I am looking to purchase roof or floor trusses or roof beams for my new house or addition, what do I do?

•  Please send us the Architects or Builders’ drawings, or a sketch of your requirements. We ideally like plans, elevations and sections.

 

How can I send you my drawings?

• By snail mail, e-mail (please contact us before sending), by facsimile, hand delivered to our offices – if from fax, please include written dimensions as we cannot scale from a fax.

 

What area of the Country do you cover?

• We provide service to NC, VA and SC; we will ask for your site location to assist when preparing your quotation.

 

What is your delivery period?

• This varies according to the time of year and complexity of the job, but is normally around 1 to 2 weeks, although “rush” jobs can usually be catered for. Large or complex jobs may require additional time.

 

How will you give me a price, and what will it include?

• Our estimators issue detailed quotations, identifying all the items we have allowed for individually. This normally includes all the roof & floor truss or I-Joist, floor beams & LVLs, all bracing materials, any fixings used when erecting the roof or floor structure, any additional timber infill required to complete the structure.

 

Do you provide drawings or calculations?

• Once an order is placed, we can provide truss & floor beam calculations and layout drawings free of charge.

Note: Drawings can be provided for a fee if no products are purchased, provided certain criteria has been met.

 

Can the trusses, floor beams or ancillary timbers be treated with a preservative?

• Yes; we can supply products that have been treated with preservative or made from fire retardant lumber.

Note: If you are interested in a Pressure Treated truss, Engineering requirements dictates that certain design modifications be made:

1- All Pressure Treated lumber must be re-dried to 19% moisture content.

2- Truss plates be manufactured Stainless Steel plates.

3- A reduction in allowable load capacity.

 

These factors contribute to an significant increase in cost factors.

 

Can I purchase other materials for my roof or floor system?

• Yes; we can supply gable ladders, pre-sheathed gable ends, LVLs & glulam beams, valley sets, roofing metal, rubberized or steel shingles, Metal panels or 7/16" OSB, etc..

 

If your quotation is acceptable, what do I do next?

• Once you have contacted us, by telephone, via e-mail or facsimile to advise us of your intention, you (or your builder/carpenter) will have to verify all design criteria in order to insure against extra charges to you. The quotation sent will have a place at the bottom in order to acknowledge everything meets with your approval. On difficult projects, we offer a site survey facility for locations within 75 mile radius of our factory. Finally, on payment of a 50% deposit production process will begin.

 

What if there are any alterations which need to be made to the truss drawings?

• You, the builder or carpenter, should mark the alterations on the supplied drawings, or if there are significant differences, send in a new set of drawings so a revised set of drawings from office can be issued.

 

How do I pay you?

• The payment terms will be given on the bottom of our quotation. But normally for individuals a 50% deposit is required with full payment upon delivery. Contractors with an established account in good standing will be billed.

 

How do I arrange a delivery date?

• Deliveries are booked via the Production Controller and Logistics personnel, who will normally give an indication of the day of delivery. We normally will call you the day before delivery to confirm time of arrival on site.

Note: if we are required to meet a crane on site, or there are particular requirements or access restrictions for vehicles, we MUST be notified of these at the time of order.

 

What happens if I need to make changes to a truss or trusses that have been erected?

• No alterations to any truss can be carried out without prior consultation with the manufacturer. Occasionally it is possible to allow on site repairs once our Engineers have carried out the necessary design work; there is a fee for this service.

 

Can you crane the trusses onto the top of the walls for me?

• We can lift the trusses into place if certain conditions are met:

1. Advanced notice must be given so trusses are strapped together in bundles that are manageable.

2. Clear access must be available at the site. This will be determined by the crane operator.

4. Framers must be on site to direct the crane operator and assist with rigging.

 

I am designing my own house. What floor and roof parameters will result in the most economical structure?

• In floor design the span has the most effect on cost. Try to keep distances between supporting beams or walls to 16’- 18’. Specifying glued sub-floor and using 3/4" span rated floor sheathing both increase the stiffness of the floor assembly and therefore reduce the cost of the floor joists or trusses. For a 2 story house, keeping the bearing walls for the roof and the second floor vertically in line with the supporting structure for the main floor reduces the number of engineered beams required. This applies even more so to "loft" style houses where the roof structure is supported on the interior walls.

The truss design is affected primarily by the complexity of the roof and ceiling shape. Keeping the number of jogs and angles to a minimum will help to reduce the cost of trusses. Coffered ceilings add to the complexity of the trusses and sometimes can be done more economically by raising the wall height and framing the coffers down. When the overall height of the roof exceeds 12 ft the trusses will probably require piggy backs which adds to the cost of both the trusses and the installation.