Trusses

The particular truss pictured above is a pre-manufactured truss used for a room. Trusses come in all shapes and uses if you decide to use prefab trusses as opposed to stick built. Conventional stick built trusses work just as well, it just depends on what type of roofing style you are going to use. Typically stick built trusses are most all of the time used when roof angles and pitches are not conventional, such as on a custom built home. That being said, these trusses can be used on regular pitched roofs as well, it just takes longer to build and set the trusses.

It also comes down to a money issue. Trusses that are prefab can be put up and set quicker, thus saving time. In the building business, TIME = MONEY. I would propose to use prefab trusses whenever possible because they help to save time. I haven't done a study on how much expensive trusses are than conventional stick built roof trusses, and it may come to a wash. Even so, if you can put up 2 more homes a year, or one more commercial project a year because of the time savings, you have already made more money. So from a monetary standpoint, it seems like a win/win situation. With the numbers I proposed, I was being quite conservative, so if the time savings are even more, then you have really done your business a favor.

There are all sorts of trusses available. There are trusses for putting air handlers in the attic, gable trusses, scissor - used for a vaulted ceiling, vaulted, shed, and the list continues on and on. Below is a picture, taken from http://www.raftertales.com/home-remodeling/roof-truss/, showing the many different options available with prefab trusses.

Also, below is another photo of a scissor truss in a set of plans we received over the summer for a home built in Roanoke. The scissor truss is in the family room. As you can tell, it creates a nice vaulted ceiling.