Rafter Skills Tech

Welcome to Rafter Skills

Rafter Skills provides online instruction so you can gain the skills and self-assurance you need to advance. Allow me to walk you through this procedure step-by-step during these online sessions; it's all intended to help you master various roof types, from simple to advanced including Irregular Hip & Valley Roofs. This is a flexible way to learn, some people dont feel comfortable with doing the calculations in this case they can take part by learning from the drawings and geometry then by building the model without the need of going into calculations. Sometimes this can be the best option and its how I started off when taking part in other advanced carpentry courses. Then theres the option for others who prefer to do a mix of learning from the drawings, geometry and also by applying calculations to find all the lengths and angles before moving on to test it all out by building the model. Different parts of this can be really interesting and sometimes addictive in the hunger for knowledge, it can be a learning curve to grasp and to cherish in this very special area of carpentry and roof framing.

Meet the Tutor

Welcome to Rafter Skills my name is Tommy Doherty, I'm a fully qualified carpenter with 45 years of experience. I trained as an apprentice carpenter before travelling and working in other european countries and later returned to advanced carpentry & building studies. Now after many years of experience and practice I tutor and mentor others.

This online learning platform gives me the chance to share my enthusiasm for the craft, while helping others to gain a deeper and more technical understanding of the subject. My background is primarily a well studied and experienced hands-on carpenter. This enables me to pass my knowledge onto others by breaking down the information and explaining it in detail.

People often think some of these roofs could be difficult and beyond their reach, but this has given me the opportunity to simplify the process and to make it a more friendly learning experience. Just let me reassure you I’m committed and focused on getting others past many of the obstacles and to where they want to be. This is for carpenters and others who are at different levels of knowledge and skills. These are tailored lessons, from a fully qualified and experienced carpenter who is focused on assisting you in conquering many of the challenges that you may be faced with and in mastering your craft.

How will this work?

During online lessons the infofmation will be transfered in step by step instructions that will cover the in-depth details that form the roof framework along with many other practical tips for bringing it all together in practice. First of all you gain the knowledge from proven methods before putting this into practice by using your skills to build the model.

These course models range from basic to advanced and cover an introduction in how to read the working drawings and the geometry involved with building these models. This can include the mathematical calculations for the lengths and angles that are used to build these Roof structures in their scaled down form, and when it’s full scale on site its much of the same process.

Just to give you an idea of how this can work, the online sessions will mainly be focused on how to go about doing this and to give you the best chance of grasping the lesson with minimal time spent online, most of the time the camera would be in the downward position for you to observe what's going on and in helping you to follow the lesson with the least amount of distraction. During each lesson any questions that you have will also be addressed and I will do my best to answer them as we proceed. I can only recommend that you build the roof model when you are ready, as this is one of the best ways to test your learning by bringing it all together in practice.

This is all geared towards practicing knowledge and improving skills, don't be put off by the fact that these are scaled models, these models can be key learning! Its the old proven recipe in this case, of learning the theory behind the drawings and geometry, before moving on to apply math calculations by using some basic trigonometry to find the lengths and angles of the different rafters within roof framework, before bringing it all together in practice.

Just a few more points

In my experience I've found that some people tend to shy away from geometry and trigonometry but other people can be surprised at how quickly they begin to adapt and relate to using methods like this. Just to let me remind you, I'm going to pass this on to you as a carpenter by looking at the drawings, and in using some basic trig calculations to find the rafter lengths and angles.

Why use trigonometry to calculate rafter lengths and angles as opposed to apps and tables etc! First of using apps and tables will only take you so far and using tables for ready reckoner books will only work for Regular pitched roofs. Trigonometry is also a universal method for calculating angles and lengths, it is used in building and construction by engineers, surveyors and architects etc and becoming more familiar with using it can lead to career extension and job promotion. If you haven’t used trigonometry before, it’s just a matter of becoming familiar with using one or 2 formulas, in this case to calculate rafters before moving on to the next step in calculating other dimensions and angles that can lead on to further understanding and calculating of other more challenging roofs.

The drawing out the details may not be for everyone but understanding them can play an important part in helping us to visualise or in building a kind of map in our minds as to what these lines represent. When we look at the drawing for these models and can also check the lengths and angles with some calculations it plays another important part in building our trust and confidence in the process and in reassuring ourselves that things are working out well. Then when we become more familiar with doing calculations for some of these steps we can get by with the minimum of drawings.

1: Starting off

Perfect for people who are new to roof carpentry or returning to this subject, this part can build a solid foundation for future learning and development.

Here you can learn how to accurately calculate and mark out a pair of template Rafters. By using some basic trig formulas. First we will find the technical length for a pair of Rafters from the given span distance and the angle of pitch. Then we move on to apply this information to the Rafters and mark them out in practice. This includes Birds mouth and HAP details, Set up for cutting Rafters, Gable overhang rafters, Lining the Rafters through at the fascia board, cutting the rafter tails.

