Roof Pitch; 4/12 or 3/12?

[Diggin It]

No pics. All skeletal work right now. Ugly and cluttered with scaffolds, ladders and various tool in states of disarray.


I'm generally considered to be a half a bubble off. Between the lines is a good day.


It's been a weird project though. I'll set a post or place a beam or board, check it with a 4' level before securing expecting to have to adjust. Only to find it near dead on level or plumb. No idea how I do that.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Wow, I guess I am way too critical.... I squared the 24 x 24 ft garage to an 1/8 inch .... I was mad when it was a 1/4 inch out diagonally. For the walls,
I “ rough plumb “ them with a 4 ft bubble level, then go back and use a 6 ft electronic level to “ fine tune “ ...... I guess I am beyond help....:confused2:

 

[Diggin It]

If I had laid this all out in advance on a cleared and leveled plot, it would be different. But this has been hacked together bits and sections at a time. I didn't even know what size it would end up. It's built around and over an old shed that was my only storage. If I tore the old down first, I would have had no storage at all.

I added 8 feet on one end first. While doing that I decided to carry it 8 feet further out one side. The old shed was something like 16 by 20 with a sloped corrugated metal roof that went from near 10 feet at the high end to a little over 6 feet at the low end.

The 'new' will be 24 x 32 with a gabled roof and rafters that give me around 9 foot headroom. I'm also retaining and using some of the oldest part, so I'm adding on to that on two sides essentially. But that also means I had to work over top of the old sloped roof rafters. Since the one high end was about 10-11 feet, I had to cut part of them to make room for the new ones at 9 feet. I had planned on demolishing those after the new was built, but I decided to leave some of them and make use of them as hanging and lifting points. I've got a 1 ton chainfall hanging from 2 parallel 2x6s that are supported by the old posts and rafters. It's been strong enough to lift the two mowers with no trouble.

That oldest part (about 12 x 16) will end up being a shop (sort of). I'm demolishing the newer section I built onto that about 5 years ago that was too low for the ROPS. The new newer sections currently in process will be tall enough to pull the tractor in with the ROPS up. I'm hoping to be able to store the BH inside also, but I'm not sure how that will work out yet. I'm keeping all the old roof tin to use on a separate lean-to if necessary.





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[LS Tractor Owner]

Yeah, definitely a challenge to incorporate all different heights and dimensions. Just be careful, no need for anymore stitches.... I have always enjoyed doing new construction vs. remodeling. Remodeling always has too many surprises!

 

[Diggin It]

That's another reason why things are taking so long now. Scaffolding has to be moved and secured. Extension ladder feet are dug into the ground so they won't slip and the rungs are tied off the to rafters to secure them. Everything gets looked at and studied a few times then tested. Movement up and down ladders is slow and deliberate.

Working between the old rafters is a pain and you have to watch your head, but I can lean on them as guardrails and use them as supports for boards waiting to be placed rather than having to lift them from the ground in one motion. They also work for holding heavy tools like nailers.

 

[Diggin It]

Don't laugh, I told you it was ugly.

Refer to the rough sketch above for orientation.




You can see the oldest portion inside left and the previous add on to the right of that with the lower sloped rafters. You can also see the ground grade I'm dealing with. That old end wall is surrounded by mud, mud and more mud, so I can even think about tearing out the old wall and setting the new end posts yet. Ridge board is held up by a temporary post that will be removed later. It allows me to set the new roof system so I can get some of it covered and get some shelter for tools and machines.

Where the two ladders are standing will be a path through from this side to the other. Both sides will have doors/gates about 7' wide and 8' high. New rafters are about 9' above grade. The old sloped rafters are about exactly the same height as the ROPS and I literally rub them with one corner of it trying to drive in.

Where the two push mowers are setting will have to be backfilled to the level where the ladders are setting, but that part will have to wait until Summer when things dry out.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Ugly now, but I will bet it turns out pretty good! Keep on bangin on it!

 

[Diggin It]

Hey look Ma! I can inside with the ROPS up!



Couldn't do that before. Had to fold it down to get far enough in to close the doors. Demo'd the old sloped rafters and a few other things, then put up some Polycarbonate (clear) roof panes for skylights and four more metal panels. I'm just sticking the old side panels up anywhere for now, mostly to get them out of my way. Not sure if I'll go new metal panels or something else.

'Course, with no roof, does it qualify as inside? More roof goes up next week sometime.

 

[PILOON]

In my city 4/12 is municipal requirement for a permit.

 

[Diggin It]

I might have come up with a sliding door track alternative far less expensive that what is commonly available. Superstrut or Unistrut tracks are used for electrical systems, but they've been adapted to a number of other uses. I stumbled onto a trolley system for them and now I see there are multiple configurations and weight ratings. I can get the 10' strut sections at big box stores for $20-something each or less. Brackets and supports are cheap too. If I add these at two or three per 8' door for about $8 each, I should be well within the weight limits of 50 pounds per:

Quick cypherin' gets me to under $75 per door which is a whole lot less costly than the barn door track systems I've seen at Ag stores.

I can make the doors from 2x4s and metal panels for under $100 each so I should be well under $200 per door instead of the $500 each or more for roll up doors. I've built in a 10" overhang so I can mount the track directly to that and not have to worry about protecting the track from weather.