How To Construct Roof Trusses

The bottom chord which is the bottom of the framed truss.

How to construct roof trusses.

Trusses are commonly used to provide support for roofs bridges and other expansive structures. There are three parts to the roof truss that you have to know. Now assembly of your roof trusses can finally begin. Brace the trusses in place and check for plump prior to securing the frame.

Sheathing added on top of the trusses will provide final support to the roof trusses. Trusses can be constructed with smaller sized lumber than rafters and often their cost is not significantly higher than normal rafters. Finally there are the gussets that hold the framed truss together. Toe nail them into the top plate to secure them and then make sure they are braced laterally using blocking or long purlins.

Begin by determining the measurements of the roof s slope. Once the trusses are constructed lift them into place and set them onto the top plates of the exterior walls just as you would a beam or joist. The best way to assemble the trusses is to lay each rafter and bottom chord on the ground in the desired shape. The good thing about roof trusses is that they are simple to construct.

Attach the truss to the frame every 2 feet securing them with 3 inch deck screws. The overhang will depend on the size of the building or house and the pitch of the roof. The trusses you require may depend upon the shed s length. Even if you don t know how to build a truss any diyer with confidence can construct a simple roof truss for a shed.

Use of manufactured roof trusses can dramatically cut labor costs when framing a gable roof compared to building rafters. Take two rafters and connect the peak at the plumbed corner you created. Do this by nailing the triangular gusses to the rafters. Again for the sake of simplicity we ll be building a truss for a gable roof.

Determine your shed roof pitch. To put together a simple wooden truss you ll fasten a number of pre cut beams into a chosen configuration inside a sturdy triangular frame which will help distribute the weight of the structure more evenly. The longer your shed is the more roof trusses you will have to make. Install the roof trusses.

Then there is the top chord or rafters that are angled to make the roof pitch.