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I’ve seen trusslocs ads for years and I’m wondering if any of you guys have used them and what you think of them.Also if you could ballpark a price on them I’d appreciate it.
jim
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This may get "crazy legs'" skivvies in a knot, but I talked to Tom a Quicknail Inc. and he quoted me a price of $450 for 6 sections each 16' long plus 3 clamps. When I go up there to pick up my new proctors I will pick them up. Should save some crane time and that would be nice. Truss loc has a nice website that explains everything, take a look . http://www.truslock.com Keith
*Keith - The hard thing about communicating on the net for me is understanding a person's "tone". Just a few days ago, I was joshin' with a guy I had become fond of, the kind of thing I do all the time, and when I do it in person, the smile on my face, or pat on the shoulder is as much a part of the communication as the words. It's the kind of thing "friends" do together, or a sign of acceptance between coworkers. I'm sure you know what I mean. Anyway, I read this guy's response, and it seemed to me, I had offended him. I didn't mean to, and told him so, and hopefully learned from the whole thing.So I want to tell you why I didn't like Tom's posts the other night. Who the hell is this guy? He doesn't post on a regular basis. He doesn't discuss techniques or business practices with us as a peer. He is a salesman, tryin' to sell us stuff. I logged on the other night and the first 4 threads I read, there he and another guy from his company were, with their phone numbers, hours of operation, and a sales pitch for their stuff. To me, that's advertising. They should pay Taunton for that, if that's what they are here for. What you just did, reccomending them, is totally different. You are one of the gang, sayin' where you found a certain item and what you thought about it. That's exactly what we all come here for, to share experiences and knowledge about our craft and maybe meet folks with common interests.Maybe I'm out of line. Please tell me if that's what you think. This is your board as much as it is mine. I just hate to think that all of a sudden every other post will be somebody's sales pitch.Jim "always a dreamer" Blodgett
*Okay, here's the story. I got the list from you on proctors. I also get an e-mail back from Proctor with Quicknail as the only Ohio dealer(also not on the proctor sites list though)So I call them for price and availablity. We get talking and he mentions he has had a few calls in the last day about the jacks, so I say yes there has been a discussion on Fine Homebuilding about them, then I say that you(and I gave names)are doing an article on those and others. Thinking that he may know a way to swing you a set from the Co. for testing for gratis(then you of couse would go back to your old dogs and send the proctors to me for cost of shipping). He gets on that same day, tracks down the site and post I spoke of ....and you jump him. But in all fairness, the guy was really nice on the phone, and he knew his shit. He was not some nail salesman from what I gathered. He even offered to bring the jacks down to me when they came in(that's a good 1-1/2 hour drive) And yes I realize that the posts have no facial expression, and I screw with peoples heads more than most. I rarely get mad, never even....always ahead. Man has it been cold and snowy here, the way I've been figuring , we are losing 40% production so far in Jan.I'm just not very motivated to frame...feel like a marshmellow man with all these cloths on, can't move and want to go get in the hot tub, or go back to bed. Keith
*Hey ,how come my last post was broken into paragraphs and looked fairly intelligent when written then when it gets posted it is one huge long run on paragrapgh? Are you doin' that crazy?
