Hip Roof House Plans

Hip roof plans are one of the most popular roof designs worldwide, if not the most popular one.

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Hip roof house plans come in a variety of designs and styles, and their main purpose is to add real architectural lines to the design of a house while offering amazing protection from the elements to the parts such as the windows, doors and walls when it’s framed with a generous overhang.

The hip roof plans also come in many types – from hip roof garage plans to hip roof shed plans and even hip roof ranch house plans.

They mostly add to the structural integrity of the house and add a particular form by tying off the corners and walls into one harmonious structure.

The hip roof house plans have styles consisting of four sides with each of them sloped down towards one of the four walls and are usually not very steep.

That is why a square hipped roof is commonly known as a pyramid, since it shape is the same on all sides of the roof.

THE BENEFITS OF HAVING A HIP ROOF HOUSE PLAN

Among the benefits of having a hipped roof we can include that it peeling off is never a problem even during high winds and hurricanes.

Being a better choice than a shed using a gabled roof in such situations, hip roof houses hold up great against heavy weather conditions.

In fact, in the state of Florida it is even obligatory for windstorm insurance companies to offer discounts to customers who use hip roof house plans in larger buildings as a part of their construction.

Apart from the fact that constructing a shed is always more difficult when using a hipped roof than a gable style one, building the walls is always a simpler process with no gables involved in the design.

The type of shed could therefore have eaves all the way around the roof, which is actually a protection from its elements. However, when thinking about storage in a hip roof house plan, you should always consider a more appropriate shed style so that the amount of storage is increased.

 

CALCULATING THE AREA OF A HIPPED ROOF HOUSE PLAN

If you are calculating the number of shingles involved for a specific area of a roof, you should be careful.

Construction is a process that requires accuracy – especially with the fact that shingles nowadays are expensive and are usually purchased in bundles.

When a certain number of shingles is required, it usually means the number of bundles within the roof.

And if you want to determine the number of bundles you can rely on the constant number of shingles per bundle, which according to the standard marketplace always counts up to 32 pieces.

With knowing that any hip roof house plan has two trapezoidal faces and two triangular ones, you should start calculating by computing the area of the trapezoidal faces and determine the dimension of the base and the ridge.

The sum you will get should be multiplied with the length of the rafter, and the answer will sum up to precisely the area of the two trapezoidal faces of the roof.

The area of the hips then comes into play, which is not easy to calculate at all. However, you should measure the dimensions of the base of the hip or check for it in your upper floor plan’s blueprint.

After you get to know the dimensions, you should multiply it by the length of the rafter so you can get the total area calculated.

With knowing that the area of a shingle is 1 square foot, that means the number of shingles needed is similar with the total area of the roof which, for example for 100 pieces, is a 100 square foot area.

The last step after you do this is to divide the number of pieces by 32 and obtain the total number of bundles you will have to equip yourself with.

BUILDING A HIP ROOF HOUSE PLAN – SIMPLE STEPS

  1. After you have calculated the measurements of your ridge board’s length, you should subtract your building’s width from its length.
  2. The essential common rafters should be cut and be the same as a typical gable roof. Their lengths should be figured out by using the pitch of the roof and the width of your building. You can try and measure from a seat cut and then subtract just half of your ridge board’s width.
  3. The common rafter should now be nailed to your ridge boards one side at every end, raising the ridge and going for the opposite side, then copying the original two in every step.
  4. Locking in the ridge right in place should be done next, and it is best done by installing the remainder of your raters at the ridge center – making sure that it’s straight.
  5. The hip rafter’s length should be computed, running right from your building’s corner to your ridge at a 45-degree angle. For this step, you must take a look at the chart onto the framing square and get a quick reference.
  6. You need a string to line down the hip rafter’s center. With attaching an end of the string where the hip meets the ridge and the other end just above the spot where the same hip meets the wall, you will be assured of having a straight hip while installing the jack rafters.
  7. In the end, a suitable rafter table should be used to figure out the approximate length of the jack rafters. Once they are installed onto the layouts, you should end the process by checking your string line onto the hip while nailing the jack rafters right into their places.

At last, adjustments to the pressure are always needed. Bowing and warping are common issues on the sides of a hip roof house plan and it’s important to know that these adjustments have to be repeated – until every corner of the building is smooth and ready for the season.


Founder & Editor

Hi, I’m Jim. I was a roofing constructor for 20 years, before deciding to start myrooff.com and gather the best content about roofing. I love woodworking and construction and it was only natural for me to start this passion project of mine. Thank you for visitng.