Dragon beam

The term is commonly used in both hip roof framing and jettying.

The term may be descended from German träger (a carrier), Danish dragere (bearing beam, joist, girder) or Dutch draagbalk (beam).

The dragon beam is carried by the wall on the outer end and by a horizontal piece between the two walls on the inside end.

The most common usage seems to be combination dragon beam/cross tie.

In buildings with jetties on adjacent walls the dragon beam is a horizontal, diagonal beam projecting from a corner which supports the jetties.