Stick Roofs Vs Trusses

Cole

I know every home is different, but which do you prefer to use and why?

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curapa

I prefer stick framing. I have done my fair share of both and stick framing is by far the best way to go for residential construction. Framing the roof was always the part of construction I looked forward to. I get way more satisfaction after stick framing a roof rather than putting a numbered puzzle together.
I have seen problems on both stick and truss jobs and the stick framing usually is easier and cheaper to fix. Cranes are expensive and it takes a lot of time to turn around backwards trusses. There have been many times customers have wanted walls moved only to find out they are load bearing,...time to call the engineer to get an approved reinforcement sheet. I once had to plywood both sides of about 20 trusses due to customer changes. Sucked!

RobertCDF

Engineering is great! Trusses allow you to span greater distances with less wood. The overall cost savings in lumber alone should cover the cost of a crane and the supposed extra labor?? 2 hours for a full house set 50 + trusses. Kind of hard to do that with stick frame.

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Chris Johnson

Straight forward roofs are always easier with truss, get into something complicated, multi level, turrets and stick is the only way to go, stick shows the men from the boys, but that's where it ends, the truss job looks better in the bank account.

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Chris

shed-n-deck

Trusses fit most of the time, stick framing ensures a perfect fit everytime. Although, site built trusses are good.

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Shed

wallmaxx

All the high end builder's I knew back in Houston were all about stick built roofs. It seemed that the general consensus was that cheap builders used trusses and siding. This is what I grew up with.

Now up here in the Pacific NW, 99% of the homes are siding, and 95% are trusses. Where the Houston homes sell for $90 to $150 PSF, they are up to as high as the $350s PSF ???

I love the options that stick framing allows.

Except for the fact that you are completing the joists at the same time as you are erecting the roof (i.e. trusses), I am still bothered by 2x4s and plates in a truss verses 2x6s, 2x8s, 2x10s and on occasion, 2x12s in a stick framed roof.

Has anyone done burn data on a truss roof collapse verses a stick roof collapse in a fire situation...I wonder which one would give the occupants and fire fighters the most time before the roof came down?

Most of the complex custom homes I have framed had roofs that a truss company would only be able to build half or less, and then they would "cloud" in the areas that were to be "framed by others". No thanks. It is a pain to tie stick framing rafters into trusses (at least for me). But I guess I could learn.

Finally, why pay the truss guy to do part of the job that could be added to your contract / pay?

My vote is for stick built.

K2

A truss can clear span a thousand feet or more. Not going to happen with any kind of conventional cut roof. But all your cut ins almost have to be site cut. Generally, a truss roof just plain has more options, in my opinion.

K2

Also a truss can be designed with tail bearing which i've been using lately.

reveivl

I've done 40' clear span w/second floor trusses, and large shops w/trusses, but most of my work is additions to existing residential buildings, and by the time you cut in the trusses to the existing out of level/square/plumb/true, you might as well have stick framed the whole thing. So I do both as the situation demands.

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curapa

It is true that trusses can span greater distances and can be set quickly when conditions are right. Stick and truss both have their benifits and downfalls.
I think trusses are great for tract homes or commercial situations but are a no-go for custom homes.

thom

I'm a fan of trusses. At least around here, we end up with a flatter roof and a flatter ceiling. Getting straight lumber to stick frame a roof is tough.

The load bearing thing is a non-starter. The roof trusses span from the outside walls. They aren't moving. For floors, I used the I-joists for a while but switched to web trusses as a result of the constant bitching of my hvac contractor. Trusses are more expensive but save a lot in labor for the other trades.

Chris Johnson

Do you actually see $$$ savings or does the job get completed faster and thats the savings you see? I'm more curious than anything because I have never seen a sub trade discount the job because there are less holes to drill.

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Chris

747

Chris johnson do you have any pics you can post of icf homes you have built?
This is something i don't see to much of in suburban chicagoland.

K2

Most of what I framed were customs with 50 to a hundred unique roof planes. They all came out as a truss pack with a hundred + pages of truss details. Of course there was plenty of cutting too... I think if an architect is very familiar with what trusses can do he will have alot more design options.

curapa

I "trussed" a school one time, the trusses came with 2 - 3" notebooks full of layouts, truss bracing plans and other crap I had to read through. The roof could have been framed faster than the time it took to brace and repair the the crappy trusses. In the end I had to stick frame the details such as arched roofs and decorative overhangs.
The problem is finding companies to design the trusses right, I have sent to many trusses back due to wrong measurements, repaired to many and reinforced to many to appreciate them more than what I can do with traditional framing.

shed-n-deck

Another thing that I've noticed about trusses is that creeper trusses almost always seem to be wrong, no matter how perfect the hip truss fits. Hip trusses typically don't land where they need to either. Step down trusses work a bit better, but they're even wrong sometimes. Although, maybe it's just the manufacturer of the trusses...

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Shed

thom

Re: floor trusses. You're probably correct. The savings goes to the subs. With the I Joists, I had to be on the job with my notebook computer (and the I joist software of course) and calculate/approve all holes for the tinner and the plumber. With web trusses that's not an issue, I can design in a large duct chase.

thom

Several issues I've read here:

Length: Typically you can build a roof truss that will clear span up to 75'. Good luck getting that delivered. I build with 40' clear spans on roof trusses all the time.

Design: I design each truss. I give my truss manufacturer the list and details of each truss. He engineers them by filling in the web and plate locations but they look like the designs I give him and match the dimensions I give him. This is probably the most common failing. The house designer doesn't do anything with the truss designs. The truss manufacturer is trying to scale dimensions off the plans. On my floor trusses I give him a drawing of each truss with the duct chases shown but without webs. He engineers the webs to work.

Papers: You need to have a design and engineering report for each truss. Of course if you use 8 identical trusses you only need one engineering report. This is really no different than engineering each different rafter/joist combination.

On many projects a combination works best. Most of the roof will be trussed but there will be fill in places that are stick framed.

My framers don't use a crane. They will lift a 40' truss up on to a 2 story with no problems.

K2

We have nice small house cranes around here for about 80 bucks an hour. They handle about a 1500 lb girder truss max and they maneuver really quick. I pulled trusses for 15 years and used a crane for 15. If framers use a crane with an experienced roof truss operator they will never go back to pulling trusses. ... A crane can pull up big gables with sheathing, barges, and soffits already on them.

We used to level dirt for slabs with a pick and shovel. Then one day a guy drove up with a skid steer. Even the Mexicans around here use a skidder. They use a house crane too.

Yeah, you do need a full time truss shop with the latest software and people that can build them without mistakes. Our shops always did a great job.

tinner666

I'll stick will stick built. Even though trusses sure make a nice looking, usable attic.

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