Step-by-Step: How to Install Garage Roof Framing

There are a handful of home characteristics that should never be underestimated. A functional garage will almost always reside at the top of that list. A garage not only offers you the ability to keep your car safe and protected, it also provides added storage opportunities and helps free up your driveway and street space. In the following step-by-step project (from Black & Decker Complete Guide to Garages), you will see how to construct a single-car garage in your available space.

Choose two straight 2 x 6s to create a full-size pattern rafter for each leg of a rafter pair. Mark a cutting line on one end of each patten with the correct angle formed with the ridgeboard. Refer to your garage plans to determine the correct roof pitch (which determines the cutting angle).

Set your patter rafters in position on top of the side walls with a 2 x 8 space block tacked between them to represent the riddgeboard. You'll know you have a good fit if the top angled ridge cuts meet the ridgeboard flush and the birdsmouth cuts sit flush on the wall plates.

Reader DIY - Finishing a Basement Bedroom

Have you ever thought about transforming your unfinished basement space into livable space? Minneapolis, MN homeowners John and Sara Smith did. 

With some hard work, and a relatively minimal investment, John and his wife Sara created a beautiful third bedroom (pictured) in their previously unfinished basement. Complete with a closet and enough room to comfortably fit a full-size bed, this room gives the Smiths a wealth of options for use without taking a dent out of their previously precious upstairs living space. 
 
"At first glance, the project was intimidating," said Sara. "Turning that dark basement space into a clean, comfortable room? But with a little hard work and money, it happened pretty fast. And we couldn't be happier with the end result."

Photo courtesy of John and Sara Smith.

Project Slide Show - Finishing Your Basement