How to Order Roof Trusses for On-Time Delivery

Ordering trusses may seem like just another step in construction, but poor planning or missing details can lead to costly delays, structural issues, and even failed inspections. At Truss Components of WA, we prioritize clear communication and a seamless process to ensure your project stays on track. Here’s what you need to know to make your truss ordering experience hassle-free.

The truss ordering experience begins the moment the building plans are being drawn. While you are working with an architect, you can reach out to an expert truss manufacturer and find out what should be included in your plans. Truss experts will know about energy codes that can affect how your trusses are built and how trusses should line up on the building. They will advise you to include information about fascia material and soffit treatment so a designer can calculate overhang dimensions as well as if you plan to include mechanical unit loads in your truss designs, such as HVAC systems or solar panels. Advanced planning is required to ensure the trusses can handle additional weight.

Once your building plans are drawn up, you can send them to Truss Components of WA by email or bring them into the office in Tumwater. You will be connected to a sales representative who can answer any additional questions you may have, and our designers will do a preliminary design. The preliminary design will allow the team to provide you with a cost estimate for the project. They will need the exact address or a parcel number for the project. Once you decide that you would like to go through with ordering from Truss Components, your sales representative will dive into the nitty gritty details and commence the final design process.

Your sales representative will determine if a site measure is needed. Site measures are commonly conducted when you are doing an addition on a home or replacing damaged trusses on existing framing. The contractor or framer should be present during the measure to provide insights that aren’t captured in the building plans. The site measure prevents a mismatch between the building plans, ensures the foundation dimensions match what was drawn and prevents the need for costly on-site modifications or repairs needed later down the road.

When your designs are finalized, it is time to get on the books. Truss manufacturers schedule by the week instead of the exact days. To choose a week, the operations manager may ask you when your foundation is being poured and when your permits are being approved. This can help pinpoint a time your site would be ready.

Once a committed week is chosen, the operations manager will do their best to get the trusses delivered on the day you request, giving you a call two weeks in advance to verify the readiness of the job site. If your jobsite is not ready, your delivery can be rescheduled for a later week. Most trusses are built two days before shipment to minimize exposure to weather and ensure quality control before delivery.

Truss Components values clear communication, contacting you when you have been scheduled, when your trusses are built, and as they are going out for delivery. On delivery day, driveways need to be cleared of lumber packs and equipment and the building crew need to be present to receive the trusses. Power lines, underground utilities and site access are to be accounted for. If the ground is muddy or snowy, packing it down aids the truck in driving into the site.

In the unlikely event that there is a truss that breaks after the driver leaves or it doesn’t fit as expected, Truss Components is there to work through it with you. If a truss breaks, snap a picture and send it to your salesperson immediately so they can work on a repair. If your trusses don’t fit, double check the layout and call your salesperson. Do not make on-site modifications. This can result in structural failures and fail inspection. It is most likely that the trusses will be installed as expected and you can move forward with your project.

At Truss Components of WA, we take pride in delivering high-quality trusses and providing a seamless experience from start to finish. With clear communication, thorough planning, and expert guidance, we help keep your construction project on track. If you have any questions or are ready to place an order, contact us today.

EVERYTHING You Need to Know About Roof Truss Designs

Roof trusses play a critical role in providing support and shaping the overall structure of your building. With so many different truss designs available, how will you know which one is perfect for your project? Whether you are designing a vaulted ceiling in your master bedroom, looking for extra space in your attic or want to double your roof as an outdoor living area, understanding your options will help you make informed decisions. In this guide, we'll break down the most common types of roof trusses, their benefits, and when to use them.

Common Trusses

Common Trusses are the most frequently used trusses in residential construction and may be referred to as a regular or standard truss. The design features a peak in the top center and a flat bottom. These trusses can span from 8 to 80 feet and are primarily built with 2x4s. The span these trusses allow for are determined by the feet between panel points. The space between panel points are referred to as panels. For the top chords of the truss, there needs to be a panel point every 8 feet. For the bottom chord, there needs to be a panel point every 10 feet. A panel point is where the webs of the truss meet the top and bottom chords. If a truss only has 1 web, like a King Post Truss, it can only span 16 feet due to each panel only being able to go to 8 feet.

