How Far Apart Are Roof Trusses

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.

How far apart are roof trusses. 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. These standards are as follows. Position the truss on the floor with the bottom chord near you and the king post on the right. Typically pole barn style buildings in my area have bays distance between trusses of 5 feet to 12 depending on pitch insulation and height.

Once you ve calculated the number of trusses you will need you should purchase the lumber. Span length for 2 6 rafters 2 6 shed roof rafters are enough for nearly any type of shed a homeowner wants to build. 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. 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.

Putting the trusses into place. The same concept holds true for roof trusses. 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. 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.

Converting that to feet and inches the on center distance is 2 feet 10 1 2 inches. Can span up to 13 4. Engineers have since determined however that the physical design of a post frame building will allow for standard spacing as great as 12 feet from the center when using high quality metal connector plates and lumber. For many traditional stick frame builders trusses spaced 8 feet apart seems unnatural but thanks to the ingenuity of modern engineering it is a very common building design.

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. This is traced back to building codes and structural design standards. Truss spacing for metal roof. An syp 2 6 rafter at 24 o c.

Hook your tape measure on the king post to make marks at 2 feet 10 1 2 inches and 5 feet 9 inches on both the top and bottom chords. I ve had roof truss manufacturers try to convince me it is impossible to place wood trusses at spacings of over every 4 feet. While a 2 6 might be nearly double the cost of a 2 4 you can likely space the 2x6s further apart negating the added expense of increasing your lumber width. Roof trusses were usually produced on site in the past.

So the space between rafters can be greater without reducing the maximum span. It all comes down to engineering.