Framing A Shed Roof Dormer

Framing a dormer refers to the first and most important step in constructing an upper level addition to your home.

Framing a shed roof dormer.

Recently my company was asked to build a shed dormer in the rear part of an attic to create a pair of bedrooms and to make the attic space more usable. If you have decided to build a shed dormer on your house to allow for extra light or extra headspace shed dormers are easier to build than gable dormers. Removing the old roof and framing the dormer was doable but as a small company that rarely uses framing subcontractors we had a couple of concerns. Shed dormers are an efficient way to gain more space.

There are several options for dormers including shed flat gable and hip. Because they can be much wider than gable dormers shed dormers can provide more headroom and therefore more usable space. Building a 20 ft wide shed dormer doesn t take much more effort than building a 4 ft wide version. If you re a little unsure of your rough framing or roofing skills hire a carpenter to help with this phase of the roof dormer project.

You should have a few remodeling projects under your belt before tackling a task this big and complex. Whether you re expanding a cramped attic into a bedroom office or playroom if you have any carpentry experience you can accomplish this home renovation goal yourself. Framing a shed dormer is a simpler process than building a gable dormer. The end wall of a shed dormer carries the.

After the walls ridge and common rafters are set i overlay the valley framing on top of the main roof sheathing to save from cutting a true valley. Shed dormers have a flat pitched roof set at a complementary angle to the existing roofline. Smaller projects like adding a window dormer cost about 4 000 larger remodels like adding a bathroom dormer run about 24 000. The roofing material will need to be stripped back for this step.

It typically costs between 2 500 to 20 000 for professional dormer installation or about 115 per square foot.