Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 8/12/2009

Question
I am cutting off my soffit where the roof will connect to the house and want to know if I need to cut the roof all the way back so I can lay the rafters on the 2X4 plate or can I affix a ledger board to the existing wall and use joist hangers to attach the deck roof rafters to the house?  And if so, can I nail the ledger board to the house or do I need to screw it to the studs and end of homes roof rafters?

Answer
Hi Jerry, you can do all of the above.  You can cut off the existing rafter tails and attach your ledger to them.  You can cut the roof back and tie your new rafters to the existing wall top plate.  You can attach a ledger to your studs on the exterior of the wall with lag bolts.  You can also get joist hangers that angle over your wall top plate so you don't even need a ledger.  Visit Simpsonstrontgie.com for a cool catalog showing all the clips and joist hanger configurations available.  When lag bolting a ledger to the house studs be sure to find the center of the stud and pre drill a hole so that you don't split the stud.  For 3/8" bolts drill a 1/4" hole and make sure your bolts are long enough to penetrate the ledger, the siding, and into the stud at least 2 inches.  When attaching a ledger to the ends of existing rafters, face nail with 10D, two per rafter end and then follow up with a flat strap across the top of the rafter and down the face of the ledger.  I hopwe this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com