There are many kinds of common trusses due to how many webs can be added. A Queen Post Truss, also called a fan truss, has a post with two webs and can span 20 plus feet. The Fink Truss features a W pattern and the Howe Truss has four webs and a post. The Howe and Fink trusses are both named after the people who invented them. The Howe truss may also be referred to as a four over four common truss due to their being four panels on the top and four on the bottom. These styles may be modified to allow for a building with a greater span, up to about 80 feet total.

Vault Trusses

Vault is a generic term that implies the trusses are creating volume in the ceiling. The most common and simple type of vault truss is a Scissor Truss. The Scissor Truss has a slope on the bottom chord that matches the slope of the top chord of the truss and a bottom peak matching that of the top. It is ideal for creating more space inside of a building and can span buildings of 8 to 80 feet.

Scissor trusses present limitations about how far the bottom chord needs to be from the top chord for load-bearing, especially near the ends of the truss where the space is thinner. Some may opt to do a Parallel Chord Vault, where a web joins the edges of the top and bottom chord.

Other common vault trusses are the Partial, Offset and Barrel Vault Trusses. A Partial Vault truss is a truss that allows a builder to have a vault over a specific section of ceiling or room, leaving the rest of the ceiling flat. This truss has a bottom chord that slopes up and then drops vertically down, joining with the rest of the bottom chord, which is flat. An Offset Vault truss is similar to the partial vault, but the drop in the bottom chord may be a small slope instead of a vertical drop. A Barrel Vault Truss has a bottom chord that mimics a round vault.

Mono Trusses

Mono Truss is short for Mono Slope Truss or Single Slope Truss. They are essentially one half of a common truss. This design is often used against the side of another building. An example of this is in a Monitor-Style building, which has a peak in its center and a Mono Truss on each side. Many designs are available for Mono Truss, such as a Vault Mono Truss, which allows for more ceiling height.

Flat Trusses

Flat Trusses are popular for commercial applications, modern homes and even floors. Sometimes people have a flat roof built on their home that doubles as an outdoor living space. Three types of Flat Trusses are the Pratt Web Pattern, the Warren Pattern and the Mansard Truss. A Pratt Web Pattern Truss has a combination of vertical and diagonal webs. The Warren Pattern has alternating diagonal webs. Both the Pratt and Warren Patterns were named after the people who invented them. A Mansard Truss is a flat truss with a sloping roof on each side that is popular in commercial buildings. This design allows building owners to keep appliances, such as HVAC units, concealed on the roof. Builders may also choose to use a Sloping Flat Truss that works similarly to a vault truss in that it allows for higher ceilings.

Room in Attic Trusses

The main purpose of a Room in Attic Truss, also called a Bonus Room Truss, is to create usable space in the roof structure that is more economical than adding a second or third floor to a building. Extra space can be utilized for living, storage or mechanical purposes. A simple Room in Attic Truss has the structure of a common truss, but a collar tie forms the ceiling and the ends of the truss are supporting by knee walls. The Gambrel Truss Design is popular for attics because it has slopes outside that allow for a large space within a small span.

Conclusion

Selecting the right truss ensures your structure is not only strong and durable but also optimized for space, aesthetics, and cost-efficiency. Whether you want a common truss for a basic design, a vaulted truss for extra ceiling room, or a room in attic truss for living or storage space, knowing your options can help you make the best decision for your project. The staff at Truss Components of Washington are dedicated to making sure you know all the facts before choosing the perfect truss structure for you.

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Breaking Down the Costs: What Makes Roof Trusses More Expensive?

Roof trusses are a critical component of modern construction, providing structural support and shaping the roof of a building. Their cost varies widely based on factors like truss design, ceiling height, attic space, and the building's location.

Types of Trusses

The most economical trussed roof is a gable end style with standard heels. This truss uses the least number of pieces to construct the trusses and allows for the most repetition in the fabrication process. 

This style of roof is the most common, and it can be seen on everything from churches to schools, and residences to garages and backyard sheds. With this style, if your building is a rectangle, you will have two parallel walls with gutter and the other two parallel walls will have siding.

The second most popular option is a hip roof. This is a design in which every wall has a gutter line, and the roof slopes up to the peak from every side of the building. Some benefits of a hip roof include lower maintenance costs because there is less painted siding to maintain, and the roof may appear to be less tall, which can help with proportions depending on the overall design of the building. 

The fabrication and installation of a hip roof is more complicated since there will be more individual truss profiles and less repetition in the building process, so you can expect a hip roof to cost a few percent more than a gable roof.

