If you are in the process of constructing a new home, you will need to think about the type of roof trusses you wish to incorporate. Traditionally, timber trusses were used primarily in purely functional ways. The function of a truss is to support the walls and roof of your property. However, modern interior design trends will often incorporate exposed timber trusses as part of the overall aesthetics of a home. Below is a guide to 3 things you need to consider when choosing trusses for your building project.
The dimension of the trusses
The size of the trusses required for your construction project will largely be determined by the load each truss needs to support. You should work with your roofing contractor in order to establish the weight of the roofing materials and work with other contractors to establish the load-bearing capacity of the walls of the building. These professionals will then be able to advise you on the dimensions of the trusses. You can then decide on a size of truss which best fits the look you want to achieve.
The number of trusses
Once you have established the overall load which the trusses will need to bear and the load-bearing capacity of an individual truss, you will be able to calculate the number of trusses required in order to construct a safe building which will not be at risk to collapse. Because the trusses will be exposed, you may wish to add additional non-load bearing trusses for aesthetic reasons. For example, if the numbers or locations of the trusses make a room look uneven, you may wish to add one to balance the room. However, on no account should you install fewer trusses than the minimum recommended. If you do so, you place the structural integrity of your home at risk.
The need for additional support
Your roofing contractor may recommend that you install additional supports to your timber trusses to reinforce them. These reinforcements typically take the form of steel brackets which are attached to the base of each truss. This metal will be cut to fit each specific truss. If you are worried about how the steel will impact on the aesthetic appeal of your new home, you should speak to a contractor about the various ways steel can be disguised. If you are completely against using steel brackets on the trusses, you may need to consider installing larger trusses to remove the need for additional support.
For further information about roof trusses, you should contact a roofing company today.
Share28 August 2017
Hello, my name is Ryan and this is my blog. I don't work in the roofing industry but I recently had to spend a week on the roof of my home trying to fix it up. I am pretty good at DIY, but in the end, I had to call in a roofing contractor to help me out. I decided to replace the entire roof and that wasn't a job I was going to take on my own. I have learnt a lot during the past few weeks and I hope to use this blog to pass on some of my knowledge.