Design

Valley Sets

Question: 

What are the requirements for installing valley sets over roof trusses? I am interested in nailing and support conditions. Some engineers ask for the bottom chord of the valley truss to be ripped to match the roof pitch of the underlying trusses. Is this necessary? How can I calculate values for uplift resistance for the building inspector?

Old Fire Retardant Treated Lumber

Question: 

I have recently heard of a problem with fire-retardant-treated wood (FRTW) trusses that were manufactured and installed in 1965-1980. I was searching for more information, since my job involves the protection of property in our member school districts. I had heard that the trusses make of FRTW during that time period can or will become corrosive to the hardware and the trusses will fail.

Fall Protection

Question: 

Are wood trusses designed to be fall protection anchors that would support a worker should he fall?

Industry Standard Responsibilities

Question: 

What is the industry standard for ordering residential roof truss systems: Should the general contractor/builder field measure before ordering trusses or should he rely on the blueprint? Who is responsible for their accuracy – the plan service, the truss manufacturer, the builder/general contractor or the framing contractor?

Strongback Bracing

Question: 

I am looking for strongback bracing requirements for a 12 in. deep residential floor system with trusses in lengths up to 19 ft. Can the strongback bracing end at a truss without tying into an end wall? For instance, can three trusses of a type be tied together by strongbacks, then the next series of different trusses be tied together without having to be tied back to the previous type of trusses?

Gable End Bracing

Question: 

Is there a detailed table for gable studs that gives the maximum length a vertical member can be before a lateral brace is required?

Truss Technician Requirements Definition

Question: 

What are the qualifications (if any) required to be considered a truss technician?

Floor Performance

Question: 

How do you avoid floor performance problems?

Additional Loads

Question: 

I am a structural engineer designing pool cage structures that are typically attached to the house at the fascia board. Sometimes, the structure is attached where trusses are behind the fascia board and other times there is a framed gable end overhang. Do you know of any information concerning this additional load on the trusses or overhang under design wind loads? Is there a limiting distance on the amount of overhang? I know trusses are designed for certain uplift and the pool cage will add to this uplift at design load, but what about the gable end overhangs?

Continuous Lateral Bracing

Question: 

How important is continuous lateral bracing in roof trusses? Is it detrimental to the roof integrity if it is missing?