paying to have trusses installed

[Tarheel Slim]

Im wondering since i only have my 76 year old father to help me ,i dont think we going to manage to install our trusses our selves,so were thinking of getting someone who can do it and do it right,is this usually very costly,i have 23 trusses with 4-12 pitch roof, 30ft.span on gable ends.Curious if anyone has paid to have trusses installed and what they were charged,thanks.

 

[buddyboy]

if you know how to set them then you'll just need muscle to help.

that being said I did it with 6 friends, it wasn't bad, we took our time, took turns and drank lots of beer in one day.

drive around and look for a pole barn being built and ask the crew if they want some side work, or drop in the lumber yard and ask for phone #'s of someone that would do it.

i would think 3 guys for a (short) day would cover it... each guy would want to put at least $100 or $150 in their pocket.

 

[rsanter]

The big issue it lifting the trusses up on top of the walls
If you can rent a forklift and then you and your dad or add a friend into the mix you may be able to get it done like that

Bob

 

[never enuf time]

Ditto on the 3 guy's. 2 on the headers, 1 tipping up. expect to pay 200 plus for good carpenters.

A crane would really speed things up but , more $

 

[Bib Overalls]

We did a bunch of 28' trusses several years ago with three guys, one an experienced carpenter 40' long so 21 trusses. They had them all up before lunch and had it decked before they left. Called it a short day.

 

[iagsxr]

Im wondering since i only have my 76 year old father to help me ,i dont think we going to manage to install our trusses our selves,so were thinking of getting someone who can do it and do it right,is this usually very costly,i have 23 trusses with 4-12 pitch roof, 30ft.span on gable ends.Curious if anyone has paid to have trusses installed and what they were charged,thanks.

You didn't say how tall the sidewalls are or truss spacing. Since you're even thinking of setting them by hand I'll figure 8'-10' sidewalls and 2' on center spacing.

Back when I was a crane operator, myself and a decent crew of three guys could set those trusses in 2-3 hours. Two guys never come off the walls. The guy on the ground runs the guide rope on a rafter tail and hands the guys on the trusses bracing material.

Decent sized crane $100-150/hr in my area. Whatever the going rate for a competent carpenter per hour is in your area per man plus a little because no one likes setting trusses.

I'd be done in that 2-3 hour range plus trip time. The carpenters could have another 2-3 hours of bracing unless you're going to start sheeting it immediately. I mean immediately. The best crews I worked with wouldn't set trusses on Friday unless they were working Saturday. Don't let them sit unsheeted, you're asking for a wind storm. They're no good once they blow down.

 

[Boilerhouse]

When I did my 24 x 30 ft span roof @ 16 inch centers, I rented a crane ($300) and a buddy and I had them up and braced in a couple hours.

 

[Cyberbear]

Yup, a crane is the easy way to go. Mine ran $300.00 for lifting the trusses in place, as well as placing a stack of plywood for the roof sheathing. The framers built a temporary frame work to support the trusses as they lay flat on the walls, ready to be tilted up and secured in place. This really speeds up the job and my trusses and sheathing was installed in a matter of a few morning hours. My 2400 sq/ft shop has a mezzanine floor to set the roof sheathing on and that also helped things move faster.

 

[checkthisout]

Yeah.

Got a couple friends that know stuff or can you at least guide them?

Have the crane guy who's dropping the trusses off stick around and put the trusses in place.

Have all your buddies, tools and layout done and ready to go when the delivery truck shows up.

 

[red61cj5]

I put up 28' trusses on 12' walls a few weeks ago. Takes a few guys to get the gable up, after that it can be done alone, though its slow. Nail cleats along the wall tops to serve as stops and give you something to nail the trusses to, then you drag the truss in upside down, carry one tail up a ladder and set it on the wall, then carry the other tail up and set it on the other wall, the second tail takes some real grunt! Even them up between walls. Now take a 12' pole or 2x4, wedge it under the peak and push the truss into a horizontal position and stick the end of the pole on the ground, it'll stay. take a 16' 2x4 with a short fork nailed to the end, stick it in the peak webbing and push up and over vertical til the truss is leaning on the previous truss. Note that the first pole will fall as soon as the weight is off of it, so avoid it. You must brace each truss as you go. I used those pre made galvanized spacers to space the top chords. Like I said, its slow, and only feasible with 2x4 trusses. But its no more dangerous than other methods, and free.

 

[mmb617]

I set my trusses myself using pretty much the method outlined by red61cj5. I did have my wife there, but her role was strictly supervisory. She was on standby in case someone needed to call 911.

It's not real easy and takes a lot of time, but if you are like me and have more time than money it can be done.

