Trusses delivered - problems

[Deere Dude]

View attachment 486075View attachment 486076Ok so I cannot figure out how to upload pictures. (Edit I think I added them now)

Yes it would appear that I left out one minor detail of the truck pulling the trusses off.

The truck that delivered was supposed to back in to the drive and up to the construction site. Then the bed of the truck extends and tilts down. Looks like a much larger version of a flat bed they use to haul a vehicle.

When he could not get in the drive he backed into the field. It was muddy. He extended his bed like he should, but then could not pull forward to get out from under the load. He was stuck in the mud. Friendly farmer comes along and pulls the load sideways off the truck.

Pictures show, at least on the parts of the various trusses that I can see, several large gaps where the boards have pulled away from each other. Also show several of the metal plates they use to joint two boards together are pulling away from the truss.

Moss I live somewhere near you. I am on the south side of South Bend. We had rain again yesterday and overnight. So likely I will not see a construction crew until Monday. Unless of course we get the rain that is predicted for Sunday.

Oh and I put about 30 t-posts in the ground over the weekend. About 20 more to go and the initial paddock will be mostly done. Then rent a two man auger to plant about 6 - 8 wood posts for corners and gates.

Plumber and electrician coming on Monday to do talk and give estimates. I did not have the GC do that part because their quotes for those were high.

It looks to me like a couple thinner 2x4s were used on one picture and the pressed in metal connector couldn't overcome the gap differential in the two boards. I think they should still be able to be pressed together somehow and should be alright. The truss company should have portable presses to correct those problems in the field.

The last picture, it looks like the wood was cut a little shorter than it should have been, and not like it pulled away.

They don't look as bad as I thought they would have been from the pulling sideways act.

 

[TheMan419]

The building crew came out today. Despite over a quarter inch of rain last night. Thankfully they got there before I left for work. The foreman had no idea the trusses were that far from the building site. He was not happy about that. I guess the guy at the home office I have been talking to neglected to tell him.

He looked at them as best he could with them still stacked and banded. He was not so concerned about the things in the pictures. But has concerns because of the pulling off by the truck.

I think he was also just thinking of all the extra work that now must be done to just move the trusses 300 ft or so from where they are to where they need to be.

I will take some pictures of the build so far when I get home just to update the thread. Looks like this is becoming my diary of the barn build.

 

[MossRoad]

Moss I live somewhere near you. I am on the south side of South Bend. We had rain again yesterday and overnight. So likely I will not see a construction crew until Monday. Unless of course we get the rain that is predicted for Sunday.

Yeah, yesterday was a dreary day, for sure. I managed to get a load of firewood off our property between the rains. And it sat on my trailer overnight and got completely wet. Grrrr....

 

[TheMan419]

Crew is here this am. Their plan is to dig out by hand the holes that were previously dug by the post hole digger and get as many posts set and filled as they can today. Looks like more rain this weekend.

They now have a large forklift/cherry picker to move the trusses, but the ground may still be too soft for them to do that.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Looking at the pics of the trusses, I would be upset about the quality. Anyway, hindsite being 20/20, two things; I personally would not have "dumped" them or should I say, attempted to "dumped" them where that driver did. I mean, that is what cell phones are for, right? Also, why did the well meaning neighbor not drag the trusses off the end of the trailer at least somewhat then hook to the front of the truck and pull? Yeah well, I was not there so I don't know for sure.

So, what's done is done. I would try to relax and let the GC get on with it. That does not mean that you should not ask questions if you are not sure of what you see. Hopefully, the GC will "swallow" a bit if something is not correct and make it right rather than too try to get it done and get out. Keep it professional. And, by all means, if you still have questions, post some photos.

 

[TheMan419]

Looking at the pics of the trusses, I would be upset about the quality. Anyway, hindsite being 20/20, two things; I personally would not have "dumped" them or should I say, attempted to "dumped" them where that driver did. I mean, that is what cell phones are for, right? Also, why did the well meaning neighbor not drag the trusses off the end of the trailer at least somewhat then hook to the front of the truck and pull? Yeah well, I was not there so I don't know for sure.

