have to use vinyl to match our home but what I've read I think says "similar in style", so the red roof will match nicely with our shutters and we are gonna whitewash the barn (kills bugs too!) since it's much cheaper than paint. We'll get to painting when the dollars/time allows.