# Forum Home Renovation Pergolas, Gazebos, Strombellas & Rotundas  Pergola rafter span

## Crokes

Hi 
New to the site.  I have a pergola that I am building that I want to be unsupported over 6m.  I was hoping to attach the rafters to the fascia board and cut around the gutter.   
The Beam at the other end of the span can be 190mm, 240mm or 290mm and I will be housing the rafters in at this end. 
Does anyone know what timber will span this distance?  It will be laserlite sheeting roof.  The width of the pergola is 7m. 
Cheers 
Crokes

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## Phil B

Hi Crokes, welcome to the forums! 
Treated pine 240x45 (or 240x35 if you can find some) will span 6m when spaced at 1200mm centres, smaller sizes could be used if you prefer to buy hardwood. 
I would advise using long fascia brackets and attaching a pitching beam in order to avoid any stress on the fascia of your house, attaching directly to the fascia in this case would be crazy in my opinion.  The size of the verandah you are going to build will put an enormous amount of stress on the fascia of your home which is little more than a decorative item so you need to avoid the risk associated with hanging a verandah off it.

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## Danny

> The size of the verandah you are going to build will put an enormous amount of stress on the fascia of your home which is little more than a decorative item so you need to avoid the risk associated with hanging a verandah off it.

  Agree. It also doesn't take much stress to make the facia sag and alter the gutter fall/flow. A lot of people also drain the water collected by the rooves of structures attached to facias back to the house gutter. This will often overload the gutter's capacity during heavy rain and needs to be taken into account.    

> I was hoping to attach the rafters to the fascia board and cut around the gutter.

  Make sure the guttering and space is accessible for future replacement or upsizing if needed.

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## cherub65

If your after the beam size (which is quite a span for that width)   2/240 x 45 F7   Or  240 x 45 LVL
No ceiling

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## r3nov8or

> If your after the beam size (which is quite a span for that width)   2/240 x 45 F7   Or  240 x 45 LVL
> No ceiling

   For the 7000mm beam Timber Solutions suggests 2/290x35 (7100 max span) or 2/290x45 (7200 max span) continuous span. F7, RLW=3000, rafter spacing of 600, 900 or 1200. NB this is only for continuous span. It specifies "Not suitable" for all single span beam sizes with F7. IMO You should use appropriatley sized LVL or steel for the beam, or put a post in the middle of the beam for more timber options.

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## cherub65

Correct I didn't change input from last calculation, 2/240 x 45 will span up to 4500mm on a single span for a verandah beam. 
Beam is 6000mm long from what i am reading in OP which would mean LVL 360 x 63 mm Or 2/360 x 45 mm 
Cheers Paul

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## r3nov8or

> Correct I didn't change input from last calculation, 2/240 x 45 will span up to 4500mm on a single span for a verandah beam. 
> Beam is 6000mm long from what i am reading in OP which would mean LVL 360 x 63 mm Or 2/360 x 45 mm 
> Cheers Paul

  I'm thinking the rafters are 6m and the beam 7m, but could be the other way 'round. Either way 42sqm of large timbers and needs careful consideration on how to hold it up and brace it.

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## cherub65

Agree, also not a fan of attaching pergolas to existing fascias. The existing roof members would not have been designed for such extra loads and uplifts

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## r3nov8or

> Agree, also not a fan of attaching pergolas to existing fascias. The existing roof members would not have been designed for such extra loads and uplifts

   Yep, I would be designing a fly-over supported by the wall frame or a new beam also at the house side and supported by, say, 3 posts min.

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