# Rebuilding a garage roof - rafter vs truss



## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

For something like that it doesn't get much easier than trusses.


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## framer52 (Jul 17, 2009)

Second that.


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## ksm1000 (May 27, 2012)

Thanks for the feedback. Certainly it would save me a ton of time. I'm curious about the cost difference between the two methods. Any thoughts there?


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## Daniel Holzman (Mar 10, 2009)

Part of the cost of working with trusses is the installation. A lot of people hire a crane for a day to lift the trusses into position. There are other ways to do it, but a crane is fast and simple, but of course the rental costs on a crane may be on the order of $500 per day or more, depending on where you are. Stick built avoids the problem of lifting a whole truss into position, but of course takes longer. The only way to figure total cost is to contact a truss supplier, and get a price. They may have access to a crane for installation, so can roll that price into the cost of the trusses.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

It would only take three people to lift and set trusses that small. We have done it with two so I know it can be done.

Is this a wood sided or block walls.
If it's wood it's important to pull stings on the walls and set it straight before setting the trusses with 2 X 4 angle braces.

Set up a strong back on the outside wall on the end to support the first truss.
A strong back is simple 2, 2 X 4's nailed together in the shape of an L.
Pre mark all the top plates for truss locations.

The trusses get set inside the building upside down, one person on each side of the building and one inside with a pole made up to push on the middle of the truss to flip them over.
I'd bet there's a video on You Tube.


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## KevinPh (May 25, 2012)

Trusses are more costly if you hire a company to supply and install. If you do it yourself, you will need three or four others to lift the truss into place.

If you use trusses, you will lose your storage space. Trusses should never have anything heavy placed on them, such as a kayak, metal poles, etc. since they are engineered to carry the weight of the roof and no additional weight. If you plan to store objects in the attic of a truss roof, you should have the trusses designed so that they can handle the additional weight.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

http://attictruss-garages.com/


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## 1910NE (Sep 5, 2010)

It will take longer to get the trusses engineered/ made/ delivered, than it would be to stick build. Other than that, kind of a toss up...


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

You can buy 20' 4/12 trusses at Menards for $48 each. Cash and Carry.


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## bill01 (Apr 12, 2012)

kwikfishron said:


> You can buy 20' 4/12 trusses at Menards for $48 each. Cash and Carry.


Yes and I can strap them to the top of my car :laughing:

I put 25 of these up by myself (helper flaked out). I used a manual genie lift i rented to get them up, they are not very heavy I have seen 2 guys just lift them on the roof with a couple of ladders.

After doing it and figuring the costs including the sheathing and the shingles I figure I may have been better off tearing the building down completely and putting up prefab metal building.


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

joecaption said:


> The trusses get set inside the building upside down, one person on each side of the building and one inside with a pole made up to push on the middle of the truss to flip them over.
> I'd bet there's a video on You Tube.


 I can't say I've ever seen or done it that way before, sounds like a good way to get hurt. 

It's pretty easy to set up a temp catwalk/plank down the middle of the garage for the trusses to rest on. 

Your stick man would be way more productive on the plank then on the ground.


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## Joe Carola (Apr 14, 2006)

joecaption said:


> It would only take three people to lift and set trusses that small. We have done it with two so I know it can be done.
> 
> Is this a wood sided or block walls.
> If it's wood it's important to pull stings on the walls and set it straight before setting the trusses with 2 X 4 angle braces.
> ...


Joe,

You have experience doing this. Homeowners setting 20' trusses for the first time can be very dangerous unless they have an experienced person there who sets trusses.


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## sixeightten (Feb 10, 2009)

KevinPh said:


> Trusses are more costly if you hire a company to supply and install. If you do it yourself, you will need three or four others to lift the truss into place.
> 
> If you use trusses, you will lose your storage space. Trusses should never have anything heavy placed on them, such as a kayak, metal poles, etc. since they are engineered to carry the weight of the roof and no additional weight. If you plan to store objects in the attic of a truss roof, you should have the trusses designed so that they can handle the additional weight.


And you can just pile up weight on some 20' 2x8's right?

One experienced guy and a helper can do 20' trusses any day of the week. Lot of questionable info posted in this thread.


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Joe Carola said:


> Joe,
> 
> You have experience doing this. Homeowners setting 20' trusses for the first time can be very dangerous unless they have an experienced person there who sets trusses.


