building a handmade hideaway : the roof {how to build a treehouse}

Happy post 4^th of July! We hope you celebrated in style with lots of loud fireworks and good BBQ!

Jamin here again with the 4^th, and final installment of building your very own Handmade Hideaway. Don’t worry… this isn’t the end my friends. Ashley will be back with some painting techniques, styling, and a few faq’s answered in a round up post…so if you have any specific questions, be sure to shoot them our way! (If you missed the beginning, you can find part 1, part 2, and part 3 here.)

So let’s dive right in….

Supply list (as always links are provided in case you are unsure what an item is, that and I really like to shop on Amazon. Ha!)

• Drill

• Saw

• ¼ long magnetic nut driver

• 7 – 2 x 4 x 6

• 6 – 1 x 4 x 6

• Carpenters square

• 2 inch screws (small box) (should have some left over)

• 4 ½ inch screws (small box) (should have some left over)

• 1 ½ inch wood grip galvanized (large bag

• 4 – sheets of tin (29 gauge x 3 feet) @ 6 foot in length

• Wide step down ridge trim @ 10 feet

• 3 – rake trim 1 inch eagle rib @ 10 feet

• Tin snips

Cutting the ridge

This might be the simplest of everything we’re about to talk about. To cut the ridge board, simply measure from the outside of the back wall plate, all the way to the front of your sidewall. This will give you the length of your ridge. Next take one of your 2 x 4’s and cut it to this length. You now have the ridge cut, lay it aside and we will use it in a minute.

Understanding Rafters

Building a jack, valley, or hip rafter can be a little bit of a challenge. But since we decided to go simple and make our roof a gable roof, all we will be concerned about is what is called a “common rafter”. Anyone can build one of these even if it is your first attempt at a roof.

Before we begin, there are a couple simple building terms you need to understand.

•Rise – How many inches the roof rises for every foot of the run.

•Run –  The length from the edge of the center board of your roof to the edge of the top of the wall. One easy way to figure this, would be to measure from rat seal to rat seal, subtract the width of your ridge board and divide by two.

For our hideaway, we went simple and used a 6/12 pitch. In other words our roof rises 6 inches for every 12 inches of run. Which would put the center of our roof right at 7 ½ feet. (remember our walls are at 5 feet, so we have a 2 ½ rise .)

A 6/12 pitch will give us a 26.5 degree slope on our roof. If you want something with more or less of a slope you can customize it to your desired pitch. Just adjust cuts and board sizes.

via

Cutting rafters

There are two different ways to cut rafters, “the full bearing” and the “2/3 method”. I prefer the “full bearing”, but either is acceptable. For the sake of space, we will only discuss the full bearing method here.

To cut the full bearing method, we have to start with our plum line (26.5 degree) cut.

Place a 2 x 4 x 6 on the miter saw, set your saw to 26.5 degrees (you can round up to 27 and be ok) and cut one end of the board. This end will be the end that attaches to your ridge.

Next, we will need to cut the board where it will lay on the top plate of the wall. This cut is known as a birds mouth cut, simply because that is what it looks like. To make this cut measure from the end of the rafter you just cut down to 48 inches and 51 ½ inches and place a mark at both places.

Now we need to make the notch, known as the bird’s mouth in the rafter. For the full bearing method we first need to make the plum line on our 51 ½ mark. Draw a 26.5 (or 27 degree, whichever you used) angle where this mark is. (You can cheat by placing it back on the miter saw and using the blade as a guide.)

Next we will take the width of our rafter 3 ½ inches and use this to make our second mark. Take your carpenters square, find 3 ½ inches on it, line up the top or outside edge of the square on the plum line you have already drawn, and bring the square all the way up to the 3 ½ inch mark. Draw a line from the plum line, already drawn down to the edge of the board. (You will use the outside of the square) This will give you the lines to make your birds mouth cut. You can now cut the birds mouth or portion of the rafter that will rest on the plate.

Repeat this process 5 more times to complete all 6 rafters.

Placing rafters

The easiest way to do this is to start building on the ground. Placing one of the 2 x 4 plum line cuts (not the birds mouth end) on the end of the ridge board. Make sure the boards are flush on the end and then screw them in. Repeat this on the opposite side.

