valleys

can anyone please give me some advice on how to construct a valley in a roof,pics or links would be very much appreciated,thanx

There are two ways to construct a valley it depends on whether you need full access to the space at right angles to the main roof space.
Its not an easy one to talk someone through.
Do you have any experience of cutting a roof? because if you can cut common rafters and work out the correct way to measure the length and cut the angles then it would be easier to explain.
If you don't know how to do that then you are certainly trying to run before you can walk.
Its a very hard thing to learn even from a book.


Sorry just realised that the roof may already be cut and its just the actual valley that you need to construct, if so get back in touch

When you buy a stanley roof square there is a book that comes with it, a rafter table. Though to be honest i read it a dozen times and still couldnt fathom it!

have done a couple of roofs but none where i've had to put in a valley,had it explained to me once but not by the clearest of speakers,any help's a bonus

i can fathom the rafters its just the valley construction i've never done

As I said before it depends whether you need access to the roofspace at 90 degrees to the main roof space.
call the main roof 1 and the roof at 90 degrees roof 2
If you don't need access then thats the easiest cut the main roof as normal then set up your ridge for your other roof that runs into it and cut the common rafters on that.
You then need to set up a lay board which you nail to the common rafters on the roof 1, down from where the rigde of roof 2 starts to the bottom of the valley.You then need to cut jack rafters which sit on the lay board and run upto ridge 2.
If you need access into roofspace 2 then its more complicated as you need to miss out the common rafters on roof 1 for the width of roof 2.
Set up your ridge and common rafters on roof 2 you may need to trim between the common rafters on roof 1 if the ridge is below that on roof 1.
Then you need to run a valley blade (usually deeper timber than the common rafters)from where ridge 2 meets roof 1 down to where the bottom of the valleyhits the common rafters on roof1.
You then need to run jacks upto both ridge 1 and ridge 2.

If you can understand it from that then your a better man then me and I wrote it

If you don't want to buy a book on roof framing then at least get this it will show you how and gives you all the angles cuts and lengths for any pitched roof it has afew drwaings too and that may be all you need.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0632057653/026-5624704-7179661

i'll be starting soon so i'll let you know how i get on,keepin my fingers crossed,cheers chappers for the advice

chalky, i'm well versed in roof cutting and what you propose could get a bit sticky. Why dont you explain your project in a little more detail with a pic if possible. I was taught in California by production carpenters and they taught that intersecting roof planes can waste a lot of timber and create a flurry of references to God and rock-n-roll. If the job goes wrong you'll need a whole lot more of one than the other.
I'd be willing to walk you through the job if you want.