Crate for gazebos with their own hands, how to do

In summer, in good weather, it is best to relax outdoors, so if there is enough space around a country or country house, you will definitely want to build a gazebo or terrace that will create a pleasant shade in the heat, as well as protect it from the torrential rain. Most often, buildings with recreational purposes are erected with their own hands on garden and backyard plots, therefore it is important to correctly design the structure, starting from the foundation and ending with the roof. The roof is the most difficult for an inexperienced builder, so in this article we will elaborate on how to mount the crate for the gazebo with our own hands.

What is a crate, what is it for?

A batten is a kind of flooring made of thin wooden slats or metal profiles, fixed perpendicular to the rafter legs of the roof frame, which is used to fix the roofing material. This element is mandatory in the construction of the truss system, since it performs the following functions:

1. Evenly distributes the weight of the roof covering, thermal insulation between the frame's truss legs, preventing roof deformation due to the impact of snow and wind loads.
2. It serves as the basis for fixing roofing. The battens, fixed perpendicular to the rafters at an equal distance, are a reliable basis for fixing the waterproofing material.
3. Maintains roof cover, giving it a rigid shape. Some roofing materials themselves are soft and elastic, so they need additional support to help them keep their shape tight.

Remember that the gazebo is a fairly lightweight construction, so for the construction of the roof you need to use lightweight roofing materials with high decorative potential. To overlap such structures use ondulin, metal tile and shingles.

Types of crates for gazebos

The lathing of the gazebo should have a high bearing capacity, strength, but be light enough not to make the structure heavier, not to increase the load on the foundation. There are several ways to arrange the flooring used to fix the roofing material. A double crate is a construction of a contrabreshetka, i.e. strips attached along the rafter legs to form a ventilation gap, and the batten itself, fixed perpendicular to them. On the gazebo, you can make the following types of crates:

• Solid. A solid crate is called a flooring made of edged boards, moisture resistant plywood or OSB, the distance between elements of which does not exceed 1 cm. It is used for flooring soft roofing or materials that are too large (ondulin, bituminous tiles, roofing felt, ceramic tiles).
• Grid. Standard or lattice obreshetka - flooring of bars or boards laid at a distance of 15-45 cm from each other. This option of arrangement of the flooring is suitable for the installation of most sheet materials, so it is used most often.
• Sparse. A spar is called a crate, the elements of which are located at a distance greater than 50 cm. Usually it is made of a metal profile and is used to block large structures if its roofing weight is large enough.

Consider that correctly calculated and well-assembled lathing is a guarantee of long service of the roof construction, a guarantee of its strength and reliability. Indeed, despite the small size, the roof of the gazebo is subjected to significant weight and wind loads.

Criterias of choice

In order to correctly calculate the size of the section and the distance between the battens of the batten, it is necessary to calculate the total weight of the roofing pie and the load that it transfers to the roof frame. When choosing a design, the following factors should be considered:

1. Roof slope. The smaller the angle of inclination of the roof slopes, the closer to each other should be slat battens. With a slope of 10-15 degrees, a solid flooring is usually mounted, since the snow does not slide off from it, but accumulates in the form of a “cap”, which increases the load on the frame.
2. Type of roofing material. For soft and elastic coatings (ondulin, shingles, roofing felt, membranes), continuous flooring is required, and metal sheet materials are laid on grid or sparse.
3. Weather. It is necessary to take into account the wind load and the amount of precipitation during the winter period in order to correctly calculate the bearing capacity of the structure.

Note! The more complex the roof structure, the more reliable the lathing should be. Therefore, when choosing its design, it is necessary to take into account the number of skates, valleys and other decorative elements.

Assembly technology

Even with the minimum building skills and the simplest element, the crate for your arbor is mounted with its own hands without any problems. To assemble it, you will need sawn timber of the desired section, a waterproofing film, as well as nails or screws. Installation work is performed in the following order:

• First installed rafters frame roof gazebo. The legs are fastened in pairs so that their upper ribs form a single plane without distortions or bends.
• Then, with the help of a construction stapler, on top of the rafter legs a waterproofing film is fixed, which protects the wooden elements of the framework and the thermal insulation from condensate, thawed water or rainwater.
• Along the rafter legs directly on top of the waterproofing material they fix the slats of the crate 2-3 cm thick, which create a ventilation gap between the frame and the roof covering.
• Perpendicular to the rafters with a pre-calculated step, they nail the slats of the batten with long galvanized nails or self-tapping screws.

Important! In places where the roof system is under increased load, the crate is reinforced with additional elements in order to increase the strength and carrying capacity of the structure. Before you make the flooring, you need to identify these vulnerabilities in advance.

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