The mansard roof is the most popular type in the construction of residential homes. In general, this type of roof is not difficult to install, but many novice builders find it difficult to truss a mansard roof with their own hands.
The popularity of this type of roof is easy to explain. Without large additional financial investments, the owner of the house receives both an attic room and a roof.
Mansard roof of the house turns a small house into a spacious home, where the whole family can gather and it is easier to accommodate guests for the night. An attic can be erected in an already built house, without violating the main structure.
It is possible to convert an existing roof into a mansard, for this, however, it is necessary to completely demolish the old roof and build a new one.
In this case, you should definitely pay attention to the thickness of the walls and foundation, as well as to the ground on which the house stands, since the mansard roof is much heavier and more massive than the old one. Still, it is better to take everything into account when designing.
This will help to correctly calculate the load that falls on the structure of the house. The design of the mansard roof can be different.
We list the main types of mansard roof:
- symmetrical;
- asymmetrical;
- broken line;
- triangular.

In addition to this variety, the attic can be installed not only single-level, but also two-level, while the geometric shapes of the room can be different. Such diversity affects the appearance of the house.
For each roof, its angle of inclination is important.
The slope of the roof depends on several factors at once:
- From the surface material of the roof itself.
- From the area where the house is located.
- From the climatic conditions of the area where the house is located.
Your attention! The scheme of the mansard roof provides for an angle of inclination in the range between 30º - 60º. If we take a larger angle of inclination, this will lead to a decrease in the useful area of \u200b\u200bthe attic itself. If we take the angle of inclination of the roof less than 30º, this can lead to difficult discharge of precipitation from the roof and can cause the destruction of the entire roof.
Materials and tools
We list what materials are needed for the construction of a slate mansard roof:
- wooden bars (10, 12, 15);
- unedged boards;
- slate nails;
- slate;
- nails (for 80);
- hydrobarrier;
- insulation;
- annealed wire (3-4 mm);
- wire for stretch marks (or boards for spacers);
- 40-50mm boards 150mm wide;
- leg-split.

Now let's prepare the tools that we will need when construction of a gabled mansard roof. There is no need to run to the store and buy professional equipment.
Everything we need is in every home:
- hammer;
- axe;
- sharp knife;
- construction stapler with staples;
- hacksaw;
- plumb;
- roulette.
The construction of the mansard roof is carried out in stages. The most difficult stage is the construction of the mansard roof truss system. The rafter system is the frame of the entire roof.
At this point, we will go into more detail. rafter mansard roof system built with some nuances that professional roofers are well aware of, but beginners may not be aware of them.
- The entire frame of the mansard roof will stand on wooden beams with a section of 10x10 centimeters, which must be laid on waterproofing. As a waterproofing, you can take roofing material or roofing felt. If you have a floor made of reinforced concrete slabs, the laying of such beams is necessary. With a wooden floor, this timber does not have to be laid, it will be replaced by floor beams.
Advice! Installation of the mansard roof truss system involves the use of wooden building materials of a certain moisture content. The truss system of the mansard gable roof is mounted from dried and sanded wood with a moisture content of not more than eighteen percent.
- For this system, coniferous varieties of wood are most often used. The moisture content of wood is very important for the truss system.If you use wet wooden building materials over time, they will dry out and begin to twist, which can affect the construction of the roof itself, and sometimes even lead to its destruction. If you have already bought wet wood, put it under a canopy for several months to dry.
- The next step is to install the racks on the laid beams. For this purpose, a wooden beam with a section of 10x10 centimeters is suitable. We make markings for the racks so that the distance between them does not exceed two meters. We make sure that the racks are in the same plane and stand strictly vertically. Use a plumb bob for proper vertical installation of the racks. So that the racks do not oscillate and there is no shift from the vertical, they should be strengthened with braces or stretch marks. Vertical racks will be the basis for the walls of the attic room. To do this, they should be upholstered from the spirit of the sides with any sheathing material (drywall, plywood, fiberboard, chipboard, etc.), and put insulation between the sheathing boards.
- The moment has come for laying the top bar. For this purpose, a beam with a section of 10x10 centimeters is suitable. We fasten it to the racks with nails or metal brackets. Having fixed the upper beam, we completed the installation of the sub-rafter frame.
- Now you should install the Mauerlat. What it is? Mauerlat performs important functions, in fact, the entire roof is attached to it. Mauerlat prevents the roof from tipping over in strong winds. It is necessary for the strong fastening of the roof rafters to the walls of the building and transfers the vertical load of the roof to the walls. How to install mauerlat? For this, boards or bars are suitable for us. The thickness of the board must be at least 40 mm. Suitable wooden beam 150x100 mm. We lay the timber or board perfectly horizontally in level on the walls.He lays waterproofing under the board so that the moisture from the walls does not pass to the Mauerlat. We fasten the board to the wall with bolts or staples. You can tie the Mauerlat with annealed wire, which is mounted into the wall at the masonry stage. Be sure to treat the Mauerlat board with an antifungal agent.
- Now everything is ready to install the rafter legs, but it is necessary to prepare the rafter legs themselves. They can be made to order and then assembled as a designer or cut out on the ground according to the design of the house. Mark the step by which you will mount the rafters. To do this, mark with a pencil marks on the mauelat and the rafter frame. Builders recommend installing rafters at a distance of 100-120 cm from each other. First, we lay the extreme rafters to the front, but it is important that the top of the rafters and the line of the edge of the pediment are at the same level. For rafters, a board 40-50mm with a width of 150mm is used. It is necessary to use straight boards, if possible without knots, the number of knots should not be more than three pieces per linear meter. We stretch the twine between the extreme rafters and use it as a level to install all the other rafters.
- The last step in tying the rafter frame is to connect the rafters in the upper part to each other (in pairs) and install the ridge beam. A ridge beam is necessary if the length of the roof exceeds seven meters, and the rafter frame has a relatively large mass. With a smaller roof size, you can get by with a bunch of top rafters using stretch marks. At the same time, the extensions themselves can be used in the future instead of the ceiling beams of the attic. In addition, these extensions will take on part of the load when the roof is covered with snow.
- The next step will be the installation of the crate, the laying of the hydro-barrier, thermal insulation, roofing and finishing the walls and ceiling of the attic.
To your attention! The main nodes of the mansard roof must be fastened with construction brackets and additionally secured with burnt wire strapping. It is also practiced to connect wooden structures with buckling, followed by additional fixation with the same staples or wire.
The mansard roof, the scheme of which involves the installation of ceiling windows, is built in the same order, only at the stage of installing the rafters it is necessary to lay the window openings into which the window frame will then be attached.
Advice! If you have planned a mansard roof in the house, the dimensions of the attic room during design should be selected at least 220 centimeters in height and 3 meters in width. If the attic is made smaller, then it will be uncomfortable to be in it.
The mansard roof, which is designed according to the rules described above, will be an excellent decoration for your home and will serve you and your children for decades.
Mansard type roof device - you can find a large number of videos on the Internet that will clearly show each stage of the construction of the attic.
Therefore, if the instructions given did not help you figure out the procedure for erecting a mansard roof truss frame, then you will find the right material for yourself on the net, and the task will not be impossible even for an inexperienced builder.
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