When some of the guys are starting off they prefer to focus more on learning about the practical methods and the main tips and points to look out for when building a Roof. There's nothing wrong with doing it this way and an odd sketch or calculation can also be added in to get them familiar with the process before moving to some of the more challenging stuff.

If you haven’t used trigonometry before, the first time you calculate a pair of rafters using this simple formula using (half the span) ÷ (pitch of roof) = the length of the rafter, for example lets say the half span distance is 1250 ÷ cos (35) =-1,383mm. Try it out, even cut a pair of rafters. From here it’s just a matter of moving on to the next step in calculating other dimensions and angles and it all leads on to further understanding and calculating for other more complex roofs.

Starting off on a good solid foundation can play a big part in grasping the methods and the process used Why use trigonometry to calculate rafter lengths and angles as opposed to apps and tables etc! First of using apps and tables will only take you so far and using tables for ready reckoner books will only work for Regular pitched roofs. Trigonometry is also a universal method for calculating angles and lengths, it is used in building and construction by engineers, surveyors and architects etc and becoming more familiar with using it can lead to career extension and job promotion. If you haven’t used trigonometry before, it’s just a matter of becoming familiar with using one or 2 formulas, in this case to calculate rafters before moving on to the next step in calculating other dimensions and angles that can lead on to further understanding and calculating of other more challenging roofs.

Experience a learning adventure unlike any other!

Contact & Booking

These courses are available online, in English language and accessible to you wherever you are based around the globe. This is a flexible form of booking, it's up to you to decide, we only need to agree on a date and time slot for the booking and we can take it from there. The video link-up can be done using WhatsApp or FaceTime on your smartphone or tablet.

Biginners Path is priced at £25 for each 40-minute booking and at the moment there is a promotion offer of 10 lessons for £200

If you are interested in any part of this or if you would like to have a chat to find out more, it would be best to send a message to Tommy on WhatsApp or by sending an email to rafterskills@gmail.com

Regular Hip Roofs

2: More about Regular Hip & Valley Roofs

Regular Hip & Valley Roofs are roofs that have an equal angle of pitch on all sides. During these online lessons with the aid of drawings, calculations and a model I can take you through the step by step process of how Regular pitched Hip & Valley Roofs can be worked out. This will be explained by first of all looking at the drawings and the geometry to become more familiar with them before moving on to calculating the rafter lengths and angles using some basic trigonometry. This includes all the important points that are necessary to bring it all together in practice.

Here you can learn how to draw out and also calculate all the lengles angles for the 10 different Rafters that are listed below. This will cover information about the HAP "height above plate" settings, cases when the Hip or Valley rafters have a square top edge and when they have backing bevels applied.

1. Rafter plum bevel

2. Common Rafter level cut

3. Hip Rafter plumb cut

4. Hip Rafter level or seat cut

5. Hip Rafter side cut

6. Hip Rafter side bevel

7. Jack Rafter side cut

8. Purlin face bevel

9. Purlin edge bevel

10. Purlin edge bevel

This can include looking at the geometry for the Hip & Valley rafter Backing bevels, even though you may not use it, it's good practice within the craft and as a tradesperson to have the know-how! and this applies to other aspects of this learning that lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the subject.

This can include setting a Steel square to all the different angles and bevels within the roof frame. This can also include making adjustments for different types of ridge, ridge board and ridge beams, purlins, vertical and tilted, along with the different methods and tools used for marking out.

Why use trigonometry to calculate rafter lengths and angles as opposed to apps and tables etc! First of using apps and tables will only take you so far and using tables for ready reckoner books will only work for Regular pitched roofs. Trigonometry is also a universal method for calculating angles and lengths, it is used in building and construction by engineers, surveyors and architects etc and becoming more familiar with using it can lead to career extension and job promotion. If you haven’t used trigonometry before, it’s just a matter of becoming familiar with using one or 2 formulas, in this case to calculate rafters before moving on to the next step in calculating other dimensions and angles that can lead on to further understanding and calculating of other more challenging roofs.

If you haven’t used trigonometry before, the first time you calculate a pair of rafters using this simple formula using (half the span) ÷ (pitch of roof) = the length of the rafter, for example lets say the half span distance is 1250 ÷ cos (35) =-1,383mm. Try it out, even cut a pair of rafters. From here it’s just a matter of moving on to the next step in calculating other dimensions and angles and it all leads on to further understanding and calculating for other more challenging roofs.

Experience a learning adventure unlike any other!

Contact & Booking

These courses are available online, in English language and accessible to you wherever you are based around the globe. This is a flexible form of booking, it's up to you to decide, we only need to agree on a date and time slot for the booking and we can take it from there. The video link-up can be done using WhatsApp or FaceTime on your smartphone or tablet.

