Not Just Another Building BlogNot Just Another Building Blog

About Me

Not Just Another Building Blog

This is not just another building blog. No, we want it to be one of the best building blogs you ever read. We post articles all about the construction industry, and about the work that contractors do. Now, you may wonder why you'd want to read about construction and contractors if you don't work in this industry yourself. But here's the thing: you live in a house. You drive on roads. So, you make use of the structures that contractors build as a part of your daily life. We think that makes construction worth knowing about and reading about, don't you?

Tags

Building Trusses—Engineered Framing Materials

8 June 2023
 Categories: Construction & Contractors, Blog

Building trusses are engineered framing materials that are designed to support the rooftop. Familiarize yourself with a standard truss design. Then, learn how a truss system will play a role in the construction of your new home.

Rafters Versus Trusses

Wooden rafters are framing materials that are designed to be installed at an angle. A series of rafters will meet the bottom of a roofing system. Rafters serve the same purpose as trusses but require more labor during the installation process.

Trusses are mechanically manufactured. The use of computer software guides a manufacturer in designing trusses that will be suited for use with a particular roofing style. Trusses are lightweight. They are installed much faster than wooden rafters.

The Parts Of A Truss

A single truss will contain top chord pieces and bottom chord pieces. The pieces will form a triangular shape. The pieces that are connected to the chords will be anchored in the middle of a truss. The middle pieces will form a web-like design. They will add strength to a truss.

The slope and span of a truss can be customized. The construction contractor who is building your home will use the proposed rooftop design to assist with choosing a specific slope and span for the truss materials that they will use during the framing process.

Support For Live And Dead Loads

Building trusses distribute the weight of a roofing system. They transfer the weight to the exterior walls and support beams that a home is constructed of. Trusses provide support for live and dead loads.

A live load is an additional weight that will only be present on a temporary basis. Live loads include precipitation that has fallen onto a rooftop. If a roof is being repaired or upgraded, the weight of the roofing machinery and the weight of each roofer would contribute toward the total weight of a live load.

A dead load consists of all of the roofing materials that a roofing system is constructed of. 

The Installation Of Other Materials

The design of the truss system that your contractor installs may influence how wiring, plumbing materials, and HVAC materials are installed. Your contractor will determine the best setup, based upon the amount of space within your home and the exact layout of each room. Wires and other materials can be routed through the gaps that are located within the center of a building truss.