New Home Construction: trusses have the advantage

Today, the majority of home builders address the provision of adequate roof support with their new home-builds by using trusses. Trusses are engineered, prefabricated, triangular, wood support structures. They are used by home builders more and more today, as opposed to builder-reliance upon 2-by-8’s or 2-by-10’s...2-by-8’s and 2-by-10’s being the roof-support-ingredient of the fast-disappearing, more labor-intensive stick-built framing. By contrast, trusses are built with 2-by-4’s - as opposed to the 2-by-8’s or the 2-by-10’s used in stick-built framing - leading to a cost-saving measure for home builders (and for home buyers too).

Furthermore, the utilization of trusses by the builder leads to none of the interior walls of the newly-built home serving as load-bearing walls. This is a nice advantage for the home buyer, because there will then be more options available to the buyer pertaining to where the walls can be erected within the home, according to the build plan. And since the interior walls in the home will not then function as load-bearing - a benefit gained by building with trusses - interior walls can be taken down at a later date by the homeowner, if they so choose to later redesign the interior of their home. The key point is, trusses do not need to rest on load-bearing walls. This leads to more interior design options for the home buyer, as their new home is being designed. Coupled to more home updating options for the homeowner in the future, since trusses do not rest on load-bearing walls.

Nearly 80% of all new homes built today are built with trusses. Trusses are factory-built, then shipped to the construction site, as needed. When building a new home without using trusses, roof support calculations can be based upon an assessment provided by the individual home builder. This tends to leave much more to chance, as per roof support. Rather, trusses are designed by engineers, with design parameters formulated with building codes in mind.

In terms of roof design, trusses facilitate lots of nice options for home buyers who are considering a custom roof. Cathedral ceilings, cross gables…each would be possible, when crafting the details for your new home design, by using trusses.

Open floor plans are very popular today with home buyers. When opting for an open floor plan in your new home, your home builder will likely opt for scissor trusses. With scissor trusses, the home buyer can then select high, sloped ceilings…a very nice feature, when paired with an open floor plan.