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Small Cabin Forum / Cabin Construction / roof ideas
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timothycharles
Member 		# Posted: 12 Sep 2008 05:17
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hi all, im planning on building a small cabin for my wife and i. i have never attempted to build anything bigger than a table before. i am pretty confident about everything except the roof.
does anyone know where i can get pictures/advice? im going for a big square shape. about 6 meters square - about 18 feet? i think.
soundandfurycabin
Member 		# Posted: 14 Sep 2008 16:10
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Welcome. Are you looking for advice on the framing or the roofing material? What kind of roof are you planning... gable, shed, low or steep slope, dormers, ... ??
timothycharles
Member 		# Posted: 19 Sep 2008 03:52
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well, really i want the most effiecient roof. i was thinking low pitch - for aesthetic reasons only. and although the cabin is going to be a L shape, i was thinking of just doing a square roof, with a 4 or 5 triangle frames. and the overlapping section will then form the roof of the porch... if you know what i mean.

my main concern is that i am under-estimating the complexity of putting together these 'triangle' frames for the roof... is it really as simple as putting the wood together and attaching is to the wall frames?

i will probably just use corragated steel for the roof, as its the cheapest most available thing to use in South Africa.

but im totally open and keen to get any advice... mostly on the frame.
im not assuming i have the best idea!
soundandfurycabin
Member 		# Posted: 20 Sep 2008 00:18
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For a 6m span you probably need a truss. For a simple home-made truss design, go to http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/abeng/houseplans.htm and download plan 5968. That shows a truss designed to span 24 ft with a spacing of 2 ft. If you look through some of the other plans there, you might find other designs. You can scale a design down for a shorter span and it should still support at least as much weight as the original longer span. Someone has taken that truss from 5968 and scaled it to span 7m here... http://www.countryplans.com/Downloads/jonsey/laptruss.jpg

I think your idea of sticking to a simple roof design is a good one. Framing a complicated roof is not easy, dealing with complex angles and cuts while standing on a ladder or scaffold. It's much easier to build jogs into the walls to create covered porches and add interest to the inside.
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