So, what's done is done. I would try to relax and let the GC get on with it. That does not mean that you should not ask questions if you are not sure of what you see. Hopefully, the GC will "swallow" a bit if something is not correct and make it right rather than too try to get it done and get out. Keep it professional. And, by all means, if you still have questions, post some photos.

Yes the GC told the truss company not to deliver on the day they did because of the mud. That request was ignored.

Interestingly the driver said he could not get in my driveway. However the truck that delivered the steel for sides/roof was as long as the truck that delivered the trusses and he got in. There is a large tree on either side of my driveway so you have to be good at backing to get in. He drove over the corner of the lawn to get in (no biggie it can be fixed easily) and had to move the recycling can that was out, but he got in.

As for the neighbor for him to pull the trusses off the back of the truck he would have had to drive right in where the mud was the deepest and would have gotten stuck himself. I was not here to see that so do not know what options were discussed.

Ultimately the GC is on it to get this fixed so I am very happy with them at this point. They are taking care of it, but I am just the type that has to make sure that everything is being done right. Lot of $$ being spent on this project and I want to make sure it is done right.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Yes the GC told the truss company not to deliver on the day they did because of the mud. That request was ignored.

Interestingly the driver said he could not get in my driveway. However the truck that delivered the steel for sides/roof was as long as the truck that delivered the trusses and he got in. There is a large tree on either side of my driveway so you have to be good at backing to get in. He drove over the corner of the lawn to get in (no biggie it can be fixed easily) and had to move the recycling can that was out, but he got in.

As for the neighbor for him to pull the trusses off the back of the truck he would have had to drive right in where the mud was the deepest and would have gotten stuck himself. I was not here to see that so do not know what options were discussed.

Ultimately the GC is on it to get this fixed so I am very happy with them at this point. They are taking care of it, but I am just the type that has to make sure that everything is being done right. Lot of $$ being spent on this project and I want to make sure it is done right.

For sure you want it done right. The builder that I used to deliver for had ten to fourteen crews on depending on demand. It came down to the foreman. Some better than others. I saw things that would have upset me had I been paying the bills and other builds to "die" for as they were so perfect. Pole barns are a pretty competitive business with little margin or room for error.

Without being there, I could not say for sure that the driver was at fault. Some roll-off trailers are extendable to allow for hauling a 60 foot truss. That makes for a pretty long trailer once opened up, there for difficult to back into a tight place. With 60 foot trusses, I would want a tandem axle tractor making the backing even harder. The rig I drove had a tandem axle 40 foot trailer and a single axle tractor. The idea being to get into tight drops. On occasion, I would slide the trailer tandems so far forward to get into a driveway that the tractor was getting light on the rear.

 

[BAP]

I would be concerned about the quality of build on those trusses. Looks to me from the couple of pictures posted that they have poor quality control. Wood of different thickness at the joints, large knots located right at the joints where the truss plates go and truss plates not centered on the joints. Around here, those would be considered shody construction.

 

[TheMan419]

So truss company looked everything over. Certified the trusses as fine. Recommended some repairs for peace of mind. GC said no problem they will make those repairs.

I hope to take some pictures of progress when I get home.

 

[teejk]

So truss company looked everything over. Certified the trusses as fine. Recommended some repairs for peace of mind. GC said no problem they will make those repairs.

I hope to take some pictures of progress when I get home.

Your GC apparently has done more that a few buildings in his/her career and most likely has seen worse (never seen a pole barn go up in perfect conditions nor have I ever seen a truss that I would want to stain/varnish...they use "junk" lumber to build them but the engineering is such that it works. That is the beauty of trusses...using "junk" instead of long length straight timber that would require posts in your span unless you really want to open up your wallet. Been watching this story for a while...I'd say trust your GC.