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How to attach ridge beam

Forrest | Posted in Construction Techniques on August 8, 2002 04:43am

I am adding a 10×14 kitchen addition on the first floor of a two story house. The rafters will be parallel to the house, so the ridge beam will be perpendicular to the house. I was wondering how to attach the ridge beam to the existing house wall. The pitch will be 4/12.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Forrest

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Replies

  1. User avater
    BossHog | Aug 08, 2002 06:03pm | #1

    You didn't really give us a lot of info to go on.

    What are you using for a ridge beam?

    Is it above the roof line, or butting into a wall?

    Is the addition 10' wide and 14' out, or the other way around?

    Bumpersticker: If the kid is an honor student, he must not really be yours.

    1. User avater
      Forrest | Aug 08, 2002 06:16pm | #2

      The rafters will be 2x10 so the ridge beam will need to be a 2x12, I think. By eye the ridge beam will butt into the second story wall. The addition will be 14 wide and 10 deep. The rafters will rest on the 10' wall and the ridge beam will be 10' long.

      What I can't find any info on is how to attach the ridge beam where it butts to the second story wall. Just nail it to some blocking in the second story wall?

      Thanks

      Forrest

      1. r_ignacki | Aug 09, 2002 12:43am | #3

        Is this a ridge BEAM? ,  like for a cathedral cieling, in that case it should extend into the wall, supported by a post,  three 2x4's nailed together equals a 4x4.

        if this is a simple gable roof ,with an attic space, what you could do is attach 2 rafters to the wall, to each other, center a single 2x12 joist hangar at the peak, and hang your ridge board from that.no turn left unstoned  

        1. User avater
          Forrest | Aug 09, 2002 04:13pm | #4

          This will be a ridge beam with a cathedral ceiling, so I will use the post. That makes sense to me. Thanks for the info!

          Forrest

          1. JohnFinn | Aug 09, 2002 06:59pm | #5

            Also, make sure your post (i.e. "load path") is continuous to foundation. This end of the beam is supporting alot of weight.

          2. r_ignacki | Aug 10, 2002 12:16am | #6

            ...........then in that case,.... a 2x12 sounds inadequate. I wouldn't know. Only know typically what you described would call for a pair of ML's. That's normally.  Abnormally....?no turn left unstoned  

          3. User avater
            Forrest | Aug 12, 2002 08:01pm | #7

            What is a ML? I thought (that get's me in trouble every time) that the ridge beam carries no weight. I am not up to the point of getting the ridge beam sized, so I just through out the 2x12.

            Forrest

            View Image

          4. Redfly | Aug 12, 2002 09:05pm | #8

            Gas,

            Sounds like you are confusing two framing scenarios.

            A ridge beam carries the weight of the rafters and keeps the parallel walls from bowing out, and therefore must be off sufficient size to accomplish these tasks.

            A ridge board is simply a piece of wood (could be 1x) that runs down the ridge between the rafters.  It carries no weight.  In this scenario, there needs to be ceiling joists or some kind of collar ties to keep the exterior walls from bowing out and pulling the rafters apart.

          5. User avater
            Forrest | Aug 12, 2002 10:52pm | #9

            Thank you, that makes perfect sense.

            Forrest

            Edited 8/12/2002 3:52:48 PM ET by GasCap

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