Results 1 to 6 of 6
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Cadillac, Michigan
    Posts
    49

    Default Would you ? Roof truss?

    I thought the bearing condition at the transition of these roof trusses between the house and a single stall attached garage with the edge of the bearing wall roughly 2 1/2" from the dropped bottom chord of the garage ceiling was unusual and without support from below and, might have been different than the truss engineer had in mind. I therefore reported as follows:
    "Roof truss drawings, should be obtained to verify that the connections at the intersection of the garage and house, were designed for the anticipated loads of the lower bottom chord of the truss over the garage, without vertical support at the interior house wall and the vertical member connections roughly 2" from the vertical support wall. Suggest verification from the Building Official or preferably the Structural Engineer that designed the truss."
    Got a call a few weeks after the inspection from the Realtor, who represented the seller as well as the buyer on this 1 1/2 year old property in a resort complex. He felt I was way out of line in questioning this condition in the absence of any obvious drywall cracks etc. I also caused him a lot of extra work getting the local building inspector back involved who said it looked ok.

    Is this something I should have just ignore?
    At this point, I feel that I met my obligation with my client, the buyer, and if they want to accept the verbal ok from the building inspector through the Realtor than that should satisfy my responsibility.
    Any thoughts?

    Similar Threads:
    ***IMPORTANT*** You Need To Register To View Images ***IMPORTANT*** You Need To Register To View Images
    Crawl Space Creeper
    Gary Bottomley
    Cadillac, Michigan

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Southern Vancouver Island
    Posts
    4,607

    Default Re: Would you ? Roof truss?

    No doubt, it is a weird design, and it appears that the garage ceiling is hanging only on those tiny straps.
    I was not there, so I am just saying this: in general, I would point out the weakness to my client, in the event that they might wish to use the ceiling to support heavy weights.
    It is easy to say now that you went overboard, now that the other inspector verified that it is ok.

    The realtor was p-ed off but will get over it. Just imagine what the reaction would be if you said nothing and the ceiling collapsed after the buyers moved in.

    John Kogel, RHI, BC HI Lic #47455
    www.allsafehome.ca

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Knoxville, TN
    Posts
    2,560

    Default Re: Would you ? Roof truss?

    It is a strange design, or at least its one I haven't seen before.
    I would probably have handled it the same way you did.


  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fletcher, NC
    Posts
    28,032

    Default Re: Would you ? Roof truss?

    Typically, it's not the distance of the dropped bottom chord from the bearing which matters, it's the minimum bearing on the top plate which matters most.

    Typically, engineers in my experience go with a minimum bearing of 3" on the 2x4 top plate, but I've seen some who accepted 2" bearing as the loads were within what that could support.

    If the bearing was less than 3", I'd say call it out, let the engineering sign off on less than that.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Cadillac, Michigan
    Posts
    49

    Default Re: Would you ? Roof truss?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jerry Peck View Post
    Typically, it's not the distance of the dropped bottom chord from the bearing which matters, it's the minimum bearing on the top plate which matters most.

    Typically, engineers in my experience go with a minimum bearing of 3" on the 2x4 top plate, but I've seen some who accepted 2" bearing as the loads were within what that could support.

    If the bearing was less than 3", I'd say call it out, let the engineering sign off on less than that.
    I would say that there is at least 3" left on the 2x6 vertical bearing members of that portion of the truss. My concern was more for the mono truss portion of the assembly over the garage and if the engineer was expecting any support for either down or lateral loads at the lower bottom chord.
    I've attached a shot of the exterior showing the garage where I would estimate the width is roughly 15'.

    ***IMPORTANT*** You Need To Register To View Images ***IMPORTANT*** You Need To Register To View Images
    Gary Bottomley
    Cadillac, Michigan

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fletcher, NC
    Posts
    28,032

    Default Re: Would you ? Roof truss?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gary Bottomley View Post
    I would say that there is at least 3" left on the 2x6 vertical bearing members of that portion of the truss.
    In my code inspections for new construction, I would have had the engineer address the 'less-than-full-bearing' of the 2x6 on the top plate, however, as I said, typically they go with that 3" I mentioned earlier - it's just that I can have the engineer address this condition with a letter. The contractor who installed the trusses covers the truss engineers cost, and you would be surprised (or maybe you would not be surprised ) at how that cuts down on repeated installation on the next structure they frame.

    My concern was more for the mono truss portion of the assembly over the garage and if the engineer was expecting any support for either down or lateral loads at the lower bottom chord.
    Those loads are typically addressed with lateral bracing on the bottom chords (some was visible in your photos), sometimes on the verticals, and sometimes at the top chords at gable ends, and with diagonal bracing for studs which exceed 3 feet in height. All depends on the engineering.

    Jerry Peck
    Construction/Litigation/Code Consultant - Retired
    www.AskCodeMan.com

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •