Bubba Roof Trusses

Married2Allis · Sep 20, 2019

I need trusses for a small (but long) barn project, 16 foot wide 6/12 pitch. I would like to build them myself. Is it possible to make them without steel plates or gussets on the corners, and just use wood in-place of the metal? If so, would 5/8" plywood be strong enough? - thanks

Sean Feeney · Sep 20, 2019

lots of info on web / man said in this link he would have bought them
t

circus · Sep 20, 2019

Investigate rafter construction.

Adirondack case guy · Sep 20, 2019

For 16 footers you should be OK with your plan, IF where you are building does not
require a permit and inspection by code enforcement. The bottom cord would be one
piece so no butt joints required. I would also apply a healthy dose of PL400
construction glue to the plywood surfaces where the spanners join the rafters and
bottom cord.
A 16' truss is pretty common, and not that expensive, so you need to
evaluate your time and design/build skills. ----------Loren

tomturkey · Sep 20, 2019

Many times, we have more time than money. With that said, price the trusses, 2x4 will be the most reasonably priced, but if you want to store stuff above, you'll want a 2x6 bottom cord. Then figure how long it will take to cut the rafters, seat cut/birds mouth, plumb cut at the soffit, cut all the plywood gussets, set up a jig or table so you can assemble, or assemble in the air, you'll need scaffolding and a couple more hands. You'll probably be days and money ahead to purchase the trusses. Used to be you could cut and assemble rafters cheaper, but does not seem that way now days. Good luck with your project. Nothing better than inside storage and work space. gobble

coshoo · Sep 20, 2019

Google Midwest plan service, search on that site for roof trusses. They have a book of plans for roof trusses, you can download a PDF of it. 16 footers are going to be pretty simple, so you can probably save money by doing it yourself.

Ellis Kinney · Sep 20, 2019

I have done that a few times. 1/2 inch plywood would be fine, use wood glue or const. glue. Lay your pattern out on the garage floor by snapping chalk lines.
I would price the trusses first, and then price lumber. Use a 2 x 6 bottom piece. Ellis

Billy NY · Sep 20, 2019

+ any truss you buy will have the engineering back up with the order, vs what you build will not. They may work just fine, use care to copy a known design and the details on the splice plates and do not forget the correct bracing, very very important. Remember, they are only strong vertically, turn em on their side, no strength. Good to know when handling, you will need spreader bar to erect safely, then again at 16'-0" might be ok. I worked for a company that had a truss plant, often times helped build these, also hauled them to the jobs. Use care with how many you use and spacing of them. Wider the spacing, the harder it is to work on top of them. I will never frame a roof with 4'-0" spacing like one of our barns had, way too dangerous to fall through. 2'-0" would have been so much better and stronger.

grizz02 · Sep 20, 2019

can you use a ridge beam and rafter off that ? you did not say how long it is but one or two poles down the center might work for you ,just a thought

Married2Allis · Sep 20, 2019

Thanks guys for all of the info. For the building size, I'm OK with the code requirements -- but still want to build it strong enough. The price I'm getting for that size truss around here is about $90 each so I thought it was worth spending the time and hopefully saving some money. I've got more time than money this winter, unlike Loren maybe -- I think that is his 'busy' time, going at it full-tilt with firewood and maple syrup production -- lol. This will help keep me from sitting on my rearend until spring.

I thought about stick building with a ridge beam, but will probably go with trusses. I'll draw out a template on the floor and it sounds like I can use plywood and glue on the corners. And I'll definately do 2' on center for sure.

big jt · Sep 20, 2019

coshoo has it spot on.

Had a construction course at Iowa State that included truss construction with hands on. I have a building we had a set made for by a later
class.

Midwest Plan Service was in the same building at the time. Also the book we used for truss construction included charts for locations in the
country based on snow load and material weights. Their Truss book was about the thickness of a good magazine and had all the info needed.
Much more that could be said but will stop here.

jt

kencombs · Sep 20, 2019

I?ve done stick and self built truss. Believe it or not, stick built
is faster. Put up the joists, fasten well and lay a run of decking
down the center. Makes a good safe work area to tie the
rafters to the ridge. 1x ridge is fine for 16? span. Cut a pattern
and make 4 rafters. Use them to set the two ends and ridge.
Now cut them all and install. You can face nail half of them
using the one inch ridge.

