rafter

One who travels by raft.

One of the sloping beams that supports a pitched roof.

[Middle English, from Old English ræfter.]

The structural member (timber or beam) that supports a roof.Example: Rafters generally extend from the exterior walls to a ridgepole at the peak of the roof.

noun

A large, oblong piece of wood or other material, used especially for construction: balk, beam, timber. See matter.

n. a person who travels on a raft.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

One of a series of inclined structural members from the ridge of the roof down to the eaves, providing support for the covering of a roof. For special types of rafters, see beveled rafter, binding rafter, common rafter, compass rafter, compound rafter, fly rafter, hip rafter, jack rafter, knee rafter, notched rafter, principal rafter, valley rafter.

rafter

For the tennis player, see Patrick Rafter.

The Norman Truss which supports the roof. Note how the rafter poles for the gallerie tie-in. The Bequet-Ribault House was built c. 1793 near Ste. Geneviève, Missouri. It is one of three poteaux-en-terre buildings that survive.

A rafter is one of a series of sloped structural members, that extend from the ridge or hip to the downslope perimeter or eave, designed to support the roof deck and its associated loads.^[1]

A type of beam, which supports the roof of a building. In home construction, rafters are typically made of wood. Exposed rafters are a feature of traditional roof styles.

In many buildings, rafters have been replaced by engineered trusses (trussed rafters), normally because of span limitations and/or roof load (weight from above).

Construction

Carpenters build rafters to frame the pitch of a roof. Roof pitch is measured as rise over span (a unitless fraction). In the United States slope is given in units of pitch for the ratio of inches (in) rise per 12 in of run or inches of rise per 1 foot (ft) of run. For example, "4:12 pitch" would mean 4 in of rise over 12 in of run and "4 pitch(es)" would mean 4 in of rise over 1 ft (0.30 m) of run. In Australia, a roof pitch is given in degrees (°) of inclination.

In sports arenas, rafters are used to drape championship banners.

The Norman Truss which supports the roof. Note how the rafter poles for the gallerie tie-in.

Rafter for the roof of tower in Oreshek fortress, Russia

See also

• Soffit
• Fascia (architecture)
• Purlin
• Joist

References

1. ^ MSN Encarta - Dictionary - rafter definition

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - spær

2.
n. - person, der sejler på en tømmerflåde

Nederlands (Dutch)
dakspar, vlotter

Français (French)
1.
n. - (Constr) chevron

2.
n. - passager d'un radeau

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Dachsparren, Dachbalken

2.
n. - Flößr

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (οικοδ.) πλάγιο καδρονάκι στέγης (κν. δοκάρι, πάτερο)

Italiano (Italian)
trave

Português (Portuguese)
n. - caibro (m), fabricante de jangadas

Русский (Russian)
стропило

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - viga, par

2.
n. - balsero

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - flottare, taksparre

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 椽

2. 筏夫

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 椽

2.
n. - 筏夫

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 서까래

2.
n. - 뗏목 타는 사람, 뗏사공

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 垂木, たる木

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عارضه خشبيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮קורת-גג, קורת-רעפים‬
n. - ‮שייט רפסודה, רפסודאי‬

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