Richard_Morrison

Hi Richard,

The prescribed pitch where collar ties are recognized to act as compression members is 1:3 for my jurisdiction.  Clay roofs, if the roof is symmetrical do not require ridge beams.  I certainly deal with heavy snow loads as well.  I think that you may have overstated your case, not that ridge beams don't make sense, but there are lots of cases where there are other solutions to the design requirements that do not include a ridge beam with the inherent problems of beam span and mid span supports etc.    I do agree that ridge beams may be the solution to some heavily loaded pitched roofs in some cases though.