Building Gambrel trusses

[Jared]

It's been a while, but I'm back with another question. I've got this book, Big Money in Small Buildings, that has diagrams for building storage sheds. I got it for the Gambrel style sheds. In it, it shows how to make wood gussets for the rafters, which are only 2x4's. Now, let's say I wanted to make this thing into a small cabin......would those wood gussets still be ok? If I used 2x6's and spaced them apart 16"? Or is that overkill? How far apart should they be? Thanks.
Jared Drake

[Amanda_931]

As we've been saying, lengthening a building is no problem.  Making it wider is.

Go talk to the local truss people?

The (usually free or very inexpensive, sometimes antique) barn plans from the state extension services may give you as much information as anything.  North Dakota is a good one.

Here's one from LSU.

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/our_offices/departments/Biological_Ag_Engineering/Building_Plans/barn/framing/General+Barn+2+Story+with+Hay+Mow.htm

The framing on this place is prettier, but maybe not wide enough.  It's from here, with comments by John.  Turned up in a search.  I remember looking at this years ago, long before I joined.

http://www.countryplans.com/redic.html

[Jared]

My book has plans for buildings up to 16' wide, which is wide enough for me. So I'm not wanting to widen it. I was just wondering about wood gussets instead of having trusses built for me. But, seeing that last link where the guy built his own trusses was good enough for me. I wouldn't want them exposed, though. Thanks for the links. That first one was WAY too comlicated for me.
Jared

[desdawg]

This is exactly the method I used to build my shop some 15 years ago. My plywood gussetted trusses included the 2 x 4 wall studs. I had inherited a large quantity of old 2 X 4's. I poured a footing, laid the block stem, bolted on bottom plate and stood my "trusses" on 24" centers. I installed solid blocking between the trusses and started sheeting. Floor joists for the loft are 2 X 10's.

[Jared]

did you build walls and then put trusses on them, or are the walls and trusses all built at once and then stood up? If they were built at once and stood up, how hard was that to do? Did you need more than two people? Also, how far apart are the floor joists upstairs? Are they 24" and just mated to the wall/truss pieces? Thanks. I really like your barn. I'm seriously kicking around the 24" thing for a cabin I want to build, since it won't be a full time residence and I'm on a budget, like most people. Well, it may be a full-time residence someday.
Jared

[desdawg]

My son and I stood the trusses by ourselves. We used long 2X4's nailed to the upper portion to push the first ones in the air and brace them. After we had a couple of them up and braced we could use a ladder and a rope. We also used blocking nailed to the bottom plate to hold the bottom of the wall studs from sliding and to give us a place to nail without toenailing. Yes the wall studs were part of the truss. By using OSB sheeting horizontally 24" centers was doable. This provided a solid backing for the siding so we didn't get a ripple effect from being overspanned for the masonite siding. The 2 X 10's are on 24" centers and sheeted with 5/8" plywood to create the loft floor.

[Jared]

Would you trust that loft floor to hold a bedroom set and people if you were going to live in it? Mind if I ask how big it is and about how much you've got in it? And at what degree did you cut the angles for the truss pieces?
Jared

[desdawg]

The floor is plenty strong. I used the loft to store all of my household furnishings while building the house. As for cost I can't tell you. I did this 15 years ago and even if I knew what I spent it would be different today. I can walk around in the loft but I can't stand upright so I am going to say it is about 6' at the peak.
I didn't have any books or plans or dimensions so I simply laid out a truss frame on the ground and made the rest to match. Then I made the foundation to match what I had done. Reverse engineering I guess you could call it. Not very scientific and I don't know what the angles were. Sorry. It was kind of a seat of the pants operation. The thing is you could take some 2X4's and make yours to fit your needs. If the loft isn't large enough on the first attempt change it. When it looks good cut the first set and use it for a pattern for the remaining cuts. Tack the first set together and scribe your gusset patterns. Start cutting, glueing and screwing it all together. That is the way I did it.

[John Raabe]

Here is a link to a page on the Owner-Builder Gallery that might be of interest:
http://www.countryplans.com/redic.html

[desdawg]

Nice Job by Jim Redic! Lots of differences in the approach he took from mine. Mine was a pretty simple no frill deal compared to what Jim did.