Roof Rafters & Trusses – Order Them Early
Roof Rafters & Trusses might seem very complicated but remember you are contracting your own home not building it out of scratch. From your detailed plans you can ask you local building supply store, from whom you have elected to do business with and order all of your supplies and negotiated a discount to provide a price for your roof rafters and trusses. They are manufactured by firms that specialize in their construction and have software that calculates the varying loads and stress’s that are applied in different regions of the nation.
That is exactly was I did. First went to our building supply store with a copy of all of my roof rafters & trusses design as well as the flooring joist and any supporting structures made out of LVL. Laminated Veneer Lumber is a high-strength engineered wood product made from veneers bonded together under heat and pressure. It is used for permanent structural applications including beams and rafters.
The total order is a nice one for any firm, and they will negotiate, so use some leverage by providing and disclosing their competitions rate. I received two other quotes by going direct to manufacturers as well.
The end result was that I split the job up in the end. Roof rafters & trusses to one and the floor joist and LVL to another. We ordered the roof rafters & trusses well ahead of the start of excavation some 3 weeks if I recall, as can be seen by this photo they arrived on time. Our rough carpentry crew installed the roof rafters and trusses and it when well to a degree, some of them were slightly off in measurement but as my foreman stated this usually happens, some adjustments are normal.
Typically some portions of the roof is assembled on the ground like gables. Its just easier this way. A crane or lift is used to lift the trusses in place as well as any pre assembled gables.
Once the roof rafters & trusses are installed and supported its time to reinforce the roof by installing the sheeting. 5/8 th will the thickness you will require.
There are 3 different types of sheeting OSB ,plywood, and pressure treated plywood. OSB being cheaper, and pressure treated plywood being the best. Your budget and the type of weather you encounter on a year round basis will dictate what you will use. I opted for the best, that being PT plywood.
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