Typical Roof Rafter Spacing

Plasterboard on the underside of the rafter.

Typical roof rafter spacing.

Since most sheets are 4 x8 typical rafter spacing are 12 16 24. Rafter spacing depends on the roofing panel size. There is no standard spacing it depends on what size of rafters you want to use and the span of your shed. The most common rafter spacing is 24 inches and 5 8 inch plywood is recommended for that.

Usually 400 450 or 600mm but any value can be used up to 610mm max are there any brittle finishes e g. Stockbyte stockbyte getty images when placing rafters for a tin roof also frequently referred to as corrugated metal or steel it is common to set the distance between rafters based on the size of the roofing panels. In california 16 is by far the most common for residential construction. It will support roof loads for most situations and is the standard for most roof applications.

It is always better to have a large rafter rather than be concerned with a sagging roof. In the us they are typically spaced at fractions of the roof sheathing size. The above spans are based on american softwood lumber standard sizes. Spans for joists greater than 20 feet that are parallel to the rafters require a 12 inch joist spacing when using 2 inch by 10 inch 2 douglas and hemlock fir or southern pine or 16 inch spacing when using 2 inch by 10 inch 2 douglas fir or southern pine.

For standard shed roof rafter spacing see rafter span chart. For instance 2 grade 2x4s at 16 on center will span just over 9. Builders aren t bound by standard rafter spacing measurements. The closer the rafters are to each other the stronger the roof will be.

Use these two tables for roof rafters with a slope greater than 3 in 12. Typical rafter spacing codes will specify a minimum spacing of 16 inches 19 2 inches or 24 inches. This is the distance between rafter centres.