EBK Carpentry
Structural carpentry

Roof framing done square

5.0Average Google review

Conventional pitched roofs, skillions and truss installation, framed to plan and handed over ready for the roofer.

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  • Licensed & insured
  • Sydney-wide
  • Free quotes

What does roof carpentry cover?

Roof carpentry is the structure under the roofing material: rafters, ridges, hips and valleys on a conventional roof, or the installation and bracing of prefabricated trusses. It also covers the strutting and hanging beams that carry the roof down into the walls below, and the tie-down that holds it against uplift.

At a glance

  • Our scope: Roof structure and carpentry. Tiling, sheeting, gutters and flashings are the roofer's trade.
  • Built to: AS 1684.2, or the truss manufacturer's design and engineer's detail.
  • Roof types: Pitched, hip and valley, gable, skillion, raked and dormer.
  • Truss work: Installation, bracing and tie-down to the supplier's layout.
  • Area: Sydney-wide, from a base in Dulwich Hill
First, the obvious question

Roof structure is not roof covering

Worth separating these, because people ring us for both.

Roof carpentry is the structure: rafters, trusses, ridges, hips, valleys, strutting beams, bracing and tie-down. That is what we do. Roofing is what goes on top: sarking, battens, tiles or sheeting, gutters, flashings and downpipes. That is a roofer's trade, and we hand the structure over to them.

What's included

What we frame

  • Conventional pitched roofs

    Rafters, ridges, hips, valleys and collar ties cut and fitted on site. The right approach where the roof shape is complex or the space below is going to be used.

  • Truss installation

    Prefabricated trusses craned or lifted in, set out, plumbed, braced and tied down to the manufacturer's layout and fixing details.

  • Skillion and raked roofs

    Single-pitch and raked ceiling structures, where the framing and the finished ceiling are the same thing and the set-out has to be right first time.

  • Strutting and hanging beams

    The structure that carries roof load down into the walls, including the beams that let you remove a wall below without the roof noticing.

  • Repairs and alterations

    Replacing damaged or undersized roof structure, and reframing where a new opening, dormer or addition changes what the roof has to do.

The choice

Trusses or a cut roof

Neither is universally better. What matters is choosing before the timber is ordered.

Prefabricated trusses

Engineered off site, lifted in as complete units.

Speed
Much faster on a straightforward shape
Cost
Lower on simple gable and hip roofs
Roof space
Filled with webs, so not usable
Best for
New builds with a simple roof form

Conventional cut roof

Cut and assembled on site from individual members.

Speed
Slower, more labour on site
Cost
Higher, but often the only option
Roof space
Open, so it can be used or raked
Best for
Complex shapes, raked ceilings, alterations
Alterations

Cutting into an existing roof

Additions, dormers and wall removals all change what an existing roof is doing. Load that used to travel down one path now has to travel down another, and roof structures are frequently propped in ways that aren't obvious from underneath.

We open up and look at what is actually happening in the roof space before committing to an approach. It's the same principle as wall removal: the drawings describe the intent, and the building describes the reality.

How we work

How a roof job runs

  1. 01

    Plans and geometry

    We work the roof out from the drawings before we're on the roof, so the set-out is resolved on paper rather than improvised at height.

  2. 02

    Materials and lifting

    Timber or trusses delivered and lifted with access sorted in advance, which on Sydney sites is often the constraint.

  3. 03

    Frame, brace, tie down

    Structure erected, braced against racking and tied down against uplift, with a continuous connection through to the walls below.

  4. 04

    Ready for the roofer

    Handed over straight, square and to the right plane, so battens and roofing go on without packing.

Ready when you are

Get a quote on your roof

Send through your plans or a few photos of the roof and we'll come back to you with the next steps. No obligation.

  • Free, no-obligation quote
  • Licensed & insured
  • Sydney-wide
Request a QuoteCall 0420 223 223
FAQs

Roofing questions

Not covered here? Call 0420 223 223 and ask. We'd rather answer it than have you guess.

What is the difference between a truss roof and a conventional roof?
Trusses are prefabricated in a factory to an engineered design and lifted in as complete units, which is faster and cheaper on a straightforward roof shape. A conventional roof is cut and assembled on site from individual members. Conventional wins where the shape is complicated, or where you want a usable or raked space beneath, because a standard truss fills the roof space with webs.
Do you install trusses as well as cut roofs?
Both. We install and brace trusses to the fabricator's layout, and we cut conventional roofs on site. Which one suits comes down to the roof shape and what's happening below the ceiling.
Do you do the actual roof covering?
No. We frame the structure and hand it over ready for the roofer. Tiles, metal sheeting, sarking, gutters and flashings are a different trade, and we work in with whoever you've got.
Can you remove a wall that's holding up the roof?
Yes, and it's one of the more common versions of wall removal work. It needs a beam sized for the roof load and, often, reworking the strutting above so the load lands where the new beam can take it rather than where it used to.
What is tie-down and why does it matter on a roof?
Wind blowing over a roof creates uplift, which tries to pull it off the building. Tie-down is the continuous mechanical connection of straps, rods and brackets running from the roof structure through the walls to the floor and footings. It has to be unbroken to work, and it's one of the first things a certifier checks.
Can you reframe a roof for an addition or dormer?
Yes. Cutting into an existing roof changes how load travels through it, so the new structure has to pick that up properly. It's structural work, not just carpentry, and usually needs engineering behind it.
Keep looking

The rest of what we do

Roof work usually connects to something else. These are the trades it meets.

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Tell us about the job

Send through your plans or a quick description of what you're after and we'll come back to you with the next steps. No obligation.

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