Roofing Solutions For You

2 DIY Tricks for Finding Hidden Rafters on Roof Trusses

17 July 2017 by Jack King

Not all houses have open roof trusses; some have trusses that are hidden from full view, which poses a problem because, at one point or another, homeowners would wish to locate their roof trusses. It applies, in particular, when owners want to drill solar panels or hang a chandelier from the ceiling. As a newbie roofer, therefore, your clients' satisfaction would depend on how easy you make it for them to fix emerging roofing issues. For instance, if you get a customer whose trusses are hidden, you can offer insight on how they could locate them. This article highlights some of the tricks your clients could use whenever they want to find rafters on hidden roof trusses.

Tap the Ceiling -- Roof truss beams that act as the base of the truss run across the entire ceiling. However, if your clients want to hang some decorative object from the ceiling, locating the rafters can be a bit of a problem. One of the oldest and simplest tricks in the book is to ask them to tap the ceiling with some blunt tool such a small hammer or a piece of wood. As they make gentle taps, they should listen carefully to the sound made with each hit. When they hear a hollow thud sound, it means that they have hit the space between rafters. However, if the tap produces a solid low toned sound, then they have hit a truss. Therefore, they should mark this area and use it as a reference for other points that would be drilled.

Drill Holes -- Finding the position of roof trusses from the outside can be a little bit intimidating especially if your client's roof is made from asphalt. In most cases, finding rafters from the outside of the ceiling needs a trial and error approach before you succeed. For instance, if your client needs to install a solar rack for their solar panel, their best chance of locating the rafters underneath is by drilling holes into the roofing material until they hit a beam. One way they could know whether they have hit a beam is when the drill bit feels sturdy after drilling several inches. In case your clients dig into the space between rafters, the drill would feel loose once the bit gets past the roofing material. Once they have found the seal, advise your clients to reseal the holes that will not be required in the fixing of a roofing accessory like a solar panel.

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