Gable-end details for closed eaves Angled soffit This pulls the eave up, giving height to the roofline as well as keeping the eave clear of the window head height. When you do use a flat soffit, make sure to include a raised heel on the truss. Proceed with extreme caution when using a flat soffit.Ĭlosed eaves with flat soffit and raised heel While flat soffits work well in some situations, in most, they result in pork-chop eave returns. The default in eave design is a flat soffit. It looks substantially better than a flat soffit.Ĭlosed eaves with flat soffit and no raised heel Also, make the extra effort to install an angled soffit. With a closed eave, you still want to raise the heel height of the truss. Moreover, as homes have shifted increasingly to conditioned attics, closed eaves have become more popular. From left to right: Closed eaves with angled soffit, Closed eaves with flat soffit and no raised heel, Closed eaves with flat soffit and raised heelĮxposed rafter tails are more work to install and maintain over time. doing so raises the eave, which prevents it from conflicting with the window head height. When designing an open eave with roof trusses, make sure that you raise the heel of the truss and use a thicker top chord. The ceiling joists pushed the rafters up and gave extra height to the building. Left: Open eaves with roof rafters, Right: Open eaves with trussesīefore roof trusses, the exposed rafter tails were an extension of the roof framing. Trusses streamline construction, but it’s important when using them to make sure the resulting eave works with the design of your building. before manufactured trusses, the simplest roof construction involved extending exposed rafter tails beyond the walls of the house. The design of your eave is dictated by the construction of your roof. wide, especially when the eave overhang is less than 12 in. to 18 in., depending on the style of the building).

thick) and the overhang from the side wall (set between 12 in. When designing a gable-end eave without a return, the dimensions to look at are the width of the trim (set between 6 in. General rules of thumbĮave design starts with looking at the overall building composition and proportion.

The second looks at the details of boxed-eave gable-end returns. This first installment of a two-part series focuses on eaves that do not return onto the gable. The three primary variables to consider when designing the eaves for a gable roof are the width of the gable trim, the projection of the eaves, and the details at the corner of the gable ends.

How To Install Gable Trim Metal Roof