A roof framing plan is the structural drawing that shows how a roof is framed — the rafters or trusses, the ridge, the hips and valleys, and the beams and walls that support them, all seen from above. It is the roof's equivalent of a floor framing plan: same idea of repetitive members, direction, spacing, and bearing, but with the geometry of a roof. This guide covers what it shows, the common roof types, and how to lay one out.
Three common roof types: gable, hip, and flat
What a roof framing plan shows
- Rafters or trusses — the repetitive sloping members, with their direction and on-centre spacing.
- Ridge — the line at the top where opposing roof slopes meet.
- Hips and valleys — the sloping lines where roof planes intersect at external and internal corners.
- Beams, headers, and bearing — ridge beams, supporting beams, and the walls the roof bears on.
- Openings — skylights, chimneys, and access hatches, framed by trimmers.
- Annotations — member callouts, spans, slopes/pitch, and a title block.
Many of these reuse the conventions in framing plan symbols — direction arrows, member callouts, bearing emphasis.
Rafters vs. trusses
A roof framing plan shows one of two structural systems (sometimes both):
| Rafters (stick-framed) | Trusses | |
|---|---|---|
| What | Individual sloping members framed on site | Pre-engineered triangulated assemblies |
| Span | Often rely on a ridge and internal support | Span wall to wall, fewer internal supports |
| Plan shows | Rafter direction, spacing, ridge, hips/valleys | Truss type, direction, spacing, bearing |
Which system is used drives how the plan reads and where the loads land — see rafters vs. trusses for the full comparison.
Common roof types
- Gable — two slopes meeting at a ridge; the simplest pitched roof.
- Hip — slopes on all sides, meeting at hips and a ridge. Compared in gable vs. hip roof framing.
- Flat (low-slope) — framed much like a floor, with joists and a slight fall for drainage. This is the type most like a floor framing plan — see the dedicated flat roof framing plan guide.
How steep a roof is — its pitch and slope — decides whether it's framed like a pitched roof (rafters/trusses) or, when low, like a floor.
Laying out a roof framing plan
The decisions echo a floor plan, with roof-specific additions:
- Set the roof footprint (the plan outline of the roof).
- Choose the span direction of rafters or trusses.
- Set the on-centre spacing.
- Identify the bearing — the walls and beams the roof lands on.
- Mark the ridge, hips, and valleys for a pitched roof.
- Frame openings (skylights, chimneys) with trimmers.
- Annotate spans, spacing, pitch, and member callouts.
Where an online tool helps
A flat roof is framed like a floor — joists, beams, bearing, openings — so you can lay it out directly in Framing Plan and export it, just like a floor. For pitched roofs, a preliminary browser tool is useful for the plan-view footprint, bearing layout, openings, and annotation; the rafter/truss design itself (sizes, connections, pitch behaviour) is engineering work to be confirmed by a qualified engineer or truss supplier.
Keep it preliminary
Roof structures carry significant and varied loads. A roof framing plan you draft is a preliminary layout aid for coordination and communication — not a substitute for qualified engineering or, for trusses, a supplier's engineered design.
Try it
For a flat or low-slope roof, draft the framing in your browser today. Open the framing studio to start, then read the flat roof framing plan guide or the broader framing plan overview.