 

[Tarheel Slim]

I have alot of time and little money ,so it hurts to even think about paying good money for something i might be able to do myself.However the contacts i have are through the truss supplier and they know what they are doing,one rough quote was 1200.00 with out prep work (bracing up building) plus 500.00 for a crane wow 1700.00 there goes half of the concrete floor budget.Still not too sure how to go about this,alot of good advice on here though,im glad i found this forum.

 

[greenbikemike]

When I set mine,I called around to some small boom truck companies and asked if they would be working in my area.I lucked out and found a guy that was setting billboards a couple of miles from my house,he came by at lunch,I had two guys working with me and we set 12 40'ers in a little over an hour,
$150.00 cash and he was happy....and so was I! So call around,it's worth a shot.
Good luck,

Greenbikemike

 

[buddyboy]

if you do it yourself, do the gable ends first.

take your time and set them exactly where they need to be.

run a string from the peak of one gable to the peak of the other gable

now you have a guide to make sure all your other trusses line up and your peak won't look all wishy washy

use premarked 2x4's for bracing on the top roof side and also for your rat runs

the first 1/3 of trusses you can swing up one at a time, you'll need to make sure you get all your trusses up there and slide them to one side before setting them or you'll run out of room to swing them up

it'll take you some time, up and down the ladder ALOT doing it yourself

just like everything else in life when you are done you'll be an expert but will never need/want to do it again!

 

[Garage Dog]

If you are short handed, use cleats on your top plate to give yourself a positive stop to position the trusses.


Using a crane is by far the fastest approach. Depending on access and layout - I have a jib boom for my Skidsteer that works nicely as well - just another option if you can find the right guy.

Good Luck

GD

 

[BADSIX]

do you already have the trusses? here the truss co. will put them on the roof for you. my builder helper built a temporary 2x4 wall down the middle of the shop. the truss co. laid the trusses out like a deck of cards the last gable truss was laid top way this way you could stand on the trusses and turn them up starting with the gable ends.
Jay D.

 

[James-W]

I rented a Genie boom lift to lift the rafters into place. I had 3 friends helping me and we did the trusses on the 24X36 garage easily in one day. It cost me $425 plus tax to rent the lift for 24 hours. It was money well spent, it saved a lot of time and more importantly, it saved our backs.

 

[Tarheel Slim]

I just had a guy come do a price quote he said 5500.00 for installing the trusses and fascia,dont think i will be calling him back said it would take 4 days,i dont think so.

 

[rburke65]

I had my local, small lumber/hardware co. supply both material and labor to build my 32'x56' with a 13' plus side all, 8/12 attic truss. The company that made the truss delivered and craned them up. From the time the crane backed down my driveway, the crew of 5 plus crane operator had the trusses up, installed and braced in 2 hours and 12 minutes. I do not know a figure as I wrote one check for it all. Ouch...... Maybe some one with a bucket truck....those trusses can't weigh that much.

 

[landlord30]

My two brothers and I set my 24' long trusses with the help of a scissor lift. One brother on the lift, me and the other brother picked them up set on the lift then we each climbed a ladder as the brother on the lift raised and stood them up. There were a bunch of pre-cut spacers on the lift. The 3 of us nailed each one off completely and moved on to the next.

It actually was a lot easier and went faster than we expected.

 

[red61cj5]

I just had a guy come do a price quote he said 5500.00 for installing the trusses and fascia,dont think i will be calling him back said it would take 4 days,i dont think so.

Did he have an eye patch and a parrot? That's insane, even with a 200/hr crane and you running side to side nailing them off by yourself, I think you'd be cheaper. If that's the going rate, I'm going back to framing.

 

[buddyboy]

5500 !!!

for 2250 I'll fly up there and do it myself (pick me up from airport and drop me back off)

 

[Tarheel Slim]

No eye patch or parrot on shoulder ,more like turban on head,i have a person who can do it, he is busy this time of year,but his price is a fraction of the stupid 5500.00 quote,think he said 1600 -1800 for a crew of three for a full day ,and he told me i may not need to hire a crane,but it looks like im back on track again for now,thanks for all the advice,Buddyboy ,im tempted to take you up on that offer..

 

[jhelrey]

Go drive by a new construction area. Talk to the guys on the roof and ask them to set the trusses and sheeting. Offer them each $300 cash. Bet they will jump on it.

 

[TK-421]

Back in the day, relatively speaking since some of you are quite a bit older than me, I remember dad and one of my uncles putting up trusses using a block and tackle system and my uncle's 70s VW Bug to pull them up. Pretty sure it was only them doing it, but I was only 2 or so, so I don't remember much.

