Setting roof trusses

When installing a hip roof truss package, what is the best truss to start with? I know that it's common to set the doubled bridge/girder truss that Jack's tie into, but wondering if there is an easier way when the trusses have to be dragged along the top plates in position due to no lull. Installing the double girder truss would mean a long walk for the rest.

 

Hard to say when we can't see your entire truss package or know your whole design. If you have trusses that need to go beyond the double girder, build a short temporary wall in the middle of the span just beyond the girder and drag them all out there first, laying them down and stacking them until you need them. Then you can flip them all up one by one and lean them against the girder once the hip is complete... and drag them down one at a time.

Or just measure and mark your layout and start at the far end if there is no hip on the far end.

 

I look at the trusses to be set and the site. If the crane can only reach one end of the house you have to drag them the rest of the way. In general I start at the far end and work backwards since you have to lay down other trusses to get others over them.

 

Sorry, did leave out details. It's a regular hip style roof meaning sloped on all four sides of the building. There is a second hip that ties into it on one side but that just looks like a few valley trusses. I'm sure I'll have to figure out how it works but I was told that I should sheet the full building roof and attach the small second hip roof to the sheeting.

It has two girder trusses, one on each side about 8 to 10 feet in from the short walls of the building.

No lift or crane, just a bucket loader and forks. Will only be able to use it to set one truss at a time on the edge of the building then it's up to manpower to drag them, stand them, brace and secure them. That's why I was hoping for any pointers. General consensus is to start with the first truss, and work off that. I can only assume that's because you can use the jack trusses to hold the girder plump. Which makes sense to me, just means one side until the middle will be more work since trusses need dragged from the far end after setting up Jack's and girder. I like the idea of a temp wall used to hold a stack of standard trusses past the girder and to slide them in next to the girder. May consider that.

Is it common to have to cut every tail to get fascia flat and overhang the same? Figured as long as my heel lands on edge of the wall, the overhang tails would be the same.

Before I get to sheeting the roof, any opinion on a ring shank vs a medium crown staples for securing sheeting?

 

I've seen trusses done both ways as far as the tails. They can be ordered to the exact length needed but you loose flexibility to get the fascia dead straight. If you ordered the tails long then you align the trusses to get a nice straight roof then the tails are cut to form a straight fascia.

I have always used nails for both attaching the sheeting and shingles. I've never worked with staples.

 

Trusses also won't always be an exact mirror image of each other. Meaning if you flip one around backward, the peak and/or tail ends won't line up perfectly. So it's a good idea to mark them all (assuming they are all bundled together and turned the same way) so that you don't happen to mix them up.

You want your peak straight, even if your wall top plate isn't. If you are setting them by the wall you better make darn sure the wall is straight as a arrow.

 

These are ordered exact length with the overhang specified but I'm not partial to a specific measurement.

Been stringlining the wall to make it straight but just not getting it perfect off by an eighth inch in spots. May just be series of crowned studs because the wall measures same depth and level.

Any tips to get the ridge straight? I mean I understand the idea, but without holding up some kind of stringline when done how do you tell it's perfect when setting one at a time? I can see adding a 2x4 towards the top but that seems likely to vary. What's your idea method of keeping that ridge perfect?

 

If the wall is within 1/8", and they are exact length, then set them by the wall.

If you were going to string line the ridge, you would have to build the far hip first, including the hip and jack trusses... then wind brace and sheath as much of it as possible, then lean all your standard center trusses in a stack up against that far girder, then set the other girder and build that hip. Then suspend the stringline directly over the ridge, and set the trusses in between last, pulling them down one at a time.

Do you have a print that shows EXACTLY where those girders are supposed to go?

 

I have never seen someone build both girders and then work from that. It would be very hard for hand setting method to do that. With a lift I see setting the trusses one at a time lifting over the girder being pretty easy.

When you set trusses how do you normally check the Ridgeline? Or is that what you do, both ends and a stringline? When I said 1/8 I should have said plus or minus. Some dimension is 30' 1/8" and some is 29' 7/8" so that's actually a quarter. It's not enough down low to notice, but a ridge with shingles may show it more? I don't really know. When installing ridge vent does that help correct or hide the points being off? Assuming I'm not off by something like two inches?
Thanks

 

Extend 2 boards out on your end walls and put your stringline on that so that the stringline is just outside the top plate. Then put a corresponding mark on each truss and set them to that.

 

I doubt very much if you will be able to notice it as long as they are centered on the walls.
And yes if you are installing a ridge vent that would hide any variances.

As my grandfather used to say "You are not building a watch."

I am not sure I understand your roof line.
But you could run a string line from the center of one wall to the center of the far wall near/at the top.
Then drop a plumb bob to from each peak and line it up to your sting before nailing them in.

 

Thought I replied at lunch, guess I forgot to submit it.

Was wondering, how do you ensure your Ridgeline is straight typically, sleeper? Or was that it, going off a wall or the block spacer and marking truss say 7" in with pencil and lining up truss with that stringline and pencil mark? The truss bottoms appear to vary by an 1/8" due to how sloppy some of the metal finger catcher brackets are installed. Not real impressed there.

For anyone curious, started with the girder and had one guy hold it upright while I temp screwed a couple jacks into it from the face of the girder. This kept it upright while I got the timberlok screws in the bottom chord of the girder.

Wondering what people do in terms of securing the top of the jack into the girder? It's not covered in paperwork and there are no metal brackets for that top. And since the girder needs doubled up to properly nail the hangers into the bottom of the jack into the double girder, that means you can't just face nail or face screw the top part of the jack fr the opposite side of the girder. I can draw a picture if that's confusing. Basically I only see toenailing the top of the jack end into the top part of the girder later on? Guess sheeting will hold them in place after the fact.

Any secrets to where to start sheeting? Middle of the building or one end? Since they are on layout it shouldn't matter but I see starting on the bottom middle or bottom corner being easiest when working off ladders to get started. Fair amount of waste when sheeting the hip roof due to the angle cuts for each face of the roof.

If the roof is 34' deep with the overhang, and a 4/12 that would mean the ridge is 4.25' high that means about 17.5' on the front, so approximately 4 full sheets and then a less than half sheet on the top portion of the truss near the ridge. In fact after cutting 2" before the ridge for the ridge vent that's only like a 16" strip of sheeting. Anyone see a problem with that?