Cut Roof Tolerances

ofthepass

The roof on my new house, currently under construction, looks unacceptably uneven. To my eye there are a number of humps on the ridge and the pitch isn't 100% uniform. I've been told it's within building regulation tolerances. Is there anywhere on the net where I can find the relevant regulations? How can I get hard numbers for my roof for actual comparison against the regulations?

tapest

ofthepass wrote:

The roof on my new house, currently under construction, looks unacceptably uneven. To my eye there are a number of humps on the ridge and the pitch isn't 100% uniform. I've been told it's within building regulation tolerances. Is there anywhere on the net where I can find the relevant regulations? How can I get hard numbers for my roof for actual comparison against the regulations?

RooferPete ...He's yer man..He'll sort ya out. He'll be along, no doubt, bye and bye. If not PM him...he's very aproachable(?)...
t

Branners

Check the Department of Enviroment on the web, you can look and even print off the Building Regulations this should help you with regard to your roof design

rooferPete

Hi,

The web site for the regulations is www.environ.ie, personally I would expect the building regs to refer to items like wind and snow loading methods of fixing etc more than good workmamship.

If my interpretation is right the regulations refer to good working practices especially with regard to standards for cut roofs, they can predict items like roof trusses because they are made in factory conditions usually in compliance with a Structural Engineers calculations.

Basic rules of carpentry should apply to the cut roof more than the building regs, the ridge should be straight and leveled through because any high spots or falls should reflect at the wall plate either making the rafter appear too long or short.

As carpenters will cut the roof (rafters) on the ground they are usually all cut at the same time, some use the "Roofers Square" for each cut others use a bevel to transfer the angles, the only item that may be different is the rafters can appear to have a "bump" in the centre.

This is because the carpenter will check each rafter prior to marking out and keep the "high side" up, again this does not cause a problem because when the weight is applied to the roof it will settle over time, if the rafter is cut wrong it can cause "dips" in the roof.

Basicall you should be able to sight along the rafters or use a straight edge and each rafter be in line or touching the straight edge, the ridge should be straight and not have humps or bumps.

You might get away with a poorly cut roof if using profiled concrete tiles but if you are using a flat tile or slates the slates will not sit properly and the roof could finish looking up and down like the waves of the sea.

Mistakes made when setting out the roof timbers does not necessarily mean you will have a bad roof structurally, I expect that is where the building regs can be referred to regarding the fixing of the wall plate and the ladder at the gables etc.

If you feel the roof is wrong I recommend you call on your Architect / Engineer ASAP because once standing it will be very difficult to correct any details without wasting a lot of timber.

Over to Kadman

.

kadman

Roferpete,

Ditto, Ditto, Ditto....smart ass

Yes as usual Roo is on the button. As you know we ( Rookad ) work to zero tolerences, or as near as we can get to that. To say that the roof is uneven, and humps on the ridge, and all this is evident to an untrained eye, sounds very scary indeed. :eek:

As old smarty pants ( Rooferpete ) already said, gentle undulations being covered by concrete tiles, should help to minimise the poor construction of the roof, although structurally sound. Slates on the other hand will make the now poor looking roof even worse when fully slated. :eek: :eek:

Maybe a picture to have a look at, to see how bad it is, and maybe add it to RooferPetes personal collection of bloopers , that he has repaired down through the years. Hopefully he might share some of these pictures with us in the future, little wonder he's known as Superoofer :rolleyes:

kadman

borris the bad

All the timber I have seen in Ireland is well below par.I dont believe the supposed quality control is being applied rigorously and us the poor client have to put up with unsuitable timber in our roofs.Too many knots per metre some across the whole width of the board.That chinese wbp ply is unbelievably poor qualitytoo.I havent seen anyone running lines to check for flatness of the roof at the birdsmouth etc.Its all about slashing it up and getting theyoyos.

If you want to straighten up your roof I would check your facia for level,recommend getting up there with a planer and a straight edge.Plane down the worst rafters and if the odd one has dropped pack it up to the level of the others ie,nail on a thin lath.This is all you can do and although a pain in the a--e ,when you come home from work every night and look at the roof you will be proud!
Regards

kadman

I would not be getting up on a roof , to straighten some one elses poor work....I'd be sueing his incompetent arse. :mad:

You have paid out your money, and the least you could expect was a reasonable standard of work completed. Have you complained to the builder/ architect/ engineer in charge.

Looks like another builder for the " builders from hell series"

kadman