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Truss Headaches

lrs123 | Posted in General Questions on

Hi all, 
I realize this is a “green” building question, but i trust the expertise on these forms and hope some folks may be willing to chime in. 

I recently installed raised heel trusses on a home my wife and I are building. They looked wavy coming off the truck, but being a rookie I assumed they’d straighten out once we got them up and braced. Long story short they didn’t. Lots of bows, warp and twist. They manufacture came and reviewed them on site and apologized for the quality. They provided additional lumber to sister on the top chords so that sheathing will break properly but advised against straighten them to avoid nail plates pulling out. They were not concerned that the issues compromised the strength. I’m ready to sheath but am having a heck of a time trying to ensure anything is plumb due to all the variation (let alone get the gable trusses anywhere close to straight. 

So the question is how long should i chase my tail? The truss documents say an 8′ tall truss needs to be plumb within 2″! That seems insane, but i realize perfect is not realistic. What’s good enough? I’m ok putting more effort into shimming siding and trim flat as long as everything is structurally sound and not going to bite me down the road. 

Appreciate any thoughts

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Replies

  1. Malcolm_Taylor | | #1

    Luke,

    Any trusses that resembled what you have described would have gone back on the next truck. I've had one or two trusses that need some minor remediation - and I was alright with that as long as the supplier did the work. Part of why you use trusses is they are a manufactured product, so you don't have to deal with the imperfections of dimensional lumber. I wouldn't put any time into playing around with them.

  2. lrs123 | | #2

    Thanks Malcom. The whole deal has been pretty discouraging. I'll contact them and get their opinion.

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