Repeat this process on the opposite end of the ridge board. Once you do, you should have two of your rafters on each side at opposite ends of the ridge board.

Now place what you just built up on the walls. The bird’s mouth cut should fit snugly over the wall plates, coming to a full rest(If there is still a little space don’t worry it will all be tightened up with the collar ties). Make any adjustments you need to and make sure the back rafter is flush with the outside of the back wall. Then screw the rafters into the walls.

Once all four rafters are screwed in, find the middle of your roof and attach the two remaining rafters. You can use these two rafters to tighten up the roof.

Adding collar ties

From some of the scrap 2 x 4’s you have left from other phases, cut 2 pieces that are 3-4 feet long. Screw these pieces on to the front pair of rafters and the middle pair of rafters (on the back side).  These will help tighten up and brace the rafter.

(photos after the tin was placed, and wood was painted…but you get the basic idea)

Bracing the gable

You will run these braces from the top of the back wall, to the bottom of the back rafter. You want the width of the end of the brace to cover the width of the top plate on the back wall.

From some of the scrap 2 x 4’s you have left from other phases measure and cut 3 braces to help brace the gable or the back rafter.  Screw them into place.

Securing the rafters

Measure from the outside of the back wall, to the edge of the front rafter. It should be roughly 63 ½ inches, but always be sure to measure your own when getting ready to cut.

Take your 6 – 1 x 4 x 6 and cut them down to this size. You will place these on top of the rafters and screw them down with 2 inch screws.  Place one on the outside edge of the wall and the other one in the middle of the rafter between the inside edge of the wall and the ridge, with the final one going close to the ridge. Do the same thing on the other side.

Placing the tin

Start by the back wall. Line up the edge of the tin, with the edge of the outside wall.  The tin should also be lined up with the bottom of the rafters. You do not have to be concerned about it lining up on the top. We’ll cover that with the ridge trim.

Once you have it lined up, use your roofing wood tip galvanized screws to screw it in. (Screw in the valley in between the ridges.) Make sure that you do not over drive it and dent the tin. I prefer overkill, so I placed a screw in every ridge of the tin.

(hints: make sure that you do not screw down the last ridge, until you put the second piece of tin on. Also, try to keep a straight line, this gives it a cleaner look. If you need to pop a chalk line on it, but do not use red chalk, it is more of a permanent finish, blue is a better choice for something like this. If you wish when you’re finished, go back with a dremel and remove the sharp ends of the screws coming through the top of the roof. Unless you can find at your supplier a shorter screw, which I was unable to.)

Once you have screwed in the first piece of tin {minus the last ridge} place the second piece of tin on the roof. It should overlap the first piece by one ridge. Line it up with the front edge of the first rafter and the bottom edge of the rafter. Then repeat the process.

Trimming the front and back

Finally, you will need to place the trim on. Start with the front and back trim pieces. My supplier had the rake trim 1 inch eagle rib @ 10 feet. You might be able to get it at a more suitable size. Since ours was at 10 feet, I decided to save money and just piece the back right section together, since it was the least visible.

Starting on the front, you will need to cut two of the pieces of the trim at a 26.5 degree angle, with the top edge being the longer side. (Start the cut at what would be the top, and cut back.)

Hint: when using the trim snips make sure you take small snips, if you take to big of a snip you may risk cutting a jagged edge.

Place both pieces of trim on the outside rafter, and make sure they meet flush at the ridge. If not, make some adjustments in your cuts. Once you are happy with how they fit mark the opposite end of the trim where the rafter ends and use the tin snips to cut it.

Once cut, place the pieces of trim back up on the rafter and screw them in with the roofing wood tip galvanized screws.

Repeat this process on the back, and remember, I had to piece together one side on the back.

Trimming the ridge

Place your wide step down ridge trim @ 10 feet on the top of the tin that is already screwed in. Make sure the back edge of the trim is lined up with the back edge of the wall. Then mark the front edge where the tin roof ends.

Use the tin snips to cut the trim to size. (Again if your supplier has the right size, your can save on a little waste.) Once cut to size, screw the tin into place and you are finished with the construction side of your hideaway.

Happy building, everyone! We can’t wait to see your projects!