The soffit beam

Because of the loft area on the south side of this room we were not able to use our standard collar ties to resist the roof thrust. Instead we have created a 'beam' that is turned on its side to resist the lateral forces of the roof. This 'beam' is fixed at both ends and tied back to each rafter to form a truss of sorts that will keep the exterior wall to the north from deforming. We located the beam in line with an existing soffit from the house. When we are done it should look like a continuation of this existing soffit. (It should......famous last words!)