A mocked-up model of the jack rafter and hip assembly sits on th…
A mocked-up model of the jack rafter and hip assembly sits on the ground at the Auburndale Builders job site in Wayland, Massachusetts.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
Framers test-fit blocking for nailing in a wood I-joist rafter.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
With the LVL carrying ridge beam supported temporarily by scaffo…
With the LVL carrying ridge beam supported temporarily by scaffolding, a framer gets ready to receive the LVL rafters that will form the site-built supporting truss assembly for the ridge and hips.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
A four-wheel-drive all-terrain forklift lifts a wood I-joist raf…
A four-wheel-drive all-terrain forklift lifts a wood I-joist rafter up to the framers.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
The massive framing members for the hip roof are too heavy to mo…
The massive framing members for the hip roof are too heavy to move by hand. Here, an all-terrain forklift raises a wood I-joist rafter up to the roof.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
A framer catches the end of a wood I-joist common rafter, which …
A framer catches the end of a wood I-joist common rafter, which will be attached to the face of the LVL ridge with structural fasteners. The rafters in this section of the roof are supported by the ridge beam as well as by the floor framing at the lower end.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
A view of the structural connection for the lower end of the dou…
A view of the structural connection for the lower end of the double LVL rafter that forms one leg of the supporting truss that carries the home's LVL structural ridge beam.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
Another view of the connection at the foot of the site-built LVL…
Another view of the connection at the foot of the site-built LVL truss that supports the building's main LVL roof ridge.
Ted Cushman/JLC
A view of the framing intersection at the base of the site-built…
A view of the framing intersection at the base of the site-built truss used to support the building's main LVL roof ridge. Meeting the truss from the left at this base connection is a massive LVL valley rafter.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
In order to achieve the desired headspace beneath the vaulted ce…
In order to achieve the desired headspace beneath the vaulted ceiling under the roof assembly, carpenters built a double two-by raised plate assembly to catch the feet of the wood I-joist rafters.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
A view of the connection between the wood I-joist common rafters…
A view of the connection between the wood I-joist common rafters and the carrying ridge beam, early in the construction of the roof frame.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
A view of the connection between the LVL truss chords and the st…
A view of the connection between the LVL truss chords and the structural LVL ridge beam during construction.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
Framers position an LVL rafter used to define a dormer opening i…
Framers position an LVL rafter used to define a dormer opening in the roof.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
These very deep LVL timbers are not manufactured to fine toleran…
These very deep LVL timbers are not manufactured to fine tolerances. The two LVLs used to make this double hip rafter varied by more than a quarter inch. Here, framers use clamps to align the top edges of the two sticks.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
A view of the fourteen-pitch hip roof assembly under constructio…
A view of the fourteen-pitch hip roof assembly under construction.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
An LVL header supports the lower end of two wood I-joist cripple…
An LVL header supports the lower end of two wood I-joist cripple rafters to create a dormer opening in the roof frame.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
A framer guides an LVL hip member into place in the roof frame. …
A framer guides an LVL hip member into place in the roof frame. Obviously, the carpenter is not physically carrying the massive wood member — the forklift is supporting the weight of the manufactured timber.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
A carpenter positions the foot of a wood I-joist commont rafter …
A carpenter positions the foot of a wood I-joist commont rafter during roof framing.
Mike Dutra/Auburndale Builders
A view of the apex joint of the site-built truss system where th…
A view of the apex joint of the site-built truss system where the truss connects to the structural ridge.
Ted Cushman/JLC
Ted Cushman/JLC
Production manager Mike Dutra standing at the base of an LVL val…
Production manager Mike Dutra standing at the base of an LVL valley rafter for the massive roof frame during construction.
In the Boston suburb of Wayland, Mass., crews from Auburndale Builders are building the company’s first Passive House project. The building’s form is somewhat unusual for a Passive House — instead of sticking to a simple, boxy form to simplify the construction details and energy analysis, designer Donald Grose has drawn a dramatic, but traditional building with a cut-up footprint and a fourteen-pitch hipped roof.
JLC and Coastal Connection have been following the job, and this week, we take a look at the framing of the steep roof system. The structure involves a huge LVL bearing ridge beam and LVL hips, supported by a site-built truss assembly. The rafters are 20-inch wood I-joists; cavities will be filled with dense-blown fiberglass insulation, then the roof will be topped with an additional layer of Roxul rockwool insulation, for a total R-value of R-120 or better. For a look at the framing in progress, see the slideshow.
