Roof Rafter Seperation

Builders aren t bound by standard rafter spacing measurements.

Roof rafter seperation.

As such the ridge and the adjoining rafter ends are entirely in compression. The attached photos show rafter separation and broken collar ties. Rafters must be strong enough to hold the roof sheathing and the shingles. At the top where the rafters meet they are either angled to meet at a point or attached to a horizontal ridge beam.

The inspector recommends a structural engineer to determine cause. Typical rafter spacing codes will specify a minimum spacing of 16 inches 19 2 inches or 24 inches. Some shed rafters do not incorporate ridge beams either due to small size or lack of technical know how. A ridge beam runs the length of the shed roof connecting every pair of rafters.

With the proper tools anyone can do this. Very easy to do. If anything has the ability to force the rafter ends up tight against the ridge it would be the formidable weight of the roof itself especially a tile roof. Condition was only present on the rear.

The sellers investors who are flipping a foreclosure have upgraded the floors that cover potential slab cracks. The rafters on the rear side of a steeply pitched roof were separating from the ridge board. As home buyers should we walk from this purchase. I m no engineer but it seems like this is due to settlement but how bad.

Rafter and roof joist spacing is only one part of a complex roof design that works together to form a structure that meets building codes and can hold up the weight of the roof and roof load. If your local building authority has a rafter spacing code you may not space rafters wider than required by code.