Gable Roof Lookouts

A gable roof consists of two sloped planes that meet at the ridge or peak and rest on the top plates of 2 parallel exterior walls.

Gable roof lookouts.

The original gable roof lookout was built in 1932 and replaced with a standing flat roof in 1964. A horizontal timber or metal resting at the peak of the roof the rafters and trusses are connected to the ridge board for a cohesive framework. Framing a dropped gable wall one of the keys to framing the rake with my system is building a dropped gable end wall the top of which is 3 1 2 inches below the tops of the rafters. After the gable is framed lookouts extend from the first rafter inside the gable wall out over the plates to support the overhanging barge rafter.

A composite decking made of solid materials it resembles real wood and particularly strong and stable for bearing heavy load. It is a waterproofing layer made of regular felt stacked above the solid. If a truss roof is used with this method the gable truss is manufactured 3 shorter than the others. Then a 2 4 outlooker is placed over the dropped gable and butted into the side of the adjacent full height truss.

In wood frame construction the primary structural members of a gabled roof frame are the ridge board and the rafters. Then the barge or fly rafter is attached to the end of the cantilevered outlooker.