Dormer calculator

Abstract

The present invention is a method for laying out a dormer that projects outward from a main roof and has a gable end and a dormer roof originating at a dormer point and terminating at an outer edge of the dormer roof near the gabled end. The dormer includes roof sheathing supported by dormer trusses. The dormer trusses include a gable truss and a plurality of valley trusses. The method of the present invention includes receiving a plurality of dormer inputs from a user. A plurality of layouts for the roof sheathing on the dormer roof are generated as a function of the dormer inputs. One or more layouts are then recommended to a user to reduce a quantity of roof sheathing waste.

1 . A method of forming a dormer template to underlay dormer trusses that support a dormer projecting outward from a main roof, the dormer trusses comprising a gable truss and a plurality of valley trusses, the method comprising:
 receiving a plurality of dormer inputs from a user;   processing the dormer inputs to generate a dimensional profile for the dormer template, including first and second side piece dimensions and a plurality of valley truss locations relative to the gable truss, and to generate a dimensional profile of the valley trusses for placement on the dormer template at the valley truss locations; and   constructing the dormer template according to the generated dimensional profile.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving a plurality of dormer inputs from a user comprises receiving dormer inputs including at least one of a main roof slope, a dormer slope, a gable overhang length, a gable truss height, a wall sheathing thickness, an input representing the total number of dormers to be constructed, an input representing whether a rake ladder detail will be included in the dormer, an input representing the fascia thickness, a heel height, an input representing the roof sheathing thickness of the main roof, and an input indicating whether a cantilevered fascia is to be included in dormer. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein processing the dormer inputs to generate the dimensional profile for the dormer template further includes generating locations and dimensions of cross pieces connecting the first and second pieces together at the valley truss locations. 
     
     
         4 . A method for recommending a roof sheathing layout for a dormer projecting outward from a main roof, the dormer having a roof constructed from roof sheathing supported by dormer trusses, the method comprising:
 receiving a plurality of dormer inputs from a user, the dormer inputs including at least one of a main roof slope, a dormer slope, a gable overhang length, a gable truss height, a valley truss height, a wall sheathing thickness, an input representing the total number of dormers to be constructed, an input representing whether a rake ladder detail will be included in the dormer, an input representing the fascia thickness, a heel height, an input representing the roof sheathing thickness of the main roof, and an input indicating whether a cantilevered fascia is to be included in dormer;   generating a plurality of layouts for the roof sheathing on the dormer roof as a function of the dormer inputs; and   recommending at least one roof sheathing layout to a user.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein each roof sheathing layout includes a location for each piece of roof sheathing on the dormer roof. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein each roof sheathing layout indicates a cut dimension for each piece of roof sheathing. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising:
 generating a location of each dormer truss along the main roof as a function of the dormer inputs.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the dormer inputs comprise:
 the dormer slope;   the main roof slope;   the gable truss height; and   the first valley truss height.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the plurality of dormer inputs further comprise the gable overhang distance. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein a plurality of roof sheathing row lengths are generated using the dormer slope, the main roof slope, and the gable truss height, the plurality of roof sheathing layouts generated as a function of the roof sheathing row lengths. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein each roof sheathing layout includes cut dimensions for each piece of roof sheathing, the cut dimensions including a top length, a bottom length, and a side width. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one roof sheathing layout is recommended as a function of a ratio of a top length of an innermost piece of roof sheathing to a length of an uncut piece of roof sheathing, the innermost piece of roof sheathing located in a roof sheathing row nearest to a dormer ridgeline. 
     
     
         13 . A method for determining locations of dormer trusses with respect to a main roof, the dormer trusses supporting a dormer projecting outward from the main roof along a pair of valley lines originating from a dormer point, the dormer trusses comprising a gable truss and a plurality of valley trusses, the method comprising:
 receiving a plurality of dormer inputs from a user, the dormer inputs including at least one of a main roof slope, a dormer slope, a gable overhang length, a gable truss height, a valley truss height, a wall sheathing thickness, an input representing the total number of dormers to be constructed, an input representing whether a rake ladder detail will be included in the dormer, an input representing the fascia thickness, a heel height, an input representing the roof sheathing thickness of the main roof, and an input indicating whether a cantilevered fascia is to be included in dormer;   processing the dormer inputs to generate a gable truss spacing for spacing the gable truss from a first valley truss and a uniform valley truss spacing for spacing neighboring valley trusses from each other;   determining the locations of the dormer trusses using the gable truss spacing and the uniform valley truss spacing; and   displaying the location of each dormer truss to a user.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the location of each dormer truss comprises a location along the pair of valley lines. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the dormer inputs comprise:
 the gable truss height;   the valley truss height;   the main roof slope; and   the dormer roof slope.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the gable truss spacing is the spacing between the gable truss and the first valley truss along the pair of valley lines and is determined as a function of the gable truss height, the valley truss height, the main roof slope, and the dormer roof slope. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the uniform valley truss spacing is determined along the pair of valley lines as a function of the main roof slope, the dormer roof slope, and a known uniform spacing distance for spacing neighboring valley trusses from each other along a ridgeline of the dormer. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein determining the location of each dormer truss comprises:
 generating a gable truss location along the pair of valley lines relative to the dormer point as a function of the dormer roof slope, the main roof slope, and the valley truss height, the gable truss location separated from the dormer point along the pair of valley lines by a dormer point spacing;   generating a first valley truss location along the pair of valley lines as a function of the gable truss spacing and the gable truss location; and   generating at least one next valley truss location as a function of the uniform valley truss spacing and the first valley truss location, the next valley truss location located along the pair of valley lines closer to the dormer point relative to a preceding valley truss location; and   continuing to generate the next valley truss location until the next valley truss location is separated from the dormer point along the pair of valley lines by a distance equal to the uniform valley truss spacing.   
     
     
         19 . A premanufactured dormer kit for a dormer configured to project outward from a main roof, the kit comprising:
 a plurality of dormer trusses having heights that establish a ridge line of the dormer; and   a dormer template specifying locations of each of the plurality of dormer trusses, the locations and heights of the dormer trusses being based on a height of a roof of the dormer above the plane of the main roof at its heel (H Gi ), a slope of the main roof (S MR ), and the dormer slope (S D ).   
     
     
         20 . The premanufactured dormer kit of  claim 19 , wherein the dormer template comprises side pieces around a perimeter of an outline of the dormer, and cross pieces marking the locations of each of the plurality of dormer trusses. 
     
     
         21 . The premanufactured dormer kit of  claim 19 , wherein the dormer template is formed of dimensional material that is not designed to be load-bearing.