Plywood on the Roof

Building a house is like a giant relay race.

When you hand the baton off to the next stage, you are either giving them an advantage or a disadvantage. But when you DIY it all yourself, you are running the entire race yourself. And you are always thinking about the next step, and how decision you make in this step are going to affect later steps.

Let me give you an example.

Let's say we framed up the walls, and the studs are randomly placed, not 24" or 16" on center. When the baton is passed to the drywaller, he or she is going to have to locate each stud, mark it on each sheet of drywall, and then attach with screws. And if the studs are not on 16 or 24 inch centers, each sheet of drywall will have to be trimmed down - resulting in wasted materials and time.

Wouldn't it have been easier to hand off the baton with perfectly placed studs, so all the drywaller has to do is hang sheets, and only cut out windows, doors, and ends?

Today, we hand the building baton off to the next stage, adding plywood to the roof. Now we've been thinking of the roof plywood all along. Because this is one the hardest and most expensive stages, being two stories up and having to rent equipment and bring on help. If there is a stage that you want to go smoothly, safely and efficiently, this is it.

Momplex

Step 1 Diagram

Step 1

We have<a href="http://ana-white.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/90x90/3154808762_13…; target="_blank"> taken great care to space the trusses EXACTLY 24" on center.</a> This means if you measure from the center of the truss to the next, it is exactly 24" apart. This is done so standard 8' long sheets of drywall can be screwed to the trusses, and plywood joints are made in the center of a truss.

What would happen if we did not take such great care?

We would have to measure, cut, and haul up separately 80 sheets of plywood.

Step 2 Diagram

Step 2 Instructions

We decided it would be easier to just haul up a whole bunk of plywood, and just grab sheets, lay them down, and nail down. <img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-BA7Oz6k1oWw/T58MMH2EpvI/AAAAAAAAKLs/…; style="width: 470px; " alt="" /> We had the lift rented for $250 a day to help with bringing plywood up to the roof. We will need 80 some sheets brought up two and a half stories.

Step 3 Diagram

Step 3 Instructions

To start the plywood, you measure up to where the first row ends and the second starts, and snap a chalkline. Then you attach the second row first, and work your way up from there, and add the first row too. Sheets of plywood are staggered, so the seams interlock, preventing weak points.

Step 4 Diagram

Step 4 Instructions

Plywood meets up dead center on trusses.

Step 5 Diagram

Step 5 Instructions

On the horizontal seams, H clips are used.

Step 6 Diagram

Step 6 Instructions

They hold plywood together when there is no truss to do the job.

Step 7 Diagram

Step 7 Instructions

With the help of a lift, and John and Mike helping, putting plywood up went fast. It was grab a sheet (well, I wouldn't call it that with each sheet weighing 70 or 80 pounds) and nail it down.

Step 8 Diagram

Step 8 Instructions

By early afternoon, one side was fully sheathed.

Step 9 Diagram

Step 9 Instructions

And then we moved to the back side. We started again at the base and worked our way upward.

If you look close, you will see the plywood actually overextends the trusses by just a little bit. I'll explain that in a minute ....

Step 10 Diagram

Step 10 Instructions

By later that afternoon, we finished plywooding the roof. By carefully planning all the steps before, one of the most difficult tasks was made simple.

Step 11 Diagram

Step 11

Remember the plywood overextending the truss tails? Well, that's because a fascia board is added to the truss tails.

Step 12 Diagram

Step 12

This finishes out the trusses.

Step 13 Diagram

Step 13

And remember <a href="http://ana-white.com/2012/04/momplex/easy-overhangs" target="_blank">how on our overhangs we let them run wild on the ends?</a>

Step 14 Diagram

Step 14

This is so we can tie them into the fascia boards

Step 15 Diagram

Step 15

And then cut them off with a handsaw.<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-sIzxfJLMFl4/T58MOXb4sdI/AAAAAAAAKME/…; style="width: 470px; " alt="" />And we hand the baton off to the next stage.We will be adding a decorative gable roof over the garages to add a little character and some snow diversion.  We decided to add this roofline on top of the plywood instead of to the framing.  I thought maybe someone with a plywooded roof could then use the information to change their own roofline.  I can't wait to show you how we do that!!!