Here is a great picture of clear-spanning roof frame trusses. What clear-spanning means is that the trusses span from one side of the structure to the other. There are no support posts to get in the way anywhere within the room the way that there would have been if we had gone with a beam to support ceiling joists.

Trusses are great for creating a space that is wide open with no visible support posts. They also don’t typically cost more than a traditional ceiling-joist/roof-rafter style framing technique. The reason is that 1 truss replaces 2 roof rafters and at least 1 ceiling joist. Also when using trusses you avoid the need for a ridge-beam and a support beam(s) and post(s) for the ceiling joists.

Because of the typically large nature of trusses sometimes a crane is required to install them, however this cost is still usually offset by the quick installation of the entire roof system.

With many styles of roof trusses you will lose some or all of the attic space that you would of otherwise had with traditional framing techniques. Most truss manufactures can, however, offer solutions that will still give you a usable attic. These truss systems may cost a bit more but usually not prohibitively.

This is the backside of the Bellingham addition. This particular project I designed to bump out on the back and be slightly recessed in the front.

On this job we were responsible for the plans and engineering, the foundation, the framing, window installs, and the roofing. This was a fairly straightforward job, just a square structure with dimensions of 28′x28′. One highlight of the project was clear-spanning roof framing utilizing engineered trusses. I will show an image of those and discuss them in the next post.

This is garage addition we did for a family in Bellingham, Massachusetts. As you can tell the frame is complete and you can see Mike up on the roof applying ice-and-water barrier to the edge of the plywood roof in preparation for asphalt roofing shingles. Ice-and-water acts as a protective barrier for… you guessed it, ice and water. This is especially important here in New England. What can happen during cold winters is that ice can melt from higher areas of the roof and the water will travel down the roof. This water will often refreeze and cause ice-dams on the lower edges of the roof planes(eaves). This barrier will help to protect the roof in case the ice dams are able to penetrate below the shingles. A responsible roofing contractor in the North East will ALWAYS use ice-and-water barrier on the eaves and valleys to add extra weather protection to your home.