We’re lucky to have relationships with the expert instructors and craftspeople at Seattle Central College’s Wood Technology Center. In this video series, Catie Chaplan, a veteran instructor, guides us through some of the foundational carpentry concepts and methods for framing a basic equal-pitch hip roof, as taught in the center’s curriculum.
Catie is dedicated to teaching the next generation of highly skilled carpenters. As a professional builder for 31 years, she's worked for general contractors, boat builders, and cabinet shops, and has owned and operated a residential design-build company in Seattle since 2002. She's been an instructor at the Wood Technology Center for the past 25 years, where she currently leads the carpentry program and teaches computer-aided design (CAD) and computer numeric control (CNC) classes.
Throughout the Framing a Hip Roof series, Catie shows us how to calculate theoretical hip roof framing (meaning that the calculations go to the very center of the roof), then how to adjust those calculations for the thickness of the materials used in different parts of the roof where pieces come together (this is called adjusting for "reality").
In this video from Catie’s virtual course curriculum, she focuses on the two areas to consider when planning a hip roof. Watch the video above, or keep reading for our takeaways.
As Catie explained in the previous video, the key when framing any roof is to think about planes, not individual pieces. Therefore, to plane the roof, you want each plane to meet at the center of the ridge and at the hips.
This means that, when framing a hip roof, there are two key areas to focus on: where the rafters meet the ridge, and where the rafters meet the fascia.
Planing at the ridge
Let’s first look at where the ridge, common rafters, and hips meet. In this example, the common rafters and ridge all intersect flush with each other at the top edges. The hips are then wedged in between the common rafters at 45-degree angles.
When it comes to planing the hips to the common rafters and ridge, you can set your calculator aside. Instead, use a flat edge—the palm of your hand would even work—to ensure that either side of the hip rafter intersects the common rafters (on either side) at the edge, not the top. (This step is also called "dropping the hip.")
Planing in at the fascia
This roof example has fascia. Typically, the roof sheathing extends over the fascia. To extend the roof plane so it overhangs the fascia, pay attention to where the top corner of the fascia intersects the rafters. Aligning the top edge of the fascia to the bottom edge of the rafters would disrupt the plane; instead, plane the top outside corner of the fascia with the top edge of the rafters (a speed square or straight edge is helpful here).
If you frame this part right, you should have a small triangle-sized gap between the sheathing and the fascia. Leaving the gap is fine, but if you prefer, you can bevel the top edge of the fascia board with your circular saw.
For more from Catie on how to frame hip roofs, check out the anatomy of a hip roof and see her explanation of hip roof planes.