Ceiling Designs 

The typical home built before the 1970’s, with some exceptions, was simple – short walls and flat ceilings. While that was an efficient and economical way to build, it often created a space that felt a little confining. 

In the 1970’s a trend began to add vaulted ceilings to affordable homes, and today most homes have sloped ceilings in at least some of the living spaces. This not only opens the feeling in the home, but also might allow for some views to include sky and transitions into airy outdoor covered living spaces. Like the hip roofs, vaulted trusses are more complex than flat bottom trusses, so they cost a few percent more. 

Another common method to increase the open feeling is to use flat ceiling trusses on taller walls. In this instance the trusses will be more economical, but the wall framing will cost a little more. Either way, it’s an investment in comfort.

Attic Space

Depending on the span and slope of your roof trusses, there is a potential for a lot of empty space! You don’t have to let that space go unused, and it’s a lot easier to make the most of it if you plan ahead with some room-in-attic style trusses. 

Room-in-attic trusses tend to cost 2-3x as much as common trusses for the same size, but the additional usable square footage you gain will be much less expensive than adding a second or third story that is conventionally framed. 

If you would like to use the space but don’t plan to finish it for living in, storage trusses are a good option. They are built with the webs spread out so that you can stack some boxes or other light-weight items in the attic, and their cost tends to be about one and a half times common trusses of the same size.

If you want or need to get more insulation value in your attic, a common solution is the raised heel truss. In this case, the top chord of the truss is held up from the wall so that full depth insulation can be spread to the outside of the attic. Raising the top chord of the truss means more pieces and more fabrication complexity, so it may drive the cost of the truss package up 10% or more.

Another option to achieve this depth of insulation and provide backing for an enclosed soffit is to cantilever the truss overhang. The cost of the cantilevered overhang will be similar to the raised heel method.

If you really want a modern look and want to enjoy the outdoors while still at home, a great option is a low-sloping flat roof that you can use as a deck over your living space below. This is increasingly popular as building lots become more compact, and to get a decent amount of indoor living space there isn’t as much available space for a yard. Since the flat roof trusses will be shallow and have the need to support a higher live load than a typical sloped roof, they will tend to cost 15- 20% more than the typical sloped roof trusses. Like the attic trusses, they are an investment in usable space that would otherwise be lost.

Steepness of Pitch

If you are building with a sloping roof, the steepness of the pitch will affect the cost of the package. A common middle ground is somewhere around a 4/12 to a 6/12 slope. Going either shallower or steeper can increase the price. 

In the case of a shallow roof, the lumber grades and connector plates sizes may need to be increased to meet deflection standards. On the other hand, building with a steep slope may cause additional expense in transportation due to oversize loads.

Any of the styles of roofs described above can be built with standard, raised or cantilevered heels. The standard heel, where the top chord of the truss rests directly on the bottom chord at the outside of the building, is almost always the most economical option. There are the least pieces, and for whatever slope you choose, the standard heel will result in the shortest overall height of the truss. 

Outside Forces

There are a couple of considerations that are outside of our control. In the coastal lowlands of the west, snow depth is low, so the standard load is low – it's often the lowest allowable load per code. 

If you travel up into the hills or mountains and gain some elevation, that potential snow depth becomes greater, and the design load increases along with that depth. The increased load means that the lumber and connector plates in the trusses need to be increased in size and grade to carry that extra weight. 

Bigger lumber and plates will equate to more expensive trusses. This can vary greatly, from as little as a few extra percent to more than doubling the cost of the roof truss package. This is not an area to cut costs, though. The load is what it is, and the safety of your family is worth what it costs to construct a truss package sturdy enough to withstand whatever mother nature will send its way. 

The other load factor that needs to be dealt with is the wind in the local region. Unlike the snow load, wind loading doesn’t typically make a significant difference in the cost of the trusses, but it may impact the cost of the bracing design, materials and installation.

Conclusion

There are a lot of factors that affect the price of the roof truss package. Some of these factors are within our control, others are not. Sometimes spending a little more on the roof trusses is more economical than other ways of accomplishing the similar living space, and other times investing a little more in a vaulted ceiling or raised heels will improve the overall comfort of the structure. 

In the end, a safe budget for roof trusses tends to be about 5-10% of the budget for the building, not including land and permits. For a detailed, accurate price, your roof truss supplier will analyze your building plans, discuss the options with you, and take into consideration your wants, needs and the conditions of the site where you are building.

Thanks for reading this article and please feel free to reach out to your truss supplier with any questions – we love to help!