Tag Archives: truss tails

Contractual Minimum Material Specifications

Disclaimer – this and subsequent articles on this subject are not intended to be legal advice, merely an example for discussions between you and your legal advisor.

Please keep in mind, many of these terms are applicable towards post frame building kits and would require edits for cases where a builder is providing erection services or materials and labor.

It never ceases to amaze me, when I read comments from people who have ordered a pole building kit, or a constructed building, and have little or no idea of how their building will go together, or what is or is not included. 

Wood Bending StrengthMINIMUM MATERIALS’ SPECIFICATIONS: (as applicable) Skirt Boards (splash planks): #2&btr pressure preservative treated to a minimum UC-4A specification. Structural Columns (those which support roof loads), pressure preservative treated to a minimum UC-4B specification. Spacing of wall columns is at Seller’s discretion unless specifically indicated on face of Agreement.

Wall Girts and Roof Purlins greater than 8′ in length, minimum #2&btr.

Prefabricated, engineered roof trusses, or rafters, at discretion of Seller, unless otherwise noted in the Agreement. On occasion, with sidewall overhangs, trusses may be shipped without tails – if so, appropriate lumber and hangers (as needed) will be furnished to field add overhangs. Lumber shall conform to the applicable grading agencies Standard Grading Rules. 

29 gauge steel roofing and siding. With steel roofing and siding and no sidewall overhangs, J Channel only shall be provided at tops of sidewalls as eave trim. No drip edge is included for steel roofing. Butyl tape sealant is supplied ONLY on roof steel overlaps for slopes of less than 3/12, unless by special order and indicated on face of invoice. 

Polycarbonate eave light panels are fastened with 1″ white screws nine inches on center. Ridge caps are fastened with roof steel colored stitch screws to each roofing high rib. 

Roof slope(s) not so specified in the Agreement are to be determined by Seller. Permanent roof truss chord bracing is as specified on third party E.O.R. sealed plans, which supersedes truss drawings. 

Sliding doors must be assembled on site, from provided components, will not seal airtight, do not include weather stripping and are not insulated. Sliding door jambs are ripped (by Purchaser) from Seller furnished 2×6 and are not pressure preservative treated as they are protected from weather when the door is closed.

Residential overhead doors may be approximately 2″ less in width and 1″ less in height than dimensions specified. Overhead door openings only are provided without vinyl weather seals. 

Pre-hung entry doors have 3-1/2″ jambs and may need to be installed swinging outward to facilitate full opening width. Doorknobs are usually positioned to be equidistant from top and bottom of doors. Seller is entitled to make substitutions of materials or equipment which Seller deems to be equivalent in performance to materials specified in the Agreement. 

At Seller’s option, roof radiant reflective barrier may be replaced by felt (or other similar barrier) over oriented strand board, without the need for a Change Order. When needed for shear wall requirements, Purchaser will not unduly prevent Seller from relocating any doors, windows, or other openings. 

Any shearwall or diaphragm blocking shall be as specified on third party E.O.R. sealed plans. Seller’s plans and instructions may deviate from component manufacturer’s installation instructions and manuals, due to judicious experience, and Purchaser acknowledges any such deviations are not cause for rejection or demands for extra or alternate materials.

Interior wall framing included only as specified on face of Agreement.

Eave height is the measure from the bottom of the pressure preservative treated skirt board (splash plank) (grade), to the underside of the roof steel (or other roofing material) at the outside of the sidewall double truss bearing columns. 

Interior clear height, allowing for a nominal four inch concrete floor, will be ten inches or more less than the eave height. It is the responsibility of Purchaser to determine if eave height, width and height of door openings, or provided doors, is adequate for Purchaser’s needs.

MINIMUM QUALITY SPECIFICATIONS: Steel roofing and siding may naturally dimple at through fasteners or ripple between supports, and as such, neither is a defect. Steel trims may be subject to oil canning, or other expansion and contraction conditions after installation – this is not a product defect. Although every good faith effort will be made, no guarantee is possible to exactly match any colors, to existing materials. Commercial overhead doors may be primed only, and as such, color variations and/or scratches are not defects.

PURCHASER SUPPLIED MATERIALS: Purchaser clearly understands Purchaser will under no circumstances be reimbursed for the purchase of any replacement materials for any reason (including suspected damage or shortage) without the prior written authorization of Seller, or Seller’s suppliers.

This one pertains specifically when a building is being erected by a contractor:

PURCHASER SUPPLIED LABOR: Any work performed by purchaser is strictly prohibited without Seller’s written consent, however Purchaser may supply his own labor, without adjustment of the agreement price, with the exception of the column holes “where applicable”. Should the Purchaser opt to excavate their own column holes, Seller will furnish Purchaser with a layout only, and Purchaser must properly locate the same. 

Column holes properly located, excavated and cleaned out by Purchaser, passing Building Department inspection will be credited at $10 per hole. For structures where columns are supported by brackets, purchaser to supply all equipment, and labor to properly embed into new concrete, except as otherwise noted. Purchaser is responsible for the timeliness and quality of all labor furnished by Purchaser, and is responsible for the performance of such work according to Seller’s schedule. Purchaser is responsible for Seller’s extra costs pursuant to section xx of this agreement, “change orders”, for extra costs incurred as a consequence of Purchaser’s failure to perform own labor in a timely manner without defect.

Proper Storage of Trusses at the Job Site

Proper storage of trusses at the job site.

