How Far Apart Are Roof Trusses Spaced

Truss spacing for metal roof.

How far apart are roof trusses spaced. For snow loads exceeding 60 trusses are recommended to be closer together. I ve had roof truss manufacturers try to convince me it is impossible to place wood trusses at spacings of over every 4 feet. Their defense is our engineers will not allow us to. These are typically spaced at certain intervals to provide the necessary support for the roof.

The bay is the space within the truss and the longitudinal joining members are purlins. A 10 8 6 and 4 spacing between trusses has been the standard for most types of construction for years. Higher snow loads and larger spans will require purlins to be spaced closer together than 24 on center in the drift area. These standards are as follows.

With this design change roof trusses could be placed 12 feet apart making it possible for roofs to support the loads to which they would be subjected. Common spacing for trusses on this type of building is often between 2 and 4 feet but trusses built with advanced designs may allow spacing as great as 8 or 12 feet. Once you ve calculated the number of trusses you will need you should purchase the lumber. Putting the trusses into place.

Measure the section of the roof from the fascia to the peak and divide this by two which is the two foot spacing of the wood nailers. In this example the section of roof is 20 feet wide and 14. With traditional stick frame construction the trusses are usually spaced 2 feet apart. It all comes down to engineering.

If purlins are laying flat on top of the truss 5 or 6 feet is the max on 2x4 s edge up can go to 12 feet or more. Typical roof truss spacing means that they are usually about 24 inches from centre which means at the centre of one truss there will be a two foot gap or twenty four inch gap until the centre of the next truss. Most are spaced between 18 26 inches apart. Engineers calculate this on a job site basis.

Typically pole barn style buildings in my area have bays distance between trusses of 5 feet to 12 depending on pitch insulation and height. This is traced back to building codes and structural design standards. Most economical when the difference in slope between the top and bottom chords is at least 3 12 or the bottom chord pitch is no more than half the top chord pitch. Flat the most economical flat truss for a roof is provided when the depth of the truss in inches is approximately equal to 7 of the span in inches.

The trusses should be a little longer than the exact width to allow for overhang and you will need sufficient trusses to mount across the length.