*fred I checked them out at thier www. . I really couldn,t tell how the initial connection to the trusses is made.Also are they self contained in thier sections or are they more of a snap together kind of deal?thanks jim
*I have had trusslocks for over ten years now.....They work but may not be worth owning....I advise all I meet lately to buy stock everytime they think of buying a tool that eventually not only goes to zero value but also starts to take time and space up that I value highly as I age....near the stream, checking on MEDX, PLUG, BRCM and more...aj
*Jack, the more you post, the more I see myself in you.I have never owned the trusslocks. They just don't seem like the right tool for the job. I'm now convinced, especially because of the warning that they are not structuarly sound.On occasion, I have built truss spacers. I make these out of 1X material, and span at least two spaces. The best use for these are on flat tops. On these beasts, I usually wait on top and lace the trussed on the top. The truss spacer can be used as an extension of the arm and grab the truss as it comes in. As soon as it sits down, the cable can be released. A lacer is them nailed, and the truss spacer is freed to be used for the next truss.Normally we take two trusses at a time, and can have them laced before the next incoming trusses arive.I just don't see how trusslocks could speed the process up, since the cog in the wheel is the crane!I do share your sense of value about space too, even though I have a pretty good sized barn. I have a small collection of tools that I don't use anymore. They are valuable in the sense that I now know that I don't need that particular tool.Sometimes I look through the box and laugh at what I thought was important.Trusslocks isn't one of them, and probably never will.Blue
*I picked up the truss-locs today in spite of all the negativity(I looked at them and COULD see how they would speed things up, and make me move around less while up in the truss cords) I misquoted the price though... I paid $45 per 16' section(got 6) and $6.15 each for 3 starting clamps. Keith C
*Heres my thought, I,ve had them for around 4 years or so.We do roughly a dozen truss jobs/year and at crane rates of 100$/ hour anything that gets that thing off the job quicker saves money let alone the saftey factor. Yes they dont keep trusses from racking but if your first truss is set up to be strongbacked (before crane arrives) setting trusses goes extremely fast. We,ve set 46-48' trusses with a four man crew in 90 minutes. I'm not sure if thats really that fast for you guys that are production framers but for our crew that does a lil of everything it flew. BTW we diagonal brace as soon as we can get four trusses up the truss locks permit everything to be in line and plumb.They aren't cheap but I'm sold on themBlacky
*Allow me to briefly offer my opinion about setting trusses. We also do about 12 to 15 truss jobs a year. We always set the trusses with a crane one at a time. More control and less danger. I have always used blocks to space the trusses as they go up. We nail them onto each truss on the ground centered on the ridge line and one below it on the bottom cord. If the trusses are really long we nail on corresponding pairs as they are warranted. I always budget generously for the crane. I have tried the 1X4 cleat method and the Trus-loc system but I feel they are too flimsy especially when we get into those always fun 60 to 70 foot commercial flat trusses. After over 20 years of framing this is what works best for me. Marshall Winn
*Thanks for raising this topic....They are unheard of down here though I also have seen the ads in FHB and wondered about.....Young Bob..how about those "Stabilizers" from Mitek..have you used them?? they were advertised in the JLC mag you sent me. They look ideal..of course they are unavailable here!!
*What are the "Stabilizers" Mark? Are they the same thing as these Truss locks? I always use a 1X3 or 1X4 with layout marks up near the ridge to temporarily hold trusses on center while standing them. I have never seen a crane lift trusses on a house. We call for trusses and they set the bundles on the walls. We sheet the gables before standing them and spread and stand the rest by hand. I've never had any trouble doing this by hand and I'm a little surprised by all the talk of cranes, here at Breaktime and in the magazines. I worked commercial off and on through the years, and we used cranes a little there, but not on houses.
