Hip rafter
A hip rafter runs diagonally from the ridge end to the external wall-plate corner, carries the jack rafters, and is sized from AS 1684's own hip/valley tables.
Ask Chalkline about this →A hip rafter is the diagonal rafter that runs from the end of the ridge down to the external corner of the wall plates in a hip roof. It forms the sloping external corner where two roof planes meet, and it carries the jack rafters that frame into it from each side (per AS 1684.2:2021).
Because a hip rafter carries compound loads from two roof planes meeting at an angle, AS 1684 sizes it from a separate hip and valley rafter span table, not the common rafter table. A hip rafter is usually deeper than the common rafters in the same roof, owing to the extra load and the compound bevel cut at each end.
| Member | Where it runs | Load |
|---|---|---|
| Common rafter | Wall plate to ridge | Single plane |
| Hip rafter | Ridge end to external plate corner | Two planes (compound) |
| Valley rafter | Ridge to internal (re-entrant) corner | Two planes (compound) |
Common defect: sizing a hip rafter off the common rafter table. Hip and valley members have their own AS 1684 span table section; using common-rafter sizes undersizes the hip and risks deflection or failure under the combined load.
Hip rafters belong to conventional (cut-and-pitch) roof framing. Prefabricated truss roofs form hips with girder trusses and hip-end truss sets instead.
Also known as: hip.
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Last updated: 2026-05-24. Verified: 2026-05-24. Quarterly review for currency.