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Trusses

Trusses, in building terminology, are normally associated with the roof.  Find out why trusses are so important to your building structure.

What are Trusses?

In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure made up of one or more triangular units made with straight members whose ends are connected at joints.  There are two basic types of truss.  The pitched truss or common truss is characterised by its triangular shape, and is most often used for roof construction.  Some common trusses are named according to their web configuration.  The chord size and web configuration are determined by things such as span, load, and spacing.  The parallel chord truss or flat truss gets its name from its parallel top and bottom chords.  It is often used for floor construction.  A combination of the two is called a truncated truss and it is used in hip roof construction.  A metal plate connected wood truss is a roof or floor truss whose wood members are connected with metal connector plates.

Trusses are generally known as premade, triangulated wooden structures used to support the roof.  They are incredibly strong, cost effective, just about any shape can be custom built, and you can span a large distance with a truss and the truss transmits all of the weight to the exterior walls meaning that none of the interior walls are load bearing.  Trusses also go up quickly.  One disadvantage of trusses however, is that they do not leave any usable attic space.

Standard Truss Configurations

Some standard truss configurations include:
• the “w” truss
• the “m” truss
• the “scissors” truss
• the “gable” truss
• the “raised heel” truss
• the “dropped chord” truss
• the “Belgian” truss
• the “parallel chord” truss
• the “Pratt bottom chord” truss
• the “Pratt top chord” truss
• the “arch frame” truss
• the “slope frame” truss

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