TRUSSES

The sky’s the limit.

The first load of trusses is now on the ground. Take the opportunity right now to sign your name on several trusses so that your new home truly belongs to you. This is an exciting time that you will remember forever.

Generally speaking, there will be interior walls, some of them are what we call bearing walls. These walls hold up the roof or in the case of a multi-level building they support the floor above. These bearing walls carry loads and may not be removed at a later date without serious thought regarding how to hold up the structure.

Trusses are like a giant tinker toy set. They will all be numbered and have a special place. Trusses are built by a truss manufacturer who is responsible for exact specifications and the framing contractor may not alter any of them unless an engineer approves the change. Trusses generally are set on top of a CMU wall or on what is known as ledgers. Once the space is covered with trusses, we will begin to see exactly what we have and it may be different than what we thought we saw on the plan.

Once the trusses are secured to the walls, ledgers and bearing walls it is time to install the sheathing. A sound building will use decking material that is tongue and groove as well as glued and screwed down. This may seem like a bit of overkill but in the long run your home will be very quiet, sound and last for many decades. As we begin the next floor the walls go up for the next layer of trusses that will support the next floor.

Finally, you're about to put on the roof trusses. In this particular project the top layer of trusses is not for the faint of heart, the trust contractors are extremely talented individuals. The last picture below shows just exactly how professional these people are. Take a moment to notice the man steering the truss in place directing the crane operator.

I have attached pictures that will give you an idea of the steps involved. Next time we're going to talk about your relationship with your roofer and what to expect.

Stay tuned, there's a lot more to come,

Dik Muller