No difference in cut time for the lumber and no cut or nail and
glue time for the plywood plates. And a rafter is much easier
to handle than a truss. JMHO

Geo-TH,In · Sep 20, 2019

I purchased a rental house built in early
50s. Plywood was used in place of metal
plates.

My parents built a house in the 70s. It
was 36 ft wide. Dad built trusses out of
2x6s and plywood. They used a crane to
set them. Both houses are still standing.

So yes plywood can be used.

Menards owns a truss facility a mile
north of the Menards north store.

They can build any truss you want.

From 1991 to 1996 I did extensive
remodeling which required I move an
exterior load bearing wall 3 feet. That
required two specially designed trusses.

It was scary when I removed the last stud
from old wall. House is still standing.
No settling, no cracks in drywall either.

Russ from MN · Sep 20, 2019

I have built some trusses, and I trust them more that some of the factory built ones! This is an example of a little shed I built a few years
ago, and it has stood through a few winters were factory built trussed have failed. OSB works well, it's consistent, and I uses either glue
or construction adhesive, gusset both sides, and lots of nails. If possible the bottom chord should run full length, and be knot free.
Usually when factory trusses fail it's the splice in the bottom chord. In our garage at the cabin I ran cables across from pole to pole next
to the bottom chord and stretched it and clamped, they are factory trusses and I didn't trust them, and I'm not spending the winter in MN to
shovel snow off a roof!

Russ from MN · Sep 20, 2019

Forgot the picture! The special offset is so I could have a higher overhead door. Another advantage of building your own.

showcrop · Sep 21, 2019

Fifty years ago I helped with a project where we built trusses. When I got there the pieces had been all pre-cut. And scrap pieces of 2x4 had been nailed to the floor around a pattern. We took the pieces and laid them down amongst the cleats on the floor, then laid precut pieces of 1/2 plywood onto all the junctions. We then just nailed the plywood onto the truss members at all of the junctions, then lifted it up, flipped it over and nailed plywood to the other side. We stacked them up as we built them. Probably around twenty of them. I think that we got them all built in 2-3 hours, then started handing them up, and they were put in place.

Copperhead don't play · Sep 22, 2019

Ellis why does the bottom have to be a 2x6 when that one piece is in tension not compression?

Dick L · Sep 23, 2019

Truss rafters were being made long before the metal stamped gusset plates were thought of. I helped build trusses for a 30 foot clear span gambrel barn that 2"x 12" were used as gusset plates. The barn is still standing square and true.

Dick L · Sep 23, 2019

When I built this little barn I made a jig on my trailer floor ans used plywood for the gussets.

Bret4207 · Sep 24, 2019

(quoted from post at 18:38:26 09/22/19) Ellis why does the bottom have to be a 2x6 when that one piece is in tension not compression?

I don't know the exact scientific/engineers answer to your question, but I do know when I worked in a truss plant the bottom chord was always the heaviest member in the truss. It carries the weight of the truss itself, plus the load, plus whatever interior ceiling, fixtures, piping, wiring, etc that's hung off it. The bottom chord may look like it's in tension, but my money is that a good portion of it is in compression.

dpendzic · Sep 24, 2019

yes plywood joint plates are very common but have to be fastened properly, the fasteners should be able to match the allowable load each side of the joint for the size timbers used.
those metal stamped plates fail very quick;y in a fire and have a tendency to work them selves loose over time

Stephen Newell · Sep 24, 2019

I have built a number of trusses in place up to 38' in length. Instead of putting a truss every couple of feet I make a doubled
truss and space them 14' apart and use 2x6 purlins between. Where I'm at there isn't hardly any snow so it just needs to support the
roof. In an area heavier snow I would probably space them 8' to 10' apart. As far as gussets, I make them out of plywood and staple
them on with some wood glue.

Married2Allis · Sep 25, 2019

Thanks again for all the info including the pictures! Funny story ... during high school there was a local truss plant in my town and a couple of friends worked there. One day a practical joker tossed an old-style M80 firecracker into a huge pile of sawdust (really stupid, could have burned the place down). They said there was sawdust floating in the air for days.

jaoneill · Sep 26, 2019

No need to use trusses with that span; simple rafter/joist construction would probably be less expensive, more substantial, and not very difficult.

Noah W · Oct 2, 2019

Lotsa good info right HERE.

Noah W

Married2Allis · Oct 2, 2019

(quoted from post at 07:31:33 10/02/19) Lotsa good info right HERE.

Noah W

Great plans in this link, thanks.

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