Thread: Unconventional Trusses - Contratcor needed?

Hi Everyone,

Ran into some weird trusses in an attic today where it appears the members were severed and then re supported unconventionally without any fasteners. I was leaning towards making this a minor issue, but then I started thinking about how these are usually engineered specifically for each house and was wondering if this might be a bigger problem? Pictures are attached...

Any and all feedback is appreciated as always,
Chris

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The third photo shows hinged trusses, is this a modular home?

Its a 23 year old pre-manufactured house that needs a new roof, picture included...

Thanks,
Chris

Chris,

The first photo - the verticle members. What keeps them from rotating out of position?

The question really is, have they been modified since original construction/design? If so, it's absolutely a problem. Sure, it's possible to cut a truss and provide adequate support other ways. Determining if the fix is adequate is well beyond what you're there to do.

If you ever talk to an engineer, you won't even finish the phrase 'cut truss' before he cringes.

normal for a house that comes in two halves.

Originally Posted by Jim Zborowski

normal for a house that comes in two halves.

Jim,

The hinged trusses are, but are the verticals?

I see nothing there which will keep that roof from racking end-to-end, or even keep it from falling over toward one end.

I see remnants of truss plates on some of the verticals.

It looks to me like the roofs did not match at the center point, so they added a couple of extra 2x6s, then used 2x6 verticals, only to find that there were only 2x4 verticals below.

Why not run the 2x6 verticals all the way down?

Why not install diagonal bracing. Granted, this is not going to be towed down the road at 70 mph with that head wind trying to push the roof off the back of the house, but surely there are winds near that speed at times in that area? Those would push the roof over one end or the other without any diagonal bracing to resist it.

Thanks for the feedback everyone,

It appeared to me that these trusses had been modified since the house was assembled, some of the hinged trusses were bent and offset, and there were no remaining braces to secure the undersized center truss areas where the modifications took place. All of this was enough for me, I called for a structural engineer...

Best Regards,
Chris

Good call.....

I have seen verticles this way before and generally write them up. I was refereing to the trusses themselves. Allways end up in an arguement with the people setting the modular over doing this to the verticles and normally they give in and correct it.

The first thing I noticed was what looks like a gable end truss with virtually no studs. The verticals look to me like they should have been spliced with a vertical scab. It's quite common to have hinged truss plates like this on a modular house because it drops the height down for transport.

I also agree that bracing might be an issue. It's very common to find houses older than say 15 years that have very scarce diagonal or lateral bracing. Many contractors still do not know it is their job to put them in.