Really, all I can distinctly remember is that they used sesame street walkie talkies that belonged to my brother and I, and I can remember seeing one on the dash of my uncle's bug.

 

[srleen2]

I had mine put up by a local framer as side work on a Saturday morning. It cost me $800 and they were done in an hour. Its a 36x30 garage. It was money well spent.

Thread Here

 

[The Cobbler]

Go drive by a new construction area. Talk to the guys on the roof and ask them to set the trusses and sheeting. Offer them each $300 cash. Bet they will jump on it.

I had my 400 sqf garage framed and sheathed for a grand. The framers were between jobs on new houses and had a day to fit me in. 3 guys were here working at 8am, 2 more showed up at 3 pm and at 5pm we were all having a beer or 2... 5/12 trusses

money well spent.

 

[Tarheel Slim]

Im going to install trusses with a few buddies this weekend,price quotes i got were way to high,thanks for all the input guys,this is a great forum with a wealth of knowledge and information.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

If you were closer, I would volunteer to come help you do this. My Dad and I put the 26 foot 6/12 pitch trusses on my 24 by 50 shop with 9 foot side walls by ourselves with no lift.
We followed a procedure much like red61cj5 describes. Each truss is not very heavy and once it is hanging upside down from the sidewalls, it is not hard to rotate into the upright position with a 2x4 with a v-shaped cutout piece of plywood attached to the end.

A 2x6 nailed to the outside wall extending 6 feet in the air acts as a stop for the gable end truss. Once it and the next truss are upright, a 1x3 on each side of the peak extending towards the to-be-installed trusses acts as temporary nailers to hold each truss in the correct position. These can be removed when decking is applied.

It was much harder to install the the 16.5 foot 4x12 fir headers (about 350 pounds) over each garage door opening by ourselves!

 

[red61cj5]

Im going to install trusses with a few buddies this weekend,price quotes i got were way to high,thanks for all the input guys,this is a great forum with a wealth of knowledge and information.

Best of luck, take it slow, brace everything, set your ladders carefully, and never completely trust anyone who says "I got it"

 

[Bobf]

I did my 24wX30 long garage back in 86 by myself. I had two 10' ladders and just got one side of the trusse up, and then the other side, hanging upside down. I had a long 2x4 with a 3/8" bolt thru a stake in the ground to get the first end gable up I squared it up and nailed it to the long 2x4. Added a couple more long 2x4's to stakes in the ground and nailed it in place. I continued to do the rest of the trusses the same, hanging them upside down, the swing em up and locate and nail. Remember when yo get close to the other end get the last few trusses hanging, then put up the end gable so you can swing up the last few trusses and leave them leaning against the gable braced with several long 2x4s to the ground. I was a lot younger in 86, but the garage and I are still here

 

[brownbagg]

mine was 28 feet 2x4 trusses, I did by hand, never again. one fell and knock the living .... out of me. Don't care what it cost, I pay next time.

 

[WAPat]

About 17 years ago we followed a similar process to what redCJ described on 26 foot 4/12 scissor trusses, flipping them up is not very hard, we were on 8 foot walls though. I really like the idea of setting both ends first and running a string line to align the centers, we had a couple that were a bit off which messed up the sheeting & drywall later on.

If this is stick built and the floor is already in place I would rent 2 sets of scaffolding to stand on rather than ladders I think it would be safer and easier. May be a PITA if the floor is not already poured.

Good luck!

 

[DTE]

Im going to install trusses with a few buddies this weekend,price quotes i got were way to high,thanks for all the input guys,this is a great forum with a wealth of knowledge and information.

One thing that will help is to take a 2x6 or 2 x 8 and cut a notch in each end according to your on center spacing 16 or 24 inches. You can set this bracket over the top cord of your installed truss on one end and then over the top cord of the next truss and it will hold the truss and keep your spacing right. Build a pair, one for each side. It will speed things up and be like 2 extra pair of hands.

 

[rburke65]

And they do sell metal brackets for truss spacing.

 

[red61cj5]

Instead of running a string down the centers to align trusses, its easier to mark the tails on one side for your overhang, then place each mark on the framing of the wall. as long as your walls are straight, the trusses will line up, as they are identically sized in a jig.

 

[Tarheel Slim]

I had two friends help me install the trusses today, need to finish a couple thinks off tomorrow,but im very happy with how it turned out today ,no crane used ,trusses seemed a lot heavier that the 97 pounds the drawing said each truss weighs,I will post some pics of the whole build eventually.

 

[lukedwag]

Rent a small lull and fork them up. Or use a jib on it for more reach. Should not cost more then 1000 for a few days. Even a backhoe can work.