Roof Taking Shape

Hi again folks. Thanks for the comments. We're well into the roof and it's looking pretty awesome. It's one thing to see it in plan, quite another to see it taking shape. The solid log gable with scissor trusses is a real head turning and the exposed beam and purlin in the loft/living room is also impressive with heavy gussets and bolts. The beam and purlin ceiling is starting to get filled in with 1" x 6" T&G pine. The design called for 1" x 8", however 1 x 6 was cheaper even with the extra footage and we like the extra accent created by the more narrow dimension. There will be 2 ceiling fans, one above the loft and one centered over the living room. The 1"electrical holes for these fans have to be drilled before installing the T&G, vapour barrier and insulation. The wiring will run up through the ridge beam, through the rigid insulation and along the top of the insulation down to an interior wall where the T&G meets the log. This wiring will eventually be covered by the roof sheeting, however do not cover it until the inspector gives the OK. Regulations will vary from region to region and in some case you made need conduit over the top of the rigid insulation.

Pot lights in the pine soffits will also have to wired before the roof sheathing is installed. The wiring for these will run down the soffit to the juncture of the T&G and log and then drilled through to the loft level and run in the same groove as the fan wiring. I'll post some snaps to show the route when the wiring is complete.

An important part of any roof system is insulation and for the BP roof we chose a commercial grade 3 1/2"high density, rigid Styrofoam with foil on both sides. Spray foam is an option, if you can afford it. In these parts it sells for anywhere between 5.00 to 6.00 dollars/square foot for 4" inches. You could also use the 2" blue/pink board, however you'll need 4 layers to get R40 and it's much more labour intensive.

More later.

Tip of the week: Most prefab gable trusses (2 x 4) do not have the structural integrity to meet code requirements for these high roof lines. A 2 x 6 custom truss will often have to built on site. Mr. Holmes would be happy with this added value to structural integrity.