New gable roof over front verandah

[GerryH]

The completed gable roof

GerryH

Finding My Feet

Australia and New Zealand's Best D.I.Y. Project 2024 entry See more

I built a new gable roof over the front verandah of the house to provide weather and elements protection to the west facing front of the house. I designed and built the roof myself and it consists of two timber trusses. The rear truss is exposed and is glazed to allow in natural lighting and is supported on fabricated steel brackets bolted to the existing house roof timbers. The front truss is lined inside and out and is supported on two timber posts which, in turn, are supported on reinforced concrete foundations with soil anchors to resist uplift forces. The internal raked ceiling of the roof is lined with stained and varnished marine-grade plywood.

Materials

Tools

All timber structural members with corrugated steel roof sheeting and flashings to match the existing house. Internal lining is marine grade plywood. All fixings were either stainless steel or galvanised. All major materials purchased from Bunnings.

Makita sliding compound mitre saw, Ryobi cordless drill & driver, Makita circular saw, Bosch jigsaw, Ryobi multi-tool, Makita router, Ozito cement mixer & hand tools, all purchased from Bunnings

Steps

Step 1

1/1

1. Lifted existing roof sheets to bolt in 5 steel brackets to support rear truss.

2. Fabricated rear truss & bolted into place

3. Dug footings for front posts & installed soil anchors and poured concrete (bags & cement mixer).

4. Installed timber posts and fabricated front truss in-place

5. Installed all timber purlins and noggings to link the two trusses.

6. Installed gutter, roof insulation and corrugated roof sheeting & flashings

7.Installed front weatherboards and barge boards

8.Installed internal stained & varnished marine-ply ceiling paneling

9.Installed internal front gable lining using painted marine ply

10 Installed low-voltage internal RGB LED lighting system with remote control

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @GerryH. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for sharing your project.

What an awesome addition. You've certainly made a dramatic improvement to the space. Do you have any before images? I trust our members would love to see the finish you achieved on the ply ceiling boards. It's a question we have come up quite often.

Thanks again for sharing, and well done.

Mitchell
 

[GerryH]

Hi Mitchell,

Thanks for the reply. I have attached a before photo, one during the build and a couple of the completed inside showing the marine plywood ceiling. Also, a photo of the LED lighting.

I spent a lot of time researching how to finish the marine ply because it had to match other ceilings in the house. In the end, I opted for Intergrain Ultradeck Timber Stain in Redwood and finished it off with Cabot's Clear Deck & Exterior Stain in a satin gloss. A chap at Intergrain gave me the procedure because plywood is not easy to stain and finish. The procedure, after sanding, was to vacuum the surface and wipe down with metho' on a clean sponge and leave to dry. After applying the stain (1 or 2 coats depending on the plywood colour), allow to dry for 3 days before overcoating with 3 coats of the clear finish. 

Regards, Gerry

[EricL]

Hi @GerryH 

Thanks for sharing the extra photos of your gable roof. The addition is just amazing and the finish on your marine plywood is just outstanding. When combined with the LED lights it makes the mood very adjustable. It's perfect for any occasion you can think of.

Many thanks for sharing.

Eric