A roof is very important in a house since it acts as a covering for the inhabitants of the house. The roof protects those inside from diverse weather conditions such as rain, cold, sun, snow among others. As a result of this, the process of building the roof should be treated with the importance it deserves. The type of roof the person chooses to build will depend on the structure of the house.
Before building the roof, enquire about the building regulations required by the local authorities. When building, the following materials must be present.
- Trusses for sheathing – these are usually pre-manufactured and used for most roofs.
- Plywood felt paper– choose between 5/8 to 3/4 inches.
- Roofing nails
- Staplers and Hammer
- Power saws
- Drills
- Ladder
Building Steps
- The roof should be framed depending on one’s preference. The best-framing components to use are trusses, which can be ordered from the local lumber dealer.
- Before ordering the trusses, make sure to provide the dealer with the correct roof dimensions, styles as well as pitches.
- Once the trusses are available, they can be raised onto the house roofing frames. Before being raised to the fames, one needs to put marks on all of the cap plates where the truss heels will be placed.
- Lifting of the trusses can be difficult, thus make sure there is someone else who can assist in lifting the trusses.
- Secure safely the trusses onto the house frame.
- Fasten by nailing the desired size of sheathing, which can be between 5/8 to 3/4 inches to the edges of the framing component. Offset the sheathing rows by at least one-half of a sheet. If it is necessary, the holes for the ridge vent should be cut as well as any other form of roof penetration like plumbing vents.
- Protect the drip edges, using a metal strip, on all the sheathing edges that are exposed. This is to prevent the exposed edges from being damaged by moisture.
- Add another form of protection against moisture by using both a moisture barrier and the felt paper.
- Set up step flashing in any place that the roof plane meets any vertical surface. Set up a valley flashing where two roof planes converge forming a valley.
- Set up other flashings such as vent and apron to stop water from leaking through any hole in the roof.
- The final step is to use appropriate covering for the roof.
Wood shakes should not be used to cover high-risk areas. Other types of coverings such as asphalt shingles can be used.