So a homeowner cutting their roof is somehow less dangerous???


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## Joe Carola (Apr 14, 2006)

kwikfishron said:


> So a homeowner cutting their roof is somehow less dangerous???


Did I say that?


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## pucks101 (Apr 20, 2012)

I keep reading on internet warnings about truss systems not being able to hold weight on roof or not being able to provide attic storage space. This is not necessarily true- the truss designer / engineer / builder just need to know what you want the trusses to do. They can be designed and built to perform however you need them.


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## 1910NE (Sep 5, 2010)

pucks101 said:


> I keep reading on internet warnings about truss systems not being able to hold weight on roof or not being able to provide attic storage space. This is not necessarily true- the truss designer / engineer / builder just need to know what you want the trusses to do. They can be designed and built to perform however you need them.


True. And those are the trusses that I remember having to wait for, vs- buying them off the lot.


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## hand drive (Apr 21, 2012)

KyleInBrooklyn said:


> We are in the process of buying a weekend home in the country. I've completed an inspection of the house with all systems in pretty good shape. The roof of the detached garage (approx 20 x 20) however needs to be rebuilt. It sags and there is visible rotten wood. The rest of the structure appears sound. I suggested to my home inspector that I would rebuild the roof to the existing dimension and specs. I'm assuming it is a rafter structure - there is drop ceiling and a bunch of tarps up there currently so I couldn't see up in the existing structure.
> As mentioned the garage is approx 20 x 20
> It's a simple gable roof.
> I intend to do do the work myself with a couple of friends.
> ...


it might be better to rafter frame that one. tear old roof off, re frame new roof... since you have not looked up into the space yet maybe there is usable lumber in the roof system and may not require full roof frame demo. you already have ceiling joists ( most likely?) so adding trusses will complicate/clutter the ceiling area, unless you plan on taking out the ceiling joists, why?


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## pucks101 (Apr 20, 2012)

hand drive said:


> it might be better to rafter frame that one. tear old roof off, re frame new roof... since you have not looked up into the space yet maybe there is usable lumber in the roof system and may not require full roof frame demo. you already have ceiling joists ( most likely?) so adding trusses will complicate/clutter the ceiling area, unless you plan on taking out the ceiling joists, why?


Good point - I think the replies kind of got side-tracked as to which is better, rafter vs. truss. If OP is simply doing a repair, probably better to just replace exactly what's bad. Also, the permit issue may be simpler if only repairing existing rafters and replacing existing roofing/shingles.


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## angusW (Dec 4, 2011)

If you have two guys standing on the walls each with a rope and a piece of wood tied to the end and a third guy on the ground hooking the rope with the wood on it into the truss then it's very easy to pull them up. I've done it many times on wider spans on a two story house. Also doesn't take that long. But like what's been said above, you lose storage space.


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## M3 Pete (May 10, 2011)

plenty of places make storage trusses. If I were doing trusses, this would be the way to go.

http://www.apmbuildings.com/attic-storage-truss.shtml

http://www.truswood.com/types of roof trusses.htm 

http://www.midwestmanufacturing.com...Id=3&lineId=63&productTypeId=17&productId=346


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## Missouri Bound (Apr 9, 2011)

I have to agree with Joe....trusses are the only way to go. Setting the first truss is the lesson for the rest....and it's both a time saver and money saver,. I've built my own on small projects...not recommending that for a first timer but it is something that can be done.


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## angusW (Dec 4, 2011)

Have to agree that it's much easier to have a crane put the trusses up on top of the walls but you still have to spread them out. For a one story building like a garage it will save a bit of time but three people can haul them up in no time. It's been a long time since I've had to get a crane, but around here they charge a minimum of 3hrs at $150/hr. That was quite a few years ago and a different part of the continent so I'm sure prices are a lot different where the OP is located at.

As far as trusses vs. a cut roof, go with trusses. With cutting rafters on a 20 X 20 garage that's approx. 130 cuts as apposed to 16 or so cuts for the ridge on a truss system. You can also figure a little over double the nails for rafters compared to trusses. Plus the time to figure out the proper rafter cut.


