Shed Roof

[Scott Fike]

I've read in several places that shed roofs are supposed to be easier for the owner/builder to construct than the more common gable. Can someone explain to me why this is?

[frank]

the shed uses less material and is easier to build.  you don't have to build a peak joining two angles and you have less material to apply cause you have more sq footage to cover.  one shed type is attractive, that would be where the high side is to the front and windows are running along the wall on this high front side.  Then another shed comes out from below those windows.  This looks good in a modern way, and the light is wonderful.   Just my thoughts

[Amanda_931]

On the other hand, if you are going to use solid wood instead of the truss/joist type thing, your individual rafters are a lot longer, therefore a lot larger to support the roof load.  Someplace along the line it's cheaper to buy the manufactured truss rafters.  But then those are often ugly enough that you get to cover them up.

But there are plenty of reasons to do a building that way.  It makes rainwater collection easier, for instance.  Clerestory windows are lovely.  And for a small building, they really are easier.

[onkingston]

I thought a shed roof would be simple as well and built a house last year with 2 shed roofs.  The roofs took literally twice as long as expected and thus cost twice as much in labour.

To meet insulation requirements (it gets -35*C here) 12" rafters were needed.  They were big, heavy, and hard to work with--a 12" board over 16 ft has enough of a warp in it to cause headaches.  The 2 guys I had working with me had no experience with this type of roof so there was a learning curve.  And finally, when it came time to put the steel roofing on, no one at the building supply place knew what caps, drip edges and so on were needed.  It took calls to the steel company to figure it all out.  We had to custom make the fascia and rent a break to bend the odd angles that were needed.

In the middle of all this I looked around and realized that here in Eastern Ontario you just don't see shed roofs on buildings built after, oh, 1900.  Not even on sheds!  LOL  Nobody knows a thing about them.   Check around your area to see what the situation is there before making the decision.  Yes, structurally they seem more simple, but may not be simple for other reasons.

In retrospect, a standard truss roof would have been quicker, cheaper and stronger.  That said I love what I have done with my 2 shed roofs.

[Bouncer]

I built a shed roof and found that it is a lot easier than a peak roof. We used 2x10. They are heavy but not to hard to use. We were ablr to do it with just one person up in the air and the other on the ground. Photos are in the gallery.
Kevin

[lillybean]

Stupid question, lol     but, WHERE is the gallery??!!  

lillybean

[Daddymem]

Lillybean, he must be the Kevin here: http://www.countryplans.com/12x18.html
Scroll to second building.

[lillybean]

Hey, thanx!!  I love being able to see the building in progress and how they turned out.  

Thanks again  

lillybean

[jonseyhay]

Hi lillybean
 If you look at the top of the page, in the main Country plans.com box you will see some links there. One will take you to the Main plans page where you will find the gallery, all the plans, links to various tools, and books. The search link will let you look through all the posts from the old forum. In addition, a help file explains some of the features of this forum.
In the side bar of each message, you will notice some small icons that let you view the members profile, (mine is quite nice as long as its from the back, and a fair distance off) send them a private message or if they have a WebPage. There is a wealth of useful information on this site; lots to look at so have fun.
Hope this helps,
jonesy.