Spot Slope Tool Problem

[jyoungner]

Has anyone had problems labeling roof slopes in elevation with the spot slope tool? See images below. I figured out that it is labeling the hip edge instead of the hip face...If you tab a couple of times it will select the face.

[patricks]

Yep, I also noticed this on my last project with hip roofs. Seems to default to whatever is closest to the view plane in that particular plane of roof - in which case it's the hip edge, and then the actual sloped roof surface is next behind that.

[dhurtubise]

Use TAB to cycle through

[patricks]

Use TAB to cycle through

OP already pointed that out ;) just wanted to let everyone know of the tool's behavior I guess. I suppose it makes sense from a programming standpoint.

[ws]

Wow... it shows the angle of the hip? :shock:

The amount of time I spend putting a reference plane aligned with the hip so that I can align a section cut to the ref plane to then measure the angle of the hip between roofs (so that I can run leadwork or ridge tiles up the hips, as attached)

:Oops:


Wonderful, thanks for pointing it out :)

[patricks]

Indeed... just keep in mind the rounding. Seems to be not a problem for yours since you show it in actual angle degrees.

[ws]

Roof pitches are always in degrees here but funnily enough I have just received a new reprint of a 1945 book* on traditional roof construction in which the rise/length figure for slope - as seems to be the norm in the US - is used.

Maybe we lost that when we went metric.

I can't resist old construction books - in fact any traditional design or construction book...
*
http://www.donhead.com/Roof_Construction_and_Repair.htm

[patricks]

Well it seems to me that rise/run would be better if a framing square is used. Be it inches per foot or per 12" (USA) or rise units per 10 units of run or whatever. That makes it easy to place a square on a piece of lumber (rafter), line up the rise/run units, and then cut the "bird's mouth" out of the rafter to sit on the top plate of the wall.

[trombe]

Well it seems to me that rise/run would be better if a framing square is used. Be it inches per foot or per 12" (USA) or rise units per 10 units of run or whatever. That makes it easy to place a square on a piece of lumber (rafter), line up the rise/run units, and then cut the "bird's mouth" out of the rafter to sit on the top plate of the wall.

Hey Patricks,

I have to disagree with that (cheesy grin).
Having used a metric, I&D Smallwood (of Birmingham, England) black anodised aluminium roofing square extensively - go here to see them, as sold in US, Canada, UK, Australia and NZ),
http://www.shop.g-gibson.com/black-anodised-aluminium-rafter-square-620-x-450-643-p.asp

The easy way to do a whole lot of tasks with it, is to get your stair guides (which came with the square) , which are small round 25mm diameter chrome steel slugs with a threaded wingnut through screw, and they have a slot in the side to fit the roofing square.

So you set up the guides once for the angle and then make your seat / plumb cuts for all of the common rafters, star rafters and and jack rafters and then change to suit the hips and crippled hips.
This system is also used easily for making stairs - closed string, open string or monolithic / upside down strings as well as braces and quite a few other things.

Usually, you just get your adjustable bevel, and find the cuts you need and mark them all out on a joist or fascia or something and then that speeds up and keeps safe, all of the changes you can make fast to the square using the stair guide slugs.
No need to fuss around with rise and run even though its on the square in terms of secant, err, which of course is the same as 1/cos (the reciprocal of the secant) .

I did make a lot of things using that square ! and still have it, the stair guides and the book is somewhere too !
cheers
trombe

[wmullett]

Long before adjustable angle squares, the carpenter just used the framing square. If you learn to use it, it is so easy to work for stairs and roofs. No math - no angles. Lay-out your master rafter using the square for tails, birdsmouth, ridge cut and rafter length. Just walk the square "up" the rafter.

Not too many of those old timers still around to show you but they are fun to watch when you find one.