Your Ally In Construction

Many new homes and commercial buildings use a truss roof to support the roofing materials and tie the structure together. The trusses you are using must be strong enough to do the job, and they are typically designed by an engineer to the specifications of the architect that designed the building. 

Where To Order Trusses

When you need building trusses for your building, you need to contact a building supply center that can order them for you. Often the building supply will have someone that works with contractors and builders to get the correct trusses ordered for their needs. 

Building trusses must support the roof of the building, and in areas with a lot of snow in the winter or storms in the summer, it is critical that they do that job properly. The trusses sit on the other walls of the structure and span the distance between them, so if the truss is not made correctly, it can sag in the middle and course the roof to collapse. 

The design of the building trusses is typically already determined by the architect that designed the building, and when made correctly, they will be strong enough to do the job. It is critical that the design is not altered or the truss could fail. 

Installing Trusses

Once the building trusses are complete, a truck will deliver them to the job site. Setting the trusses in place is typically done with a crane, and each truss is placed into the correct position and secured. The truss must be anchored to the header of the wall with a hurricane strap, a metal bracket designed to keep the wind from pulling the roof off the structure.

In some parts of the country, these straps are required, but even if they are not in your area, they are good insurance if a storm comes up unexpectedly that is strong enough to lift the roof. Blocking connects the trusses to strengthen the entire structure and keep the building trusses from racking until the plywood is in place to create the roof deck.

Once all the building trusses are in place and the contractor verifies they are square and correct, the crew will start placing plywood over the trusses and securing it. This is the base of the roof and must be secured to the trusses correctly to ensure the structure is sound. Once the plywood is complete, the contractor can install the roofing material over the truss structure to create a solid, strong building that will stand the test of time. 

For more information on building trusses, contact a company like Campbell Truss Company Inc.