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## ksm1000 (May 27, 2012)

Hi there,
Following up from this thread, I finally took possession of our summer house with aforementioned garage. There was black plastic stapled up inside the garage which blocked the view of the roof system from the inside (and presumably caught water dripping in). 
I have attached some photos that reveal the situation. The roof is sagging but the rafters look surprisingly good. Rather than rebuilding the entire roof I would like to jack the ridge board back up to its original position. I'm looking for guidance on how to do this.
The width of the garage is approx 24 feet. There is a wall that divides the garage roughly in half although it's only about 8 feet high so not the full height of the garage. My idea would be to build 2 beams about 12 feet long which together would span the roof just under the ridge board supporting the roof in it's original position.
The beams would each be supported by a post at one end and the common wall in the middle built up to appropriate height and strength. Follow me so far?
My concern is that in putting pressure upward on the ridge board that the rafters will want to pull away from it. My idea is to add a collar tie to every rafter as close to the ridge board as possible. This would hopefully hold the rafters to the ridge board but also create a flat surface for the new beams to support the roof. 
The rotten fascia had me thinking the whole roof need to be replaced. Seeing it now I think I can jack it up and straighten it out.
Does any of this make sense?


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## Missouri Bound (Apr 9, 2011)

My neighbor had a sagging roof on his garage so he decided to jack it up. He braced it and used a beam to lift it...he lifted it right off the walls and it came apart with no support around the perimeter. Then he called a contractor to do it properly.:thumbsup::laughing:


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## ksm1000 (May 27, 2012)

Awesome!


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## Missouri Bound (Apr 9, 2011)

joecaption said:


> The trusses get set inside the building upside down, one person on each side of the building and one inside with a pole made up to push on the middle of the truss to flip them over.


:thumbsup: Yep! Done it several times...seen it done dozens of times. A 20' truss is not too heavy for 3 guys to install. The important thing is bracing as you go..and I don't mean JUST nailing to the plates.:yes:


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## hand drive (Apr 21, 2012)

As you jack the ridge up keep an eye on the walls where the rafters sit on it. The walls should come/pull in at the top as the ridge goes back up. The reason the ridge dropped is because there are not enough collar ties or ceiling joists to keep the walls from spreading. Place an identifying mark where the rafter sits on the wall and watch that mark as you jack the ridge up, the rafters might pull free off the wall plate nail connection and pull up themselves without bringing the walls in with them. The best way is to use a come along in the center of the rooms' span that goes from outer wall top plate to outer wall top plate and tighten the come along as you jack up the ridge. You do not want to add any type of collar ties until you have the ridge jacked up and straight, any type of jacking support should be temporary and not impede the lifting of the ridge. 

A 1/2 piece of osb ripped 1 1/2" and nailed to the underside of the ridge along with a 2x4 nailed flat to the osb will give you a base to put some type of temp ridge (4x6) that spans outward from center of the ridge in either direction, say, 10' or 12' total. This will help spread the lifting capacity while jacking up the ridge. if you can use the center wall that is there to set your jack on that would be ideal otherwise a floor to ridge 4x4 or 4x6 as the jack post. Examine where the center wall ends along the outer walls and consider how the outer walls will pull in some when the ridge is lifted. You might have to modify the edges of the center wall to accommodate the outer walls pulling inward, do you understand?

When the ridge is lifted and in place how to hold it all together? I would nail 16' 2x6 collar ties to every rafter and add hurricane ties to the rafter wall plate connection.


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## ksm1000 (May 27, 2012)

Thanks Hand Drive, excellent advice and completely understood. I had thought about the come along idea and wondered about adding hurricane ties as well. I hope to post updated photos before too long. Thanks.


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## ksm1000 (May 27, 2012)

A month later here is my follow up with pictures.
Using sash cord I hoisted a 12 foot beam, made of two 2x6's screwed together, up to the ridge board
I started with a single jacking point on top of the mid wall. 
I soon realized the the beam would twist under load so added some plywood stays screwed to the rafters to hold the beam steady.
One jacking point eventually became six. Three points to jack and three points to bolster the beam.
I jacked the roof up to the point I was comfortable with.
I fastened 14 collar ties each 2x6x16'. 
I removed the posts allowing the roof to settle.
The end result is the roof still has a bit of a sag but much less dramatic then it was. I would like to have gotten it perfectly straight but I am happy with the results considering. Total material cost was about $250.


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