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Is this normal? Should I be worried?

2 years ago

I am having a house built, and the contractor said this roof joist is fine. Should I be worried? These pieces do not overlap.


Comments (15)

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Perfectly fine. That's the way trusses are built.


  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Yes, I know trusses are built that way. What I circled is the wood stops and another section about 2 feet continues. the other side is exactly the same, the other side does not stagger the cut piece on the side you see in the picture.


  • 2 years ago

    Your question is not clear to me.

    If this is a custom build, you should be able to see an engineered truss plan showing two trusses joined together. Or have an engineer look at all the framing when it's finished. In fact, the engineer who speced our build is visiting tomorrow to inspect the nearly finished framing job.


  • 2 years ago

    Thanks for answering. If you see the wood, there are 2 pieces, 1 that is about 13 feet long, and the other 2 feet, and they are joined together with the plate. The wood is not a solid 15-foot-long piece. Then the other side has the exact same 2 pieces of wood, both joined with a plate. The sides are not staggered so the joints are not together.




  • 2 years ago

    I would also be worried that the rafter being so close to the join would eventually cause it to fail, but then I’m not a builder. I’d want someone qualified to reassure me that this would not fail before I accepted it.

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Your first picture certainly does not look like there is only 2 feet to one side of the connector. The other pictures are on the reverse side as the first picture. So there is some lack of clarity there.

    We can all see that there are 4 pieces of wood at the connector. 2 pieces butted to 2 pieces. Whether that is a problem depends entirely on the situation. Trusses are made in a factory based on a design that is certified by an engineer. If you don't trust that process - then ask an engineer who can look at the plans and see if they are reasonable and have been followed.

    Does that make sense?

  • 2 years ago

    You are also looking at one truss in a complete system. Each truss does not get engineered, the system as a whole is engineered.

  • PRO
    2 years ago

    "The wood is not a solid 15-foot-long piece."


    And that's why the truss is affordable. They have to have mathematically sound methods of extending members cost effectively.

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Thanks everyone for the responses. Is there any concern this joint will fail because it is not staggered?

  • PRO
    2 years ago

    Have the discussion with the engineer that stamped this design as they are liable.

  • PRO
    2 years ago

    I am worried you are not asking people that know the facts about your construction and are best able to address your concerns. Ask your architect, builder, or truss manufacturer's engineer. That is normal.

  • 2 years ago

    As others have said, you'll need to ask an engineer to know for sure. Fwiw, our double trusses were build exactly like your picture, and had hangers near where there were separate pieces connected together. When the cross sections (perpendicular to the truss) were connected, there were multiple areas where the nails went through both boards. The two trusses essentially should function as one and be connected to each other in multiple places. The nails for the various truss plates probably connect to both trusses too.

  • 2 years ago

    Yes probably safe. The trusses should come with the engineers instructions and stamped buy the engineers to show they meet structural integrity. Particularly in concert with live load and dead load capacity. Useful when determining whether they will handle snow load n such. Also wind sheer or uplifting. There will be engineers notes on the truss schedule or plans that will tell you whether issues like this need extra attention. Things like hurricane straps needed for wind sheer will be noted with an astric. Ask to see the truss blueprint. All information will be on it. Along with the engineers stamp of approval

  • 2 years ago

    No need to worry. That section of the truss is in tension and joining discontinuous members in tension with mending plates is fine. The truss mfr does this where they can to avoid using extremely long pieces of lumber. If they didn't, your truss cost would rise dramatically.

  • 2 years ago

    The force in the bottom chord of a truss should be tension only. The joist hanger suggests there will be a vertical/bending load on the bottom chord which the joint cannot resist.

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