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A small gap above the beam leaves room for wood movement without the beam pushing against the roof deck. IN EVERY ISSUE Hiding porch beams I'm designing a traditional porch for my house with columns, a support beam, and a hipped roof. Because big beams cost big money, I only use this method where longer spans are desirable - such as in front of your patio doors - and I use the standard, less-expensive framing method on the rest of the porch. [Extracted from the article]