Roof Sheathing Ridge Gap

Jim katen oregon.

Roof sheathing ridge gap.

If sheathing the wall starting with the first panel in the middle rather than at one end it should be just possible to sheath a 36 length of wall without having to trim a panel to keep the end panels sufficiently over the studs for nailing. Now wait a minute. But where the wall sheathing meets the roof sheathing there is a gap of approximately 1 8 of an inch. Rising along the underside of the angled purlin until it reaches a gap then rising up to the next purlin and so on to exit at the ridge or gable.

This is a simple pitched roof line with ridge beam and rafters attached with slope hangers. Ridge vents when the roof sheathing is used as a structural diaphragm as it typically is in high wind and seismic hazard areas the structural integrity of the diaphragm can be compromised by a continuous vent see figure a below left. Leave a slight gap as if the sheathing was cut a little short and install the sheathing to a matching edge no gap. How should the sheathing meet at the roof peak when there will be no ridge vent.

So you re talking about you re going to reroof and you have a gap between the wall sheathing and the roof sheathing. It takes 36 nine 4 panels 8 gaps of wall before the panel creep has moved a full inch which is probably the absolute limit. If there were signs of trouble i d tell them to cut it out properly. Like you i usually see about 1 1 2 inches of gap for the ridge vent.

Ventilation air follows exactly the opposite path. The last course at the top may need to be rip cut if the roof is not in 4 foot increments. Begin applying the sheets from the bottom of the roof the eaves and work your way up to the ridge. Ridge vent installation in new construction the roofing contractor leaves a small gap at the peak of the roof when installing the roof sheathing.

If there were no signs of trouble due to the abnormally small cut out i d just note its presence. It s a simple gable roof with vents at either end and a ridge vent. I am a diy so could easily be wrong but the 1in strip at the top near the ridge doesn t seem like good practice to me. The house does not have an overhang.

The gap size typically between 1 and 3 inches. When using full sheets of sheathing i end up with a 2 2 5 inch gap from center on either side of the ridge beam. The ridge vent installed properly will work better than retrofitted roof vents. I have seen two thoughts.

It is important here that the sheathing at the eave line be exactly perpendicular to the rafters so that the sheets will meet at the centers of the rafters. The original builders had put a 1 inch strip of plywood to reduce the gap opening.