Building a storage shed

Cut the rafters to length. You will want the rafters to overhang at both the back and the front of the building, so you need to add a foot at each end. This means that if the building is 10 feet wide you will want to use a 12-foot-long 2 x 6 for your rafter.

This is only part of the process, for your cut will not be a square one. To make the correct cut, you need to calculate the rise over run. This is very easy. You know the run already, for that is the width of the building, 10 feet. The rise is simply the difference in height between the front and back of the building. For instance, if the building is 10 feet high in front and 8 feet high in back, then the rise is 2 feet. So now our rise over run is 2 to 10, which can be reduced to 1 to 5. This is an important ratio that we will use when cutting the ends of the rafters as well as the notches that go over the two plates.

To cut the end, you need to mark a line with the framing rafter. To do this, lay the board out on your sawhorses and place the rafter over your board so that the corner of the square goes way past the edge of the board. Adjust the square until you get the 1 to 5 ratio in the notch of the framing square. The 1-inch distance will be toward the outside edge of the board and the 5-inch length will be toward the center of the board. Now make your mark on the board. This is your angle for your front cut. You can leave the rear part of the rafter square. You can cut all the rafters in this manner at this time. Make sure the length is the same for all.