Are these pole barn trusses defective, or are they okay to use?

[fried1765]

Since when? Residential contractors can charge Cadillac prices, do the math. If they show you nice glossy Cadillac references they need to deliver a Cadillac.

I work in the contracting business and I know the game. I don't hesitate to redo work for my clients if something slips by.

If a good customer thinks work is shoddy, remedy it for them, make them happy and ask them to refer you. I don't think the OP came across as unreasonable at all. It I was in the construction business and he pointed those out when the trusses were delivered, I'd replace the trusses. It they were pointed out after the building was done, I would shore them up.

Life is too short to leave reasonable customers with a bad taste in their mouth. If you owned a restaurant and a customer complained about a meal, would you blow them off and tell them most meals are good but some are "acceptable defects" and that is just the way it goes? I guess you could but you wouldn't have my business more than once.

How you respond to a customer"s complaint is often how you are measured and remembered. Have some pride in your work, leave behind happy customers.

SPOT ON !!!!!

 

[Cord]

I guess that I need to start demanding 4 star service when I'm eating at one star dives.

Or maybe I should demand the level of service that I paid for.

If a construction grade member isn't good enough then you need to specify that you want the trusses made with #1 wood. At least you'll be paying for a material that will support the level of perfection that some members feel is warranted. If the cost is too much for your pocket book, then back down, but realize that you will now need to accept something that is less than perfection.

Ultimately trusses are designed for a certain grade of lumber. The whole truss may not be the same grade. Highly stressed members could us a higher grade. However, construction grade is the most common because it provides sufficient strength which is balanced by cost. When reviewing the truss drawings the lumber grade will always be indicated on them.

 

[fried1765]

I guess that I need to start demanding 4 star service when I'm eating at one star dives.

Or maybe I should demand the level of service that I paid for.

If a construction grade member isn't good enough then you need to specify that you want the trusses made with #1 wood. At least you'll be paying for a material that will support the level of perfection that some members feel is warranted. If the cost is too much for your pocket book, then back down, but realize that you will now need to accept something that is less than perfection.

Ultimately trusses are designed for a certain grade of lumber. The whole truss may not be the same grade. Highly stressed members could us a higher grade. However, construction grade is the most common because it provides sufficient strