Patio Roof Beam Spacing

An essential part of planning a patio roof or gazebo project is determining the number size and spacing of rafters beams and posts according to the loads they will carry.

Patio roof beam spacing.

L stands for the span of the beam in feet. The total load is 4 000 pounds. Both have posts or columns that support a frame. The smallest beams for patio covers are typically 4 by 6.

Common spacing for trusses on this type of building is often between 2 and 4 feet but trusses built with advanced designs may allow spacing as great as 8 or 12 feet. You can raise the patio roof up to 500 millimeters by removing the eaves fascia and gutter. By doing this method you will have a clean finish that is connected to the wall line. If you move up to 4 by 8 you re usually allowed to span up to 10 feet between posts.

For example in the rafter span table below the highlighted cell in the 40 live load table indicates that 2 x 8 southern yellow pine joists that have a grade of 2 that are spaced 24 apart can have a maximum span of 10 feet 3 inches 10 3 if designing for a live load of 40 lbs ft 2. The same concept holds true for roof trusses. Fill in the parts of the formula that are already known. Patio roof beams beams can be solid lumber or be built from lengths of 2 by lumber nailed together with 1 2 inch pressure treated plywood spacers in between this forms a 3 1 2 inch thick beam that is equal to the width of a 4 by post.

Ceiling joist span use this table to determine the maximum lengths of ceiling joists based on species of lumber joist spacing and joist size. The difference comes in with the type and installation of the beams. Maximum rafter spans for a patio roof in areas with mild climates patio roofs are generally designed for loads of 30 psf pounds per square foot. Pergola s are thicker mounted on the shorter width and do not move.

A 4 by 10 can usually span up to 12 feet between posts. Then there are wooden beams that are evenly spaced over the frame to create the roof. A louvered patio roof is similar to a pergola. In the example the beam spans the 10 foot width of the roof.

After that cut the rafters back to the wall line. Rafter spans can be extended slightly beyond what the rafter tables suggest when there is a cantelever extending beyond the supporting wall. So the space between rafters can be greater without reducing the maximum span.