Plywood Roof Sheeting - Roof Framing Trade Secrets
Most framing contractor's look at the building plans and
order all of the material, according to those that are specified on the
plans. This works out fine, and can often save you money, but rarely
produces the best home that you could possibly frame.
As a professional framing contractor, I would like to share one of my
house framing tips with you. Most plans require half-inch plywood or
oriented strand board as their roof sheeting. This product is fine and
if you're building a lot of homes, you're not going to have the choice.
Ordering larger sized plywood could cost you thousands of dollars,
especially if you're building a lot of homes.
However, if your framing or building a home for someone or even
yourself, you might want to take my advice and think twice about it,
before ordering the roof sheeting. Half-inch plywood, works okay for 16
inch on center roof rafters or engineered truss roofing systems. It
doesn't work well on 24 inch on center roof rafters spacing.
It is usually flimsy and weak at the center point, directly in between
the 24 inch roof rafter bays. If you're going to use the half-inch
plywood, I would recommend using plywood clips that are relatively
inexpensive and can be placed in the direct center of each roof rafter
bay on each sheet of plywood. These can be purchased at most home
improvement centers or lumber yards.
The other alternative, and this is what I recommend, would be to use 5/8
inch plywood. This plywood works great for 24 inch on center roof
rafters and you will have a nice sturdy roof to walk on, while roofing
your home.
I have actually seen people step through the flimsy plywood, while
lifting heavy roof tiles and bundles of composition roof shingles.
Experienced roofers try to walk directly on top of the roof rafters,
when loading their roof shingles or even carrying them on the roof.
If you're a home builder and your concern is about making a profit, you
will need to use the half-inch plywood. If you want to build a superior
roof, use the 5/8 of an inch plywood.