Truss spacing

[matt winchel]

Hello Everyone,
I am looking to get a 32 deep by 44 long will say pavilion or shelter built. I steel roof on 6x6 treated posts. The long sides will get LVL's that span the length of the building. My question is my builder has these trusses spaced at 2' on center. I was wondering if they can be spaced a bit further. I am cheap and moving to this larger building from a 30x40 quote. Really hoping he can space them further and have the price come in at the same price for the larger building. Roof sheeting will be 26 gauge steel and being in NC not much snow load. What do you all think?

 

[mike93lx]

They can be spaced at whatever you want to have them designed for.
A 24oc truss cannot be placed at 48oc but a truss designed for 48oc can be. Might be cheaper, might not

48o and 96oc trusses will require different purlins too

 

[jack stand]

A lot of pole buildings are 8' o/c posts and trusses with no beam.
Like mike said, the truss company needs to know and your purlins will probably be 2x6 on edge and possibly a closer spacing.
For a pavilion, it'll certainly limit the bird nesting opportunity but that's a concern to consider.

 

[firebirdparts]

8' is pretty normal, but it's not the same truss you use at 2' and decent size purlins are required (lots of them). If your posts are 8' and your trusses are 8' then of course the LVLs are not required. Different strokes.

 

[dcg9381]

My question is my builder has these trusses spaced at 2' on center. I was wondering if they can be spaced a bit further. I am cheap and moving to this larger building from a 30x40 quote. Really hoping he can space them further and have the price come in at the same price for the larger building. Roof sheeting will be 26 gauge steel and being in NC not much snow load. What do you all think?

If your builder is like my builder, the actual engineering of the trusses (design and spacing) is done as part of the "lumber package". He'd need to go back for an alternate truss design at 3' or 4' spacing.

 

[billconner]

Double trusses at post spacing is common. I have seen up to 12' between posts and double trusses. Bigger purlins of course but no headers between posts for supporting trusses. Savings in labor for fewer posts and trusses.

 

[Skooterj]

I looked at just about every possible truss spacing option before building my 24x30 garage. I found that the pricing was basically the same no matter how I spaced them. If I spaced them 10 foot on center, the increased purlin size ate up the cost difference in the fewer, but more expensive trusses. When I went 2 foot on center, the trusses were cheaper, but the headers needed to hold them all up between the posts, so those needed upsized. Can it be done, sure. Will it be any cheaper, probably not.

 

[ddurrett896]

That's an easy question for the truss manufacturer. When it comes to foundation and framing, I wouldn't cheap out - I'd actually over build.

 

[billconner]

I looked at just about every possible truss spacing option before building my 24x30 garage. I found that the pricing was basically the same no matter how I spaced them. If I spaced them 10 foot on center, the increased purlin size ate up the cost difference in the fewer, but more expensive trusses. When I went 2 foot on center, the trusses were cheaper, but the headers needed to hold them all up between the posts, so those needed upsized. Can it be done, sure. Will it be any cheaper, probably not.

I agree from a materials point of view, but if contracting the work, do you think the labor and equipment is the same? I think erecting fewer posts, no headers, and fewer albeit more expensive trusses must cost less.

 

[d300]

'Pavillion' says post-frame construction. 44'-0 says 11'0 o/c or 8.8' o/c for posts. If you think that you will ever need/want an OHD on the side then use 11'-0 spacing.
You can trade the $$$LVL and smallish trusses for double trusses on the columns and the additional cost for the purlins. Have your builder get material quotes for the different scenarios and then ask him what the labor will look like for each.

 

[Skooterj]

I agree from a materials point of view, but if contracting the work, do you think the labor and equipment is the same? I think erecting fewer posts, no headers, and fewer albeit more expensive trusses must cost less.

I ended up stick framing it myself and hung the trusses by hand with help from friends and family. 24 foot span actually don't weigh all that much, 2 people could pick them up. But I also had a builder quote out the building both as a post frame with 10 foot spacing and as a traditional stick frame and they came within $500 of each other. And more than double what I did it for by myself. Which I get, labor isn't, and shouldn't be cheap. I also had a lumber yard quote it out both ways, and again, the pricing was pretty similar. And since I have no experience with post frame construction myself, I went traditional framed. Like I said, you might be able to save a little money one way of the other, but I don't think it will be much.