Bellcast Eaves

What are swept eaves?

Swept eaves refers to a change in pitch towards the lower portion of a roof, either in the form of a curve or a straight change in pitch. These swept eaves can be created to produce an aesthetic, gentle curve at the bottom of a roof system, or to change the gradient of the roof towards the tails. Swept eaves can feature open or closed eaves underneath the rafters beyond the building. They can be formed in a number of different ways that we will look at now.

How are swept eaves created?

In smaller roof assemblies, such as for a porch roof where the length of the rafters is relatively short, the profile of the curve can be cut directly into the rafter. It goes without saying that the width of the rafter still needs to meet the structural requirements of the roof, and so the thinnest portion of the curve must still meet the specified thickness. Depending on the severity of the curve, an oversized rafter may be required to be cut down.  

Alternatively, angled or straight sprocket pieces may be cut and fixed to the regular dimensional rafters, to form the desired aesthetic curve or slope.  

As is more typical with sloped swept eaves, particularly if the pitch is shallow, the length of the change in pitch can be relatively long. In these instances, it can be more beneficial to add another secondary timber to the side of the rafter, notched over the birdsmouth.