Truss strategy

[bcsaltchucker]

So my walls are up and my trusses have arrived. yippee

but then. gulp

I was kind of expecting one big bundle but the crane dropped them in 2 bundles. In the heat of the moment I said put one bundle at each end, and I braced them in place for now.

But now I kind of regret that. I can set the gable end drop truss easily now, but can't just place any next to it. Instead this situation forces me to start in the middle now.

So here is my new strategy:
- set up vert braces at the ends and install the gable end drop trusses, as is commonly done.
- Set vert bracing in the middle of the garage for the first middle truss and inch it over into place (or flip it down, inch it over and flip it up to the vert brace)
- Add spacers to the drop trusses to attach temp longitudinal braces at the heigh of the other trusses . So I'll then have 2 16' braces along the top from the gable end truss to the middle truss. The engineering instructions demand doing these temp braces anyways.
- Then I can inch the rest of the trusses into place, clamped to the longitudinal bracing, without needing to lift nor flip any trusses, though I probably have to drop and flip the first middle truss.

Seem OK?

Yeah I know this will be slow. I am retired and have all the time in the world lol. I may need a bigger ladder as mine is like 9' high, with 10' walls (but I am 6' 4")

 

[sjvicker]

Maybe I’m not following correctly but that seems convoluted. I’d look to rent a material lift and pick up the bundle and work backwards from the gable wall dropping one truss at whatever spacing you require.

https://www.acmetools.com/genie-16-ft-4-in-superlift-advantage-material-lift-sla-15/407650003731.html?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23305433921&gclid=CjwKCAjw5ZXQBhBdEiwAI5XVWRM35LeWs0XE-9cmnVg82EUSwa7kGY8vW-cJhA0NRRJldsU5jZcU2xoCj24QAvD_BwE

 

[bcsaltchucker]

yes a lift, telehandler or crane is the quick safe way to do it. Also doesn't cost $0 lol. The lift you link to looks kind of narrow for such a wide awkward load, but they do rent larger ones. My initial plan was to rent a genie but apparently not kosher for lifting trusses. The telehandler is the more accepted tool. Engineering requires the braces anyways, so why not use them to help slide down the trusses by hand. Nice that I already have them up on the plates.

 

[mike93lx]

Get something to lift them so you aren't up there when they fall over, and don't do this solo. They are too big for someone inexperienced.

 

[LopezBart]

Those trusses don't look that heavy.... if you can coerce/cajole/con someone to help, rotating them down one at a time and inching them along will work; we built my dad's barn that way w/ much taller gambrel roof trusses we made. If you have a pickup truck w/ a hitch and rack, a vertical box beam made of 2x6s securely attache to the truck will easily allow you to hoist trusses and move them down.

Work safe.

 

[ddurrett896]

Obviously a crane can get to the jobsite. Why not mark the top plate, hire a crane and have them fly the trusses into each spot? Find a buddy to walk the opposite top plate or stand on a set of rolling baker scafolding.

Built mine 5 years ago and the crane was $400 and got (27) trusses from the ground to installed in 1.5 hours.

 

[kwb]

I rented a small scissor lift for setting mine.
Three man operation.
One in the lift, one on each end.
Few hours for a group of rookies on a Saturday

 

[Viper98912]

I would not be working 10-15 feet in the air on an A-frame ladder trying to move those trusses individually. One (or multiple ones) falls over, flips a 180, knocks you or your ladder, and you come crashing down on hard concrete.

Definitely rent a small crane, or at a minimum rent a good size scissor lift, and use it to drag/slide them across while using the scissor lift as sturdy base.

 

[JuncleJohn]

I’ve always lifted them up by hand with a few helpers. But, we were all much younger.

John

 

[LopezBart]

I’ve always lifted them up by hand with a few helpers. But, we were all much younger.

We'd put blocking on the walls, then attach a long 2x4 vertically for a handle and then rotate the truss on the walls, and brace it to the other trusses already fastened once we were sure the ends were in the right spot..

 

[JuncleJohn]

Yeah, we’d set a truss upside down, then we had a long 2x4 fork with one guy using that to rotate the truss upright. We called him the “Fork ****”.

Good times. I’ve built 4 garages over about 25-30 years.

John

 

[MushCreek]

Just make sure you brace each truss as you go. A local 'professional' was killed by a set of falling trusses. When I did mine, I hired a crane and had a couple buddies help out. Two guys on the roof, one guy hooking up the truss and keeping it from twirling with a rope tied to it.

 

[jack stand]

Take that bundle of trusses apart one at a time and let it turn upside down with the peak pointing at the ground. Slide it out to its position.
You should have both walls laid out starting from the same end with your layout.
A 12' 2x4 with a short (20") 2x4 nailed to the end making a "Y" to invert and raise the peak. It's often called a pusher stick although it'll work lowering them also.
This was sop before cranes and telehandlers were commonplace.
3 guys are ideal for this operation and you should have at least 2 to swing them upside down and sliding into (near) it's position.
I would work them all from your starting point (once inverted they can be moved almost effortlessly) and leave the last 3 vertically. You'll need the space to rotate the truss back up.
You're temp end support should be a "T" made from 2 2x4x16, 2 on each end wall and fastened with some GRK rss structural screws into a wall stud dividing the overall wall into 3.
Be sure to have lot's of 16' material for temporary bracing, this is where you can get in trouble.
Upon sheathing, put your truss layout (24" oc is common) on the upper edge of every sheet for your nailing guide. Straighten out your gable ends once you have 5-6 trusses in place and braced.
A half dozen 26" strapping or 2x4 are handy for this a you'll pull them as needed for sheathing.

 

[CraigStu]

Just make sure you brace each truss as you go. A local 'professional' was killed by a set of falling trusses. When I did mine, I hired a crane and had a couple buddies help out. Two guys on the roof, one guy hooking up the truss and keeping it from twirling with a rope tied to it.

This is how we did my SIL's garage. On another garage we had 5 guys and did it all by hand w/ the trusses initially sitting on the ground. That crane dropping them like that, to me anyway, may have made the job worse. On the 5 guys job we made up 3 different length pushers to flip the truss over. We did that so the pushers could take the short one, push till the end sat on the floor. Then grab the next longer one and push till it's end sat on the floor. This way, since only one guy was under 55, we could take a 1-2 minute break if needed between pushers.

 

[bcsaltchucker]

So the rain shut me down a couple days but I got back to it today. Changed my strategy a bit: I made a rail system. I propped upt a 16' 2x6 in the middle of the garage and strung a 19 foot 2x4 from it to the drop gable truss - through the webs of the truss. ie the truss can hang off it and not flip down.

Then I peeled off one truss at a time from the secured bundle beside the gable truss.

I Slid each truss down the plates by pushing it with a 2x4 from the ground. This way I don't have to be on a ladder nor even very close to the truss at all. Helps that these trusses have long tails on them for my planned 2 foot overhangs.

It took an hour or two to set up the rail system but now each truss is taking me about 10 minutes each to release, slide down the rail, and secured into position. I am adding more X bracing to the seated trusses making it fairly secure and rigid in the middle now. The hard part was setting up the rail and the first truss.

Now it goes pretty quickly - all of it working alone.