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Discussion Forum

? for the Truss guy

migraine | Posted in General Discussion on May 4, 2003 08:40am

 

I know there is someone here that does these things for a living, but I can’t remember who (or is it whom?)

My wife is looking at a floor plan or 2 and she keeps comonig back to some floorplans that have trusses that 26′ span between  two walls (front and rear wall).  We don’t want too much pitch( 6/12 or 7/12)  and would like some vaulted area in the back half of the home.   Is there a “rule of thumb” for when trusses start to get REAL expensive and is this a normal span?.  Gotta keep construction costs down.  Don’t want to finance the home.

Oh yeah,  Needs 110mph roof load, on the  Western Wash. Coast.  No snow load, but it does snow sometimes at the beach

Reply

Replies

  1. FastEddie1 | May 04, 2003 08:47pm | #1

    Boss Hog.

    Do it right, or do it twice.

    1. migraine | May 04, 2003 09:34pm | #2

      Thank you

  2. PTurtiak | May 04, 2003 10:58pm | #3

    a 26 foot span is just a little over the size of a 24 foot garage truss.  You will find that trusses can easily span 35-40 feet and still be found at a reasonable prices

  3. hasbeen | May 04, 2003 11:29pm | #4

    Love the Washington Coast!  Had lots of fun at Ruby Beach, Long Beach, La Push, etc. 

    I'm just about to build and faced with a similar question.  Here, I priced BCI to span 28 feet.  For a 16" high truss with a 3.5 inch width (on 16" centers) I was quoted $101 each (I think it's called an XL90 or similar).  I'm going for it.

    Good luck with your project!

    Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.

    1. User avater
      BossHog | May 05, 2003 12:17am | #6

      I'm not sure if you're asking opinions or not, but..........

      No way anything 16" deep should span 28', IMHO. They can show you span charts all day, but they're too shallow.

      Have you seen my thread on floor vibration? I don't have the link handy, but I'd strongly recommend you read it. I'll post the link Monday if you're interested.

      What I'd suggest for that would be a minimum 20" deep wood webbed truss at 19.2" or 24" O.C. That should be less expensive (less pieces) and should be much stiffer.

      The only reason I know of to set floor trusses (Or joists) 16" O.C. is if you're gonna have tile. Then you need it to make the subfloor stiff. Strippers: For men who are too financially solvent

      1. hasbeen | May 05, 2003 01:29am | #7

        Thaks for your input, Boss.  I'll check it out.  Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.

      2. hasbeen | May 05, 2003 02:02am | #8

        Maybe I just haven't figured out how to run it properly, but I tried advanced search for "floor vibration" and it said no matches were found.

        When you have time, I'd appreciate it if you'd send me the link!Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.

        1. User avater
          BossHog | May 05, 2003 02:15pm | #9

          Floor VibrationOne is very crazy when in love. [Sigmund Freud]

          1. hasbeen | May 05, 2003 04:03pm | #10

            Thanks again, Boss!  Obviously my local lumber man doesn't know anything about this stuff.Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.

          2. User avater
            BossHog | May 05, 2003 04:31pm | #11

            No problem - Always nice to know my advice is actually useful to someone.

            Hope your project goes well..........What luck for rulers that men do not think. [Adolf Hitler]

  4. User avater
    BossHog | May 05, 2003 12:17am | #5

    A span of 26' or so is no big deal around here. But we don't have wind loads. Still, I doubt you'll get into anything too terribly expensive with those spans/pitches.

    The things I see that make 'em expensive are things like throwing in a coffered ceiling here, sloped ceiling there, etc. Lots of setup changes make the trusses more expensive to build, and those costs are going to be passed on to you.

    A simple symmetrical scissor truss is the least expensive truss with a sloped ceiling. The general rule of thumb is that the bottom chord slope is half the outside slope.

    Keep in mind that everything I'm telling you is based on how we do things in the midwest, and also on what I know from talking to others in the industry around the US. Things in your area could be much different. Truss plants vary a lot from region to region in the way they do business, and how they charge for stuff. So be sure to ask around locally too. Maybe stop by a plant and see if you can bend someone's ear a bit. Take along the plans you have now, even if you're not ready to get quotes yet. That will give 'em something to work with.

    Be sure to let us know how your house goes.......

    I don't remember being absent minded.

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