Long time readers (or those with time on their hands to have read my previous nearly 1700 articles) will recall in a past life I worked in or owned prefabricated light gauge steel connector plated wood truss manufacturing facilities. In my first long-term position as Sales Manager at Coeur d’Alene Truss (now Coeur d’Alene Builders Supply http://www.cdabuilders.com/) we fabricated huge sets of “saw horses” so we could store trusses vertically in these bunks.

Sadly I see much mishandling of trusses at manufacturing plants, upon delivery and at jobsites. Below are tips to keep your new post frame building’s trusses bright, fresh and structurally sound.

Trusses store best when standing upright.  

Shore and brace standing trusses well to keep from toppling. Trusses stored other than in a vertical position can and will warp, and become difficult to use.  

Store trusses with “tails” (overhangs) elevated so truss weight rests on the bottom chords, not on the truss tails..

Unload trusses in bundles and store on level ground, but never in direct contact with ground (to avoid collecting moisture from the ground). Allow for good drainage at truss storage location in the event rain occurs before installation. Protect trusses from damage resulting from on-site activities, environmental conditions or weather. Exercise care at all times to avoid damage to trusses due to careless handling during delivery, unloading, storage, and installation.

In warm, rainy weather, moisture regain in unprotected trusses can result in fungal staining. Wetting lumber also results in swelling. Subsequent shrinkage may contribute to structural distortions.

To store trusses for a long time period, cover with a water repellent tarp for protection. Plastic is an acceptable alternative, provided there are side openings to allow air flow.

Handle pole building trusses in such a way as to prevent toppling when banding is removed from bundles. Trusses stored on black top (asphalt) or other impervious surfaces and continuously moved around the construction site are subject to damage when they are slid along the surface with equipment. As a result, galvanized coating on connector plates may be removed, allowing plates to rust and possibly reduce plate thickness.

Impact of Weather on Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses

Impact of Weather on Metal Plate Connected Wood Trusses

Proper jobsite storage of trusses has always been near top of my personal list. If in doubt, I recommend erring towards caution’s side. Hansen Pole Buildings’ Construction Manual addresses proper truss handling and storage:

“Trusses store best when standing upright.  

Shore and brace standing trusses well to keep from toppling. Trusses not stored in a vertical position can and will warp, and become difficult to use.  

Store trusses with “tails” (overhangs) so truss weight does not rest on tails.

Unload trusses in bundles and store on level ground, but never in direct contact with ground (to avoid collecting moisture from ground). Allow for good drainage at truss storage location in event rain occurs before installation. Protect trusses from damage resulting from on-site activities, environmental conditions or elements. Exercise care at all times to avoid damage to trusses due to careless handling during delivery, unloading, storage, and installation.

In warm, rainy weather, moisture regain in unprotected trusses can result in fungal staining. Wetting lumber also results in swelling. Subsequent shrinkage of framing may contribute to structural distortions.

To store trusses not being used immediately, cover with a water repellant opaque tarp for protection. Plastic may be an acceptable alternative, provided there are side openings to allow air flow. Handle trusses in such a way as to prevent toppling when removing banding from bundles. Trusses stored on black top or other impervious surfaces and continuously moved around construction site are subject to damage when they are slid along surface with equipment. As a result, galvanized coating on connector plates may be removed, allowing plates to rust and possibly reduce plate thickness.”

(Portions of this article, below, are from an August 7, 2018 article by Sean Shields and Kirk Grundahl, P.E. published in SBC Magazine)

In 2000 and 2004 Alpine (Alpine manufactures steel connector plates for trusses https://alpineitw.com/ ) undertook a weathering study entitled Durability of Plates, R&D #90-07 dated January 3, 2000 and January 22, 2004. Mr. Stu Lewis provided this report to SBCA (Structural Building Components Association) to aid SBCA with background information regarding a common notion truss plates back away from lumber under short term (i.e. less than nine months of outside storage) weather exposure. Key concepts from this report, given an Orlando exposure condition from July 1998 to December 1998 follows:

CONCLUSIONS

  1. No particular plate type in this study showed markedly different back-out performance or retained tooth holding capacity than other plates tested.  
    1. For all plates, storage under cover, even if it was just another joint, was better than direct exposure. 
  2. No excessive corrosion was noted of any type of truss plates, nor were tooth holding reductions considered significant with respect to their magnitude..
    1. …it appears some exposures, specifically top plate on horizontally oriented truss joint fully exposed to weather, experiences an average loss in tooth holding strength of about 14 percent in a 5-6 month exposure in severe central Florida climate of this study
      1. this is likely due to occurrence of plate back-out due to repeated wood shrinkage and swelling. 
  3. Typical practice of permitting trusses to be exposed to environment for a short period of weeks or even months after truss fabrication and before closing in structure is confirmed as not resulting in an excessive loss in strength and is therefore acceptable with respect to joint strength…….. 

Alpine results point us in a right direction, even though this is a limited study of truss plate performance due to weathering. However, all truss weathering studies to date have been performed on truss plates and truss plate joints, but never on finished trusses as stored at truss plant or on job site

Typical practice of permitting trusses to be exposed to environment for a short period of weeks or even months after truss fabrication and before closing in structure is confirmed as not resulting in an excessive loss in strength and therefore acceptable with respect to joint strength… 

Our (SBCA) goal is to take all background information we can find, along with our SBCA weathering testing program findings, and create a set of best practices to help maintain good truss performance during their entire service life (ideally if we can, it would be nice to see consistent trends, predictable and can be modeled)

From this work we believe SBCA will be able to provide best practice counsel with respect to storage, truss plate performance and, most importantly, define any effect on overall truss performance post-installation.