Michael: We are using Engineer Trusses for supported every level in our retreat project has. Lots and lots of trusses, the houses is supported by trusses on the ground floor, trusses under the second floor and we are also using trusses for our web system. All of the trusses in the project are made of Southern Yellow Pine, the strongest of America’s soft wood species. American Trust Systems using number from international paper manufactured the trusses that support the first and second floor. This are called Parallel Chord Open Web Trusses, Al Sifuentes is been in the truss industry for more than 15 year.
Al Sifuentes: You have three basic components; you have the top and the bottom chord of the truss. The interior is the waving and then the waving is prior the most important components and sees where you have the triangulation of the truss, which gives its strength.
Michael: The open web design also makes it easy to install plumbing, electrical, and other mechanical elements. All the trusses in this house are part of an Engineering System; each truss is custom build to carry a specific load. The brace and the thighs of the trusses to gathering quiz stability and make the system form as one structural unit. Building with pre-fabricated trusses eliminates much of the guess work and uncertainly about how much stress the frame of your home can handle.
Al Sifuentes: And the floor system we number every truss, every component. We make a place from plants to correspond with the particular number truss. And then we make an effort to educate the framer at the installation process, let them know what the conditions might excess that might make his job a little challenging.
Michael: Once the first floor is fully frame, the crew they set the trusses for the second floor. The crew they trusses up to the second floor of the old fashion way once they’re setting place the trusses are now to the top plate of the exterior wall. These trusses are almost 30 feet long; this is going to allow our great room to have a wide open area and interrupted by pillars, walls or other structural supports.
Al Sifuentes: When you use trusses and you’re using Clearspan Component. Clearspan meaning that all of the forces and load current composite is carried to the exterior walls your not depending on any interior partitions or barring supports so you can cut been basically and design. Any type of a wall or if you don’t want any walls you want to clear space especially nowadays we see and hear a lot of open or more open living rooms. So, application of that truss really makes it really faceable to do that.
Michael: The trusses are said 18 inches on the center; the trusses have a wide top chord. 3 ½ inches is across, this provides greater support from the sub-floor and helps eliminates squeaks. Not all trusses is look alike, this trusses are called Fillers, they don’t serve a primary structural purpose but the fill out the end walls and save the framers the time that they take to build this part of the frame onsite. When the second floor is fully framed up, it’s time to install the Engineer Group Truss System. Panel Truss of Texas using number from Deltic Timber Corporation manufactured this truss. They were changing for this house nor design to fill these homes specific structural requirements.
Al Sifuentes: Everything is done to the particular plan to their particular project.
Michael: Because of the trusses come pre-assemble, the framing crews is able to install the roof support and a fraction of the time it will take to frame the crew. The roof trusses are space 20 inches on the center, once the installation gets underway the process moves really quickly. This formation tied the roof trusses together; they give the system greater structural strength by making the entire roof perform is one structural unit.
One of the great things about Engineer Trusses is they distribute the way a way from the roof of the room towards the exteriors walls. With the proper design you can really open up the space downstairs so you have bigger more open rooms. You can do the same thing upstairs, if the engineer had designed it that way we could actually add the room appears on the attic. It’s a great investment to get as much spaces as possible.
The structural support provided by trusses also gives architects the freedom to design homes with a very wide opening between rooms. This helps in create homes with spacious and open interiors. For more information on how an Engineer Truss System made of Southern Yellow Pine can make your new house safer, stronger and save you money in the construction process. Visit the Southern Pine Councils website at southernpine.com.
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