Roof Rafter Raised Heel

A raised heel truss is much like it sounds.

Roof rafter raised heel.

Easy to build with. Instead of running ceiling joists next to rafters build the ceiling frame as if it were a floor and set a plate along the outer edge. Truss heel height the vertical depth of the truss at the outside face of the bearing. Framing with raised heel trusses and continuously sheathing exterior walls improves structural and energy performance and offers many savings that benefit both the builder and the homeowner.

It s not surprising that four out of five modern homes are built with pre fabricated trusses as they offer a lot of advantages. Because they can span wide rooms t. Raised energy heel typical truss heel height is about 12 but may be designed to most any height per the building designer specification. Now you can set rafters atop the plate for a solid roof with plenty of room for insulation.

We installed raised heel trusses with bottom chord overhangs on our house. A more uniform pitch and size increased spans mean fewer internal load bearing walls and they can be installed quickly with less labor. Ventilation eave baffles if needed for air flow. Raised heel trusses provide a cost effective way to meet more stringent energy efficiency codes.

According to the 2012 international residential code for seismic zones or zones designated for winds of 100 mph raised heel trusses more than 15 25 have to be blocked and braced. Just as there are many types of roofs with many roof parts there are many different types of roof trusses this extensive article explains through a series of custom truss diagrams the different truss configurations you can use for various roofs. Building is designed in accordance with the irc. The top of the top chord is 20 above our top plate.

The heel of a conventional plated roof truss where the bottom chord intersects with and bears on the perimeter wall plate and is fitted with a vertical member that literally raises the top chord of the truss. Raised heel trusses also known as energy heel trusses deliver cost effective energy performance especially when used with continuous plywood or osb sheathing. If stick framing is the plan you can still raise the heel. Heel height and overhang for a trussed roof.

Other than roof pitch and span the most importand measurement need to match an existing roof is called the heel height. Simply it is the thickness of the truss or rafter measured from the outside of the wall from the top of the top plate to the underside of the sheathing. Raised heel trusses are installed the same as conventional trusses. Standard heel typical truss heel height is about 4.

While this article focuses on configurations we also have a very cool set of illustrations showcasing the different parts anatomy of roof trusses.