Framing

Framing,
the skeleton of the roof

The roof frame is an assembly of wood or metal parts used to support a building. The term is often used to refer to the structure composed of posts and beams that support the roofing materials and their associated load, especially in bad weather.

Framing carpenters are traditionally part of the larger profession of carpentry, and have existed since antiquity. In France, this trade was institutionalised in the 12th century with the creation of the corporation des charpentiers, or carpenters’ guild. The period also saw the appearance of the first 3D hand-drawn layouts for complex buildings.

Types
of framing

For residential building, there are two main types of framing: traditional stick frame, and industrial truss

Traditional stick frames are used for traditional style houses, and have an attic space that can be converted. They are made up of a number of different structural members:

• trusses, which transmit the load to the vertical load-bearing elements
• purlins, which run along the span of the roof, and support the final covering material
• rafters, which distribute the weight of the roof. They extend from the ridge or hip to the wall plate (in the same direction as the slope)
• battens or lathes, which are used to provide the fixing points for roofing materials

Framing
tools

Even if roofers don’t necessarily frame the roof themselves, they still, of course, have to intervene on it, in order to make modifications, to prepare it before laying the covering material, or to add other elements (e.g. battens, lathes and windows)

Framing requires the right tool for each specific action: marking out, sawing, slicing, clamping, drilling, hitting, etc.

Dimos offers a wide assortment of tools to enable the roofer to make adjustments to the framework: marking and measuring tools, saws, hammers, framing screws and nails, etc.