Back to our current project this week: Dave’s exterior renovation. Dave wanted a large covered porch open to his back yard and liked the idea of leaving the framing members exposed. So we used rough Douglas Fir for its structural strength and aesthetic beauty when oiled.
The American Wood Council tables are an excellent resource to determine the sizing of fir beams, rafters and joists. The AMC calculator factored our spans, dead load (e.g., how much the roof weighs after it’s built), regional snow load figure and species (fir) and told us to use a 6×10 beam and 2×8 rafters.
Lee sets up a catch block before we lift up our 6×10 beam.
Tenons cut into the post tops resist outward force from the roof:
A modest overhang protects the beam ends:
Lee installs rafter blocking while Corlene applies linseed oil to the entire framework:
Next we’ll show you what it looks like with knee braces and 1×10 decking.
DARBY CUSTOM BUILDING 