ECN Forum Forums Photo Discussion Forums Photos for General Discussion Truss Construction

Most trusses are not supposed to be supported mid span, they are only supported on each end. The bottom cord of the truss is under tension and has virtually no downward force. The connection to interior wall is to keep the trusses in line and hold the wall plumb. This is often done with L-clips or toe nailing.

Curt

They are also not supposed to be damaged by a cretin firing willy nilly with a framing nailer. Look- 6 nails visible, all of them absolutely bloody useless. Highly stressed Chord with a big chunk missing, nails through and down the plate side, nails too close to arris, the 'nail from nowhere', nails under driven.
Never any excuse for this sort of butchery, - and this truss is scrap IMO.

Alan

Interesting pic Doug,
I couldn't agree more Alan, IMO the worse thing they ever did was give carpenters nail-guns.
I've injured myself I don't know how many times up in roof voids, on nails protruding from places they should never have been in.
I've also noticed that them nails used in nail-guns are twice as sharp at the point as standard (manually-fitted ) nails.
Good for tearing into your hand in a dimly-lit roof.
One thing I have learned, is never sit down on any trusses or wall plates in a roof in New Zealand.
Unbelievable.

Curt - This was at the end of the truss... it spans across the cathedral ceiling living room. That upraised piece in the foreground was the end of it.

One of the things that also surprised me is the lack of reinforcement at the midpoint - just a "spike plate" butt-joining the two 2 bys' that make up the bottom chord. And no, the "angles" of the truss didn't meet there either.