Wood connection suggestion/help 1

[CTW]

I'm designing a screened porch addition for a house and I'm having trouble deciding the best way to connect the ridge beam to the house. It is a gable roof with cathedral ceiling. My initial thought was to use a simpson hanger to attach the beam to the house, but the hanger would be nailed to the sheathing on the house, so I don't think I would get the needed capacity out of the connection. With this scenario, the rafters would then be attached to the ridge beam and lag screwed to the house. Existing vinyl siding has to be cut away to attach to the house.
Any suggestions?

 

[JAE]

The ridge beam should extend into the wall of the existing house and rest on cripple studs added between the existing wall studs. Attaching a structural beam to the face of a wall isn't too keen an idea in my book.

 

[CTW]

That sounds like the best way to do it. But I'm trying to avoid requiring a lot of vinyl siding to be removed. Ideally, it would be nice to only require a portion of the siding to be cut out to connect the ridge beam. What if the rafters on that end were attached to each wall stud and then the ridge beam attached to the rafters? This way, the siding is cut out just slightly larger than the rafter. Just a thought.

 

[JAE]

I wouldn't do it. All the load would simply go into the two adjacent wood studs through the singular connection at each stud. And the studs/connection would probably not be able to handle the large concentrated load that a ridge beam would deliver.

Why can't you just cut through the siding at the ridge beam, cut through the gyp sheathing on the inside, install a few cripple studs, repair the inside wall, and be done?

 

[CTW]

Why can't you just cut through the siding at the ridge beam, cut through the gyp sheathing on the inside, install a few cripple studs, repair the inside wall, and be done?


I didn't look at it that way. My thought process had the work being done from the outside. But going through the drywall on the inside to install the cripple studs makes sense and minimizes the hole on the outside of the house.
Good idea.
Thanks for the help.

 

[mshimko]

Another possibility: sink a footing and put a 6x6 post to support the main beam, and attach the post to the house at the floor joists.

I had this method drawn up and approved on my house abut 10 years ago. There are possible issues with the load of the footing on the house footings/basement, but it's another option to consider, and reduces further the impact on outside surfaces.