Regular Pitched Roofs are priced at £30 for each 40-minute booking and at the moment there is a promotion offer of 10 lessons for £250

If you are interested in any part of this or if you would like to have a chat to find out more, it would be best to send a message to Tommy on WhatsApp or by sending an email to rafterskills@gmail.com

Irregular Hip & Valley Roofs

This is all about Irregular Pitch Hip & Valley Roofs. These types of roofs have different roof pitches on either side of the Hip or Valley intersection.

3: More about Irregular Hip & Valley Roofs

When we challenge ourselves with the task of conquering Irregular Hip & Valley Roofs it starts to give us a new insight into Roof carpentry and framing at a whole new level. These types of roofs are often referred to as roofs that have bastard Hip or Valley Rafters. Irregular Hip and Valley roofs have 2 different roof pitches that meet at a Hip or Valley rafter, in turn this affects the Hip and Valley plan angles and also affects the Hip, Valley and Jack Rafter side cuts.

The Irregular Hip & Valley roofs are really interesting roofs to get a grasp of, they can put some of the best to the test. In cases where the 2 different roof pitches have an equal soffit overhang distance the Hip and Valley rafters do not sit on the corner of the wallplate and this normally requires the steeper pitched rafters to have a raised or higher wallplate. Then there are other important points to consider and how they affect the roof geometry and the calculations. Here you can learn how to take these factors into consideration and how to bring them all together in practice.

These types of Roofs can be a learning curve that opens our minds to a whole new way of thinking and understanding of calculating, cutting and pitching roofs. During these online sessions let me guide you through this using a step by step approach in assisting you to conquer these types of roofs. This will be explained by first of all looking at the drawings and the geometry before calculating the rafter lengths and angles.

During each step I'm also going to explain and show how to calculate the lengths and angles by using some basic trigonometry. If you’re not familiar with using trigonometry, don’t let it put you off. I'm going to explain this as a carpenter and in relation to solving Rafter lengths and angles, it’s just a matter of getting familiar with using one formula before moving onto the next one.

In the first part I'm going to show you how to draw this out and explain what the different lines represent and how it all relates in practice by using a model of the roof. Some people have asked me, "how is all of this going to benefit me when it involves doing a full scale roof ?" and the answer is that it’s much of the same process used for example it could also be calculating for a materials list.

The drawing out the details may not be for everyone but understanding them can play an important part in helping us to visualise or in building a kind of map in the mind as to what these lines represent. When we look at the drawing and can also check the lengths and angles with some calculations it plays another important part in building our trust and confidence in the process and in reassuring ourselves that things are working out well. Then when we become more familiar with the calculations for some of these steps we can get by with the minimum of drawings.

The photo above showing the plan layout for this irregular Hip intersection and 2 different methods of jointing the Hip Rafter to the Ridge Board. The photo below shows an example of the 2 different roof pitches and the angle of the Hip in elevation. This can all be explained in detail and how to bring it all together in practice.

The model above is an Irregular Hip Rafter with intersecting pitches of 30 and 40 degrees.

The model below is an Irregular Valley Rafter with intersecting pitches of 30 and 40 degrees.

In this case the model below shows a Lay-board that has square edges .

In this case the model below shows a Roof that has an Irregular Valley intersection, in this model the Valley lay-board has a bevel applied to the edge of the board.

The first model below shows a downward view of the plan angles for the Valley lay-boards connecting from a 40° pitch roof and intersecting onto a 30° pitch roof.

This model below shows a downward view of the plan angles for the Valley lay-boards connecting from a 30° pitch roof and intersecting onto a 40° pitch roof.

These examples show some of the differences when the Roof pitches are reversed. During these lessons we can go into calculating the Rafter lengths, Backing angles, Valley layboard lengths and angles by using the measurements from the drawings and by using some other short cut trig formulas. This is all part of further understanding becoming more familiar and in building confidence in conquering some of the challenges that these Roofs can throw at us.

Experience a learning adventure unlike any other!

Contact & Booking

These courses are available online, in English language and accessible to you wherever you are based around the globe. This is a flexible form of booking, it's up to you to decide, we only need to agree on a date and time slot for the booking and we can take it from there. The video link-up can be done using WhatsApp or FaceTime on your smartphone or tablet.

Irregular Pitched Roofs are priced at £30 for each 40-minute booking and at the moment there is a promotion offer of 10 lessons for £250

If you are interested in any part of this or if you would like to have a chat to find out more, it would be best to send a message to Tommy on WhatsApp or by sending an email to rafterskills@gmail.com

4: Roof with Curved Hip

Roof with Curved and Backed Hip, First of all we need to know some information, in this case it’s the run of the common Rafters and the pitch of the roof and the chord distance from its springing line. From here we can calculate the curve for the common Rafters, Hip Rafter and the curved Backing angle.

Contact via WhatsApp