Roof trusses are the most important part of your homes. These offer strong support and shape to your roofs. These also help them become more durable against the elements of weather. Trusses can be constructed in a number of ways according to your specific construction needs. They can also be constructed to support the materials that you are using to construct your roof.
Knowing the different types of trusses that are popular in the market these days will help you pick the one that is best suited to your roofing requirements.
Bowstring roof trusses
This type of roof truss is usually used in buildings that have large open spaces such as warehouses and aircraft hangars. These have an arched top chord that meets the bottom chord at the two ends. Multiple beams are used to make up the arch.
Sheets of metal or any other material is used to cover up the arch to form the roof. There is no need to install a ridge cap in this kind of a roof truss as water can easily slide off from them.
Dual pitched trusses
This is the standard triangular roof truss design. In this design the two sides grade up to the apex and there are struts or upper chords that come down from it. The two sides are attached to a bottom horizontal beam, completing the third side of the triangle.
Usually the upper chords are made of different lengths. This makes the apex off-center. Having the apex off-center allows the home or office owner to have plenty of unobstructed open space.
Gambrel Trusses
This design has been in use since long back. It is a kind of roof resembles that of a barn roof and is usually symmetrical in appearance. This type of roof trusses uses two upper chords and one is longer than the second. Similar to the dual pitched trusses the gambrel truss chords also meet at the apex.
Due to the presence of steep sides, there is the possibility of getting adequate living or storage space under the roof. Depending on how you want to use it, you can pick the ideal gambrel roof design for you.
This type of roof trusses is ideal for those looking to incorporate additional floor beneath the roof. It also allows for the inclusion of large windows making the interiors of your house brighter.
Why do you need roof trussing?
The main reason why your home needs roof trusses is to protect the house from the natural elements. Trussing allows your roofs the reinforcement that it needs to withstand the forces of nature and general wear and tear of the years.
Getting strong roof trusses also ensure that your roofing material provides you with the ultimate amount of safety and security. Roof trusses are also highly energy efficient as compared to other roofing methods.
A roof truss also forms the foundation of the roof of your home. Other roofing materials are put on the truss and having a strong foundation will ensure that your home becomes a strong structure.