PowerPoint® Presentation

Unit 50
Roof Trusses

Truss Types and Components •

Principles of Truss Design • Truss
Fabrication • Installing Roof Trusses •
Truss Safety
 Unit 50 — Roof Trusses

Roof trusses are

commonly used in
residential construction.
Metal plate connectors
fasten the truss
components together.
 Unit 50 — Roof Trusses

Roof trusses serve

the same purpose
as rafters but
provide a larger
unsupported span.
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Various roof truss

designs can be
combined to form
intersecting roofs.
 Unit 50 — Roof Trusses

A variety of standard roof

truss designs are available.
An endless number of
variations of the standard
designs are possible.
 Unit 50 — Roof Trusses

Galvanized metal
connector plates tie
together chords and web
members and distribute
and transfer loads
between adjacent
members. The teeth are
very sharp and should be
handled carefully.
 Unit 50 — Roof Trusses

Hinge plates may be used as an

alternative to piggyback trusses.
The top chords are aligned at
the peak and nails are driven
through the prepunched holes.
 Unit 50 — Roof Trusses

The balance of tension

and compression gives
a truss its ability to carry
heavy loads and cover
wide spans.
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A tight fit between truss members is essential to the

structural integrity of the truss.
 Unit 50 — Roof Trusses

During manufactured
truss assembly, metal
plate connectors are
pressed into truss
components.
 Unit 50 — Roof Trusses

When framing
intersecting roofs,
valley trusses are
installed over the
roof sheathing. Hip
roofs can be
framed using a
Dutch hip system
where truss jack
rafters are attached
to a hip truss.
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Light trusses can be positioned

by hand after they are placed
upside down between the
exterior walls of a building.
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Longer and heavier

trusses should
always be hoisted
by crane in an
upright position.
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Metal spacers such as these are used to properly

space trusses and are not designed to be used as
bracing. Sheathing is applied directly over the spacers.
 Unit 50 — Roof Trusses

Truss anchors and

hangers are used to
attach trusses to other
structural members.
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For one-story buildings, the first

truss is placed along the double
top plate and is secured with
vertical, horizontal, and lateral
ground braces. For multistory
buildings, ground braces are
attached to the subfloor.
 Unit 50 — Roof Trusses

Temporary diagonal
braces should be
installed across the
top chords of the
trusses at least every
30′ starting from one
end of the building.
Temporary lateral
braces are installed
at 8′-0″ intervals.
 Unit 50 — Roof Trusses

Permanent metal
braces may be
installed between
roof trusses as
lateral bracing.
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Roof anchors are

installed to provide an
anchorage point for
lifelines of personal
fall-arrest systems.