*Mark I looked up the stabilizers on the http://www.They seem to be more of a one time use tool,as they attach to the trusses via little teeth similar to the gusset plates on a truss.It looked like they came in 22 1/2" lengths with three tabs on each end,one on top and one on each side of a piece of 3/4" or so of square tubing.jim"cl" I don't think I could build a house without calling a crane at least once a week till the roof trusses are set.Call me lazy but here goes.First week, set any steel beams that are in the first floor.Swing the joist across the foundation and steel beams.Move full bunks of sheathing material to within 4 feet of said floor.Set any large ml beams in the floor.And if i'm really thinking set garage walls on to thier bolts with the crane as well.Last but not least if I have my wall pack on-site I'll also use the crane to move some of that closer to the building as well.week 2 stand any large balloon framed walls,set steel that goes in 2nd floor,after I have put on about 50% of 2nd floor I will swing up the remainder of the sheathing for the floor and if situation allows the material for framing 2nd floor walls.If I can't set the material up on the 2nd floor I will at least move it closer so I don't have to pay the guys more hours carrying than building.week 3.I call the crane out one more time to put the roof on top of the house.I try to build the as much of the roof on the ground as I safely can.first I'll swing any framing material up to the second floor followed by a few lifts of sheathiing material.Then I will set my roof in preassembled sections ranging from six to eighteen feet wide.I do it this way because we can get a crane on the job for as little as 1 hour(of which I try to always use 59 minutes of)and when I was working with just my "HD working" brother it was much cheaper than hiring a laborer,even at 125 bucks an hour.jim"addicted to crane labor"at great whitep.s. jim I don't know the brand of cranes I use;)
*No crane? The last time we had that luxury was a small garage, single story with a straight gable roof. In the last 10 years, every roof has been 8-12/12's, at least 10 different roof lines, scissors everywhere, reverses everywhere, and a ton of fill work. Today people want a zillion roof lines, valleys and hips all over the place, make it look as cut up as possible(like it was added on to every year since 1950). I'm telling you, start a roofing company where you don't ever have to get up on the roof(you know , the boss)and in 5 years(built in 89'-present) when these jokes start going bad you will make a ton of money. I can hear it now " sir, that roof has 57 sq. on it, 13 valleys, 5 hips, and not a straight run over 3 sq., the new roof with tear off is $17,000. Times were real good when you built this trophy, now things are a bit tighter huh? take out a loan." Keith. Not bitter, but people have totally lost sensibility, to build these trophies of there success, and I'm doing quality work, but it does not last forever. When this boom is over and i finally build my own house I will get the whole thing under a nice big gable, no valleys, no maintenance, and good old fashioned sensible long runs.
*Jim - I am lucky enough to know a guy who is now retired, but built quite a nice nest egg through business dealings. Whenever I see him, I make a point of asking for advice, which he is generous enough to share. He always says something so basic and profound it amazes me. Last year he says "well we had those sanicans for awhile, and I went out and bought a forklift to get them on and off the truck. Even if it cost as much as the labor it saved, I didn't beat up my body lifting and wrestling those things all the time, so I felt better at the end of the day, and now at the end of my life".Sounds like you are using your head and saving wear and tear on your body, if nothing else. That's not lazy, that's as smart as anything I've heard in awhile.Have you ever thought about investing in a machine of your own? How much steel do you typically use in those big shacks?
*jimthere are usually at 3 to 10 pieces of steel in the houses that I frame.I have thought about buying a forklift,recently however when I mentioned it the wife asked if I really wanted that new truck or not.Thing is I would need the new truck and a trailer to move the darn thing.I have a buddy that buries cable,he has a great big ditch witch that he pulls with his Dodge or Chevy, that could probably move it for me if I ever did get one.My big dream is to get out of framing and possibly get a crane company started,right after I win the LOTTO. For right now though when I talk to the operaters they all say it is a single guys job what with the hours they have them working all the time,60-80hrs a week.Those are definitely not hte hours a daddy of a 5year old and a 1 year old wants to work.So for now I'll just tell the crane guys "where to put it" if you know what I mean,unless anyone knows of a forklift for sale cheap! jim at GW
*Jim,We bought Trus locs about 10 years ago. They work great though I'd never run just one string of them. You'll see them articles we did: FHB 99 and 100 and JLC Dec. 98. As we run out a truss lock we follow with a 2x oe 1x nailer just above it after setting 6 or 8 trusses. We've set in 30 knot winds and felt stable. I like to have 2 guys bracing as we set trusses with crane. On tall trusses we run two sets of truss locs about 1/2 to 2/3 the way up the top cord.I bought them when we did 10 to 20 truss jobs a year. Now that I only do 1 or 2 - I wouldn't spend the money to buy them; but rather I'd go with the single use nail on spacers like the Mitec brand and let the builder / owner pay for them.
*The truss lock is great for some things, such as setting trusses with a crane or large open areas with out partitions to set truss bundles on. I even use mine on small garages some times ( force of habit). They are no substitute for temporary bracing. I will use one or two sets to set trusses and then use 2x bracing if I cant sheet the roof right away.
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I've seen trusslocs ads for years and I'm wondering if any of you guys have used them and what you think of them.Also if you could ballpark a price on them I'd appreciate it.
jim