5/1/13

5/1 - Got six of the rafters attached to the ridge board. They look like rafters. I bought all new 2x6's yesterday, which cost me $80. Since I was pretty much starting from scratch, I decided to re-model the roof. I added a steeper pitch to add 10 inches to the headroom in the loft. In carpenter-speak, it's a 15/12 roof - pretty steep. It looks swell though. My work is a little bit rough, but it seems that everything is lining up in a reasonably even fashion. I also learned a new way to model a rafter in Sketchup - and how to model a roof with an even pitch that will translate well to a carpenter's square. I spent a lot more time than I probably needed to because I wanted to actually understand how to lay out a rafter instead of just making one that would work. I want my models to have dimensions which communicate well with typical carpentry tools. That means I need to know how to design a roof with an even pitch, and I also need to know how to use a framing square to make the actual rafter. It took some time, but I'm getting there. I understand the methods and measurements, but I could use a little more practice.