At P.L. Lyons we prefer to use trusses, rather than traditional stick-framing, when building roofs for our homes. Our priority is building the best houses for our homeowners, and using trusses in our roof construction is one way we accomplish that goal.
How House Trusses Work
If you’re more of an admirer of a beautiful home facade but fairly unfamiliar with the process of home construction, let us define trusses for you. House trusses are used to direct the weight of your roof to the load-bearing walls. They are constructed to span longer distances without relying on interior partitions for support. Trusses are often lighter but stronger than other roofs such as rafters, for instance, because triangles are more rigid while taking up less space than many other shapes.
Why Trusses Benefit Your Home
There are several benefits to using trusses, so let’s break it down:
Stronger. Trusses are stronger than traditional stick roofs because of their shape. Triangles, as we just mentioned, are stronger than other shapes, as they don’t bend under pressure.
Faster. Trusses are constructed faster than traditional stick-framed roofs. We get our trusses pre-made from a factory, and since they are already built, they just have to be set in place on the home. Stick-framing a roof may take around four days to construct, but a trussed roof can go up in just one day.
Open. Because of the engineering of trusses, they span the house front to back, allowing you to have bigger open spaces in your home. You won’t get the same result with traditional stick lumber.
Less waste. There is also less waste with house trusses than traditional roofs because they are engineered to be built exactly to your measurements. With traditional roofs, there is an extra two feet of wood ordered for your rafter tails and that excess goes right to the dumpster.
For these reasons, we recommend going with a trussed roof. At P.L. Lyons, we use the best products, so that you get the best roof for your home. If you have questions, feel free to leave them in a comment below. Check out these trusses in action in this video.