Why are trusses being used in homes

[gfretwell]

True, when my wife was building houses, she had 16-20 at a time with a cycle time of about 14-16weeks

[gfretwell]

I guess it doesn't snow in England and you don't have hurricanes.,

[Tim Watts]

On Thursday 03 January 2013 17:46 [e-mail] wrote in alt.home.repair:

About 3 days per year on average for snow (4" if we're lucky) and we think

50mph winds are scary because something somewhere will fall off - fences first, then odd bits of roof. So basically, yep ;->

This is the south mind - the jocks get it a bit harder.

[krw]

The just built a Gander Mountain store near where I used to live. It's probably about 50Kft^2. It took them about two months from breaking ground to store opening. I only saw the place on the weekends when I was back there but the progress was stunning.

[krw]

You point out the only real drawback of trussed roofs; floor loading. They're designed for roof loading, not for heavy objects placed in the attic. At higher pitches I don't thing they make as much economic sense, either, since the materials costs go up. I don't see a lot of trusses above 6:12, or so. For some reason every newer house around here, and where I used to live has high pitched roofs (my last house was 15:12). I was told it was code but that explanation doesn't make much sense in areas where there is no snow and hurricane remnants aren't all that unusual.

[clare]

Without caps plywood joinsts are flimsy and inadequate. They all have caps of some sort.

[krw]

No, the HVAC stuff can be run through the "webbing" of a truss without cutting anything.

[clare]

More commonly "web joists" for that style.

[clare]

Well - we will dissagree then. The trusses in common use on THIS side of the pond are quality trusses, in most cases.

[dpb]

On 1/3/2013 12:18 PM, [e-mail] wrote: ...

Web joists aren't trusses which is why they're called "web" joists--not trusses.

The point is/was that "truss" by itself doesn't necessarily imply only a roof truss as was stated in the post to which I responded.

--

[dpb]

...

They are, in fact, specifically designed w/ a duct space in them (if the builder will specify it, anyway).

[LdB]

Truss roof design helps to keep ice dams from forming. As you asked about in another post. If your father had a modern roof he wouldn't have had the ice dam problem.

Trusses sit higher above the outside walls allowing a full layer of insulation around the perimeter of the building and good sized openings for attic ventilation. Adequate ventilation will keep the attic much cooler in the summer helping to keep A/C costs down and increase the life of shingles.

Figure in the carpentry cost to stick frame a roof and trusses are cheaper.

I built my house with trusses. There are no interior supporting walls. All the weight is supported by the outside walls. I could remove the inside walls and rebuild a new interior if I wanted to.

Trusses can be designed to allow for attic space. Half of my house is under a cathedral ceiling built from parallel chord trusses. Those trusses could enclose an attic. Trusses come in an almost unlimited variety of designs. Had you taken a moment to Google you would have found this out for yourself.

This is the sort if information known by anyone in the building industry. It's part of the education one gets by working for a living. It's not the sort of thing one gets sitting in front of a computer surfing the internet all day.

LdB

[dpb]

Well, if they're designed and spaced properly could probably be made to meet Code...

[Tim Watts]

On Thursday 03 January 2013 18:22 [e-mail] wrote in alt.home.repair:

You can usually rely on the english to be half arsed these days, sadly. It's very depressing. That's why I buy german tools and appliances...

[homeowner]

That's the kind of junk they use to build trailer homes. I lived in one of them, and the thing just started to fall apart. They're junk....

[trader4]

+1 And how would you attach to it without wood caps? If you used it for floor joists for example? You can't put screws or nails into the side of OSB.

[dpb]

As for the truss itself, there's no question they'll outperform anything stick-built onsite w/ less material and lower cost unless there is far more material and time invested.

I'm certain Code there will have near-equivalent reqm'ts as does that of NA.

If they're under-spec'ed (and a builder can get away w/ it for lack of proper Code enforcement or are poorly installed, that's entirely different problem)

[krw]

That's a problem I just found - staples are even worse. Running Romex along engineered joists isn't fun. I've been attaching 1x3s to the joists, screwing them in from the opposite side, as running boards.

[dennisgauge]

Take your argument and say the exact opposite. Then you will understand.

[gfretwell]

No snow here but we have a 170 MPH wind code.