I have a question about permanent truss bracing. There is an argument on our jobsite about whether you need to have 45° bracking from the top of your gable end trusses down to a catwalk. An inspector told us you need to, and I read in the specs from the truss company that you need to run a brace this way.
The argument on our jobsite is that you don’t need that brace because of the roof sheathing acting as bracing. I’m going to do some research on this. I know that most of us brace the gable ends anyway when we are setting them.
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IMO: Brace 'em.
The gable end trusses can take a lot of wind (along with the end wall). I've heard people say that the sheetrock will take care of that, but I'd rather have lumber to rely on.
Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.
Wait. I can hear it....BossHog is a comin'.........
Is he breathing that loud and heavy?
Who ever invented work didn't know how to fish....
If the truss mfg says you must have and since they have an engineer stamp on the design, I do not think anybody on the jobsite has the right to second guess. If they knew what they was doing, why are they swinging hammer instead of design trusses.
#1 rule never second guess the guy with the P.E. stamp, he has the liabilty
What brownbagg said.Matt
I agree that if an engineer has stamped the plans, then neither myself nor anyone else on my jobsite should question the specs. That is a pet peeve of mine.
My argument was the same as above. I don't know how to design for wind. I build what is spec'd.
Thanks for all the opinions. It's nice when people side with me ;-)
Well, ya know I can't keep my nose out of truss threads................(-:
In general, I would agree with you - The roof sheathing provides all the bracing you need. The diaphram action carries the wind forces down to the plate line.
The info you saw from the truss company was probably about ERECTION bracing. You probably need one while you're setting trusses.
I'd rather see a brace on the uprights on the gable - About halfway up. Keep's them straight and braces them against wind. Gable trusses are only 1.5" thick 99% of the time. With a big gable they can be over 12' long.
On the other hand - Adding a couple of boards to make the building inspector happy isn't that big of a deal.
If you're going to do more research, the WTCA has a publication about permenant truss pracing at:
http://www.woodtruss.com/images/publication_images/pbrace.pdf
I want my grandchildren to understand that they have freedom because others have sacrificed--and that they may be called upon to sacrifice. And I want them to know that there are no government handouts--we have to work for what we get [John Ben Shepperd]
All:
Attached are two pictures of truss sheets that came with trusses.
The first one shows pretty close to the exact situation that this thread is referring to except that the diagonal bracing specified goes up to the roof sheathing diaphragm.
The second one I just added for anyone who doesn't have experience looking at truss sheets.
Sorry about the quality. I had the documents rolled up (un-neatly) and kinda jammed in a bag, and I don't have a scanner. I just took a pick with my digi cam. Sorry to you dialup users too. The pictures are big... but I felt if I did anything else to 'em they would not be legible, since they barely are now.
I have been in this situation on site before when someone tries to explain to me why they know more than the roof truss/floor system/etc designer. I just say "oh, so you know more than the guy who designed this xxx." And smile real big and walk away. Not that engineers don't ever make mistakes but in my parts building inspectors are great at looking at engineering specs, and then checking what you built. Spend four 2x4s and pass an inspection or maybe have the project delayed for 3 days seems like an easy choice to me.
Matt
PS: ever notice how whenever there is a question like this on site, the guy who knows more than the enginer always has the easier way of doing the job... ie: leave off the bracing!
Edited 9/18/2003 8:45:04 AM ET by DIRISHINME
I don't think the gable bracing shown on your drawings is the same thing that TIMUHLER was talking about.
He was referring to a brace from the peak of the gable down to a brace on the bottom chords of the trusses. (I think) That type of bracing appears to me to be pointless.
The gable bracing shown in the drawing you posted is altogether different. But I think it's a good idea.Success is simply a matter of luck. Ask any failure.
yea, well, I said it wasn't exactly the same, the idea was to give the people who aren't used to looking at this stuff an idea of what it looks like. I've seen some roof truss plans that specified the perm diagonal bracing to the attic floor but just didn't have any of them laying around.
Thanks for the link to the truss bracing document. Hadn't seen that one.
Matt