Today the neighbor and I stood up a few trusses and put several sheets of decking on . Went a hell of a lot faster than the first 3 trusses , which I stood up alone - using a drywall jack , block and tackle and other mechanical aids . These are 6/12 over 3/12 scissor trusses , the kitchen ceiling will be over 11' tall in the center . One more good day like today will see this project dry .
Your dad was probably a bit younger than I am ... Plus the fact that the bottom edge of the roof is a minumum of 11+ feet from the ground . At the downhill end that's more like 16 feet , 22 feet to the peak . My arms aren't quite that long ... we used a clamp on the end of the sheet with a rope attached . Randy (the neighbor) would push the sheet up . I was on top pulling on the rope . -- Snag
I put 27' trusses up by myself. I started by marking where the plates landed while they were still bundled. Then I marked the top plates and nailed a scrap of wood on the outboard side of the marks and put a 2x4 up as a guide for the gable end and toenailed that one in. I stood up the next one, pushing it against my cleat and nailing a piece of 2x4 near the top from the gable end to maintain space and hold it up. Line up the marks and toe nail that one in, rinse repeat.
I nailed a 2x4 along the truss tails to act as a stop for the plywood and pushed it up from inside. Square it up and start nailing. Once you get the first course in, you can work from there squaring them up on the one in place, Drop a 16d nail in there to maintain space and nail it up
Gee , I feel like a piker , mine are only 24' trusses . I stood the first one against the existing construction , used spacers nailed to the top chord and spacer blocks at the top sill . As soon as I had them anchored I nailed criss-cross bracing on the center vertical to keep them spaced and plumb . I built mine , cheaper than buying and my reinforcing plates are a lot bigger than those pressed plates . These were a design I copied from a web page and overbuilt for the usual loads we see here . Too strong is never too strong ... -- Snag
They would not let me make my own trusses without engineering but I could do conventional rafter framing if I wanted to. The cost of the larger lumber made that unattractive.
Does it sometimes make you wonder who is making money on that sort of thing ? It seems sometimes that the permit system is just another cash cow ... out here in the woods we don't have to have permits , and of course some will cut corners . It doesn't cost but a little more to do it right , and the peace of mind is well worth the few additional bucks . Of course sometimes the less expensive option is better . I had a choice of regular or low-e glass for the windows I just ordered . I chose the regular glass because we WANT that solar heat gain on the south-facing windows . Double glazed of course so we don't gain heat in the summer , plus those windows will be shaded under a trellis roof in summer when the muscadines or other climbing vines are leafed out .
If everyone used common sense and new some basics of construction we'd not need permits and inspections. We've all seen or heard some horror stories that really could kill someone.
Not just about money, but they can be a cash cow too. In some towns commercial permit rates are double residential.
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