Free Playhouse Plans

Making the playhouse roof frame

Refer to the ‘Frame Cutting List’ and The ‘Roof, Cuts and Angles’ to cut all the pieces required for the roof frame.
The roof frame pieces comprise of 1 ridge beam, 2 lower horizontal roof frame members, 2 ridge beam supports, 10 common rafters, 4 fly rafters, 10 common rafter attachments and also the pieces required to make the two gable trusses.
Also cut 2 pieces of 300×25 (1×12) soffit board 1890mm (75 1/2″) long.

1.) Attach the 10 attachment pieces to the 10 common rafters. They can be fixed using nails and nail plates. See fig.1.
Make up the two gable trusses. Refer to the The ‘Roof, Cuts and Angles’.

2.) Temporarily clamp the 2 soffit boards in place so that they are overhanging outside of the side walls approximately 170 (7″), and overhanging the front and rear walls approximately 45mm (1 3/4″)
Fix the two Ridge Beam Supports on top of (and in the middle of) the front and rear Wall Frame Top Plates. The Ridge Beam can then be fixed in place on top of the two Beam Supports. Ensure the beam supports are vertical and the beam overhang is the same each end. Add a temporary brace: See fig.2.

3.) Fix the end common rafters to the ridge beam directly above the front and rear walls. DO NOT NAIL THE BOTTOMS OF THE RAFTERS YET.
Fix the two lower roof frame horizontal members to the bottom of the end rafters, one each side. Ensure the overhangs past each rafter at each end are equal and they should also be equal to the ridge beam overhang: See fig.3.
Undo the clamps and fix the soffit board to the underside of the roof frame horizontal member (one each side). Ensure that the outside edges of the two soffit boards are flush with the outside edge of the two roof frame horizontal members and that the bottoms of the end rafters are 45mm (1 3/4″) in from the ends of the soffit board.
If necessary, move the soffit board so that the opposing overhangs on the wall frames are equal and then nail the soffit board to the top plate.

4.) Add the intermediate common rafters and the front and rear fly rafters (fig.4). Refer to the The ‘Roof, Cuts and Angles’ for rafter placement.

5.) Add the two gable trusses (one each end) and the blocking between the common rafter and the fly rafter (fig.5). Refer to the The ‘Roof, Cuts and Angles’ for blocking placement.