Over the years I’ve run into a lot of interesting solutions to various truss and building problems. And I thought some of you guys who use trusses might be able to use these once in a while.
I didn’t dream these up on my own. Some of these are borrowed from others that I’ve learned from. I’ve refined a few of them and tried ’em out whenever I could come up with a creative solution to a problem.
In this example, a customer came to me wanting some mono trusses. The problem was, he was putting them up against an existing building, and thee walls weren’t straight.
He asked if I would put a 2X8 vertical in the end of the monos, so he could rip an inch or 2 off the end of them as needed. They would look like this:
What I proposed instead was to use a 2X4 vertical, and hold it back from the end of the truss 4″. That way he’d only have to trim the top and bottom chords instead of ripping through the web. It looked like this:
This made the truss cheaper and easier to install.
This will work in a lot of situations. Like where a truss on the first floor butts up against the 2nd floor. Or a truss that hangs on a beam. Since nothing is perfect in the real world, this gives you some leeway to adapt the trusses to fit.
More to come…
Because most men are timid, the world is ruled by those who seize the initiative.
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In this next case, a guy was building a roof over a loading dock. The problem was that he was limited in how high he could build his walls for some reason. And he was worried that the trailers would hit the beam over the door when the trailers were backed in.
This is the original design. you can see that the header (in red) is below the trusses. (Only half the truss is shown)
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The following is what I proposed. I made the heels on the trusses taller so the header (again in red) could be flush. I call this a "mid chord bearing".
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The only downside is that it made the trusses more expensive. Something like 20%, if I remember corectly. But in this case it was worth it.
By doing the bearing block this way, you don't need to install a hanger. That saves the cost of the hangers and installation of them in the field.
So a design like this can work in similar situations, if you have the height to work with.
I'll try to come up with a couple more examples later.....
Thanks Boss, for showing some “thinking out of the box” solutions.
You're a good man Charlie Brown.I always take time to read your truss posts. Thanks for taking the time.Best, Mongo
Your first tip:
That's how I spec'd the trusses for a recent job.
Hangered off one side of the flush LVL are the trusses and off the other side are the original ceiling joists and rafters.
Your situation would have worked well with either of the ways I posted examples of. The vertical could have been held back a couple of inches to allow for trimming if the trusses were a bit too long. Or they could have had a bearing leg on the high end so they became "mid chord bearing" on the LVL. Then you wouldn't have needed hangers.
Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans. [John Lennon]
Boss,
The other day I was looking at a set of attic stairs installed in the center of a truss span. The bottom chord was joined with a plate in the center (directly under the ridge).
It seemed to me that there might be a better place to put this.
Or, does the load of attic stairs transfer to the floor vertically and the truss (joist) horizontally?
a.
Smaller trusses (32' or less) are often spliced in the center. Larger ones generally aren't, as they tend to fold in half at that point when handled. The plates have to be sized for the bending moment at that point. So it's rarely a problem. If the trusses are designed for additional storage, I generally bump the late up a size just to be on the safe side.
If you break anything down into its subatomic particles, what *isn't* natural? Cheese Whiz?
Here's one more thing I wanted to post.
Girder trusses are expensive. They're usually built in low quantities - Just a couple of them. And once you have them in the field they have to be nailed together. Then you have to buy hangers and pay someone to attach them.
So avoiding the use of girder trusses where possible makes sense. So how is that done? Check out this example. In the first pic, you see a rather simple house with a garage inset in the lower left-hand corner. And you'll notice a girder truss holding up the ends of the trusses. I even labeled it just in case some of you are a little slow on the uptake. (-:
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Here's an alternate condition that I like to use. You'll notice that the girder truss is gone. Instead the house trusses have been snubbed off to the back wall of the garage. And the garage trusses run all the way through.
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You still have about the same amount of valley framing, but it's shaped differently. There are 3 smaller areas instead of one larger one.
The only downside to this that I know of is if you work in an area where valley trusses are provided, this doesn't work as well. But if you stick frame your valeys, it can save time and money.
Don't know if I can come up with any more ideas to post. But if I think of any I will.
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