COLLAR TIES VS RAFTER TIES PROFESSIONAL

Journeyman carpenters (the highest skill level) are often required to navigate the complex structural requirements of a stick built home. However, this process can be slow and require much more skill and experience than installing trusses. What Are the Disadvantages Of Using Rafters?īuilding rafters and other roof components by hand is the traditional method of constructing a roof system. In these instances, building rafters and other roofing components on site saves time, effort, and most importantly, improves quality. Some situations require small tweaks to the framing to close small gaps or square up a section. It should be noted however, that trusses are not adjustable. As such, most will employ trusses wherever possible.

COLLAR TIES VS RAFTER TIES PROFESSIONAL

During normal construction, professional builders are primarily interested in speed while maintaining quality construction. Rafters have the advantage of being customizable on site. What Are the Advantages Of Using Rafters? Smaller trusses used on smaller homes can sometimes be installed with simple labor, but in most situations, a crane will actually be more cost-effective. However, in the majority of new construction, trusses will require the use of a crane. Most new homes built today incorporate trusses instead of rafters and other components, because they are much faster and simpler to install. This opens up many more design options, as often weight-bearing walls can be reduced or eliminated. Trusses use components similar to an expansion bridge to span much larger distances than are generally possible with rafters. This makes trusses not only fast to install, but in most designs, easier. While rafters rely on joists and other components for support, trusses are mostly self-supporting. This chord will usually extend from an exterior wall to the gable, just like a rafter. Trusses also establish this pitch, but the board in a truss that performs the function of a rafter is called a chord. This is important because the pitch will establish the look and functionality of the roof, not to mention the amount of roofing materials needed. Roof rafterįor example, if a roof’s vertical measurement rises 4’ in height for every 12’ in length, the roof would be said to have a 4/12 pitch. Rafters establish the angle of the roof, which is expressed as a ratio of height to length. However, while trusses can essentially stand alone and perform their function, rafters only make up one component of a roof system. In a sense, yes, rafters and trusses have the same purpose. Do Rafters and Trusses Do the Same Thing? Trusses are generally custom built in a factory based on the job they must perform, and delivered to the job site ready to install. When professionals discuss “stick building”, they are referring to the traditional method of building a roof system on-site using rafters, joists, and other components. Trusses, however, incorporate nearly all of these components into a ready-made unit. Rafters are just one component in a roof system, along with collar ties, ceiling joists, rafter ties, strong backs, and weight-bearing walls. Both rafters and trusses can form the framework of a roof system, but they can be used very differently. Held fine until we tore it off for a second story addition.If you have ever wondered what the difference is between a rafter and a truss, you’ve come to the right place. I jacked up the roof over a couple weeks, nailed the out of the rafter/rafter tie lap, and created a truss system with plywood gussets. I talked to my engineer and learned that the connection of the rafter ties to the rafters where they lap was very important. That wasn't enough and over time that nailed joint began to fail and the ridge sagged, the walls moved and the fascia bowed under the stress. They were probably enough to keep the rafters in place, the ridge board from sagging and the walls from splaying outward but the framer only used a couple or 3 16d's at the lap with the rafters. My current house had a concrete tile roof with 2 x 6 rafter ties every 4 ft. Always use the metal straps over the ridge. I've installed engineer designed collar ties with no rafter ties or ceiling joists but they were engineered carefully and installed properly. They might also reduce the deflection on very steeply pitched and undersized rafters in an existing structure. The author neglects to consider the main purpose of the ties, which is to keep the rafter tops spreading during wind uplift, but this is done much more cheaply through metal straps.

Collar ties vs rafter ties