Trusses are very important structures of many buildings. It helps to build a safe roof system. It is often seen in small sheds and storage buildings. To build truss is not very difficult. Below are some tips to help you build truss on your own. Before building truss, you should always remember to take the basic guidelines from an experienced person, for better formation of the buildings, for both owners and renovators.
- Firstly, you have to be sure that the truss that you are making is suitable for the project or not. You should always be aware of the local building codes before building truss. You should at no cost violate the local building codes. When you are building a truss, you should be very careful about choosing the right lumber. It is advised that you choose lumbers which have high density softwood like southern yellow pine or fir. The lumber should be straight grained. It should not have barked edges. The size of the lumber should ideally be 2 x 4 inch. Another thing to notice while choosing the lumber is that it should be straight.
- It is always better to use metal connectors while building trusses. It is a much better option than screwing the wood together. The metal connectors help to form the triangle construction needed for the pitch of the house.
- You should always look to add support perpendicularly. You should ideally start at the center and move your way out from there. Adding perpendicular 2×4 supports helps to distribute the weight load. You can then add new vertical support that angles from the bottom of the center support on each side of the 2×4.
- Roof trusses should be installed at every 2 foot intervals. The trusses should be made secure with 3 inch deck screws. For the purpose of connecting the trusses you can use braces. You can remove these braces later when the sheathing starts to go.
- You should allow the glue in the truss to dry overnight before you mount the truss. You should make a jig out of plywood immediately after you finish making each truss, so that all the trusses you make are identical. You can use the plywood that you plan to use for roof sheathing for making the jig. In such a way it will not cost anything extra and allow you to build truss of the best quality.
