Roof Construction for Dummies

Building a truss roof

It's pretty much our mantra here at the Antisocial Network: if you want information, you should ask someone who knows the answer or, at the very least, understands the subject. You don't ask your dental hygienist to help you identify silicate minerals, and you don't ask a plumber to help you design a formal gown. So why would you ask a freelance "journalist" like Catalina Bixler, "What Are the Parts of a House Roof?" (found at Synonym.com). You probably shouldn't...

...and based on what she wrote, you definitely shouldn't. This is one of those cases where a J-school grad (they "know" everything, right?) cobbled together a bunch of semi-related factoids and, in the process, managed to make a hot mess out of it.

Following a boilerplate introduction, Bixler's text was suspect from her first line of description:

"Common in the 21st century, the roof truss frames the rafters." We're not sure why she's so fond of participial phrases (all three sentences in the paragraph begin with one), but we are sure that Catalina has no idea what trusses and rafters are or how they differ. One thing's for sure, though, trusses don't "frame the rafters." That's not to mention that, "Built from wood, roof trusses provide renewable resources in environmentally friendly construction..." ...doesn't make a lick of sense. But we're here to upbraid Catalina about her bogus information, so feast your eyes on some of this:

• "Spaced 16 to 48 inches (depending on roof design) [sic] rafters lay atop building walls." – Ummm, no, 16 to 24 inches. You may occasionally find trusses 48" O.C. in non-residential buildings, but not in a house: it doesn't meet code. Oh, and "lay atop"? That phrasing is just weird!
• "The ridge board runs horizontally across the top of the roof formation where the tops of the rafters securely fasten, forming an angle." – You'd think, given that she was so gung-ho about trusses, she'd mention that truss construction doesn't require a ridge board...
• "...the ridge board must have ridge caps or ridge cap shingles." – That's the very definition of "No duh!"
• "Placed on top of the decking, the heavy felt paper underlay (sometimes called tar paper) attaches to the surface of the decking..." – Another participial phrase, not to mention that whole "attaches to the surface" bushwa.
• "Galvanized metal flashing protects the roof against leaks by molding around chimneys, roof vents, skylights and where heavy moisture runoff [sic] gathers. Flashing secures atop the underlay before attaching the shingles [sic] or other final roofing materials." – No mention of drip edge? Shame on you, Catalina!

Bixler didn't mention dormers or types of roof (gable, shed, mansard, hip...), and her only references to vents and shingles or tiles are in the intro and the section on flashing. In other words, her list is incomplete. That's pretty much what we expect of a Dumbass of the Day whose only exposure to roofing is probably watching a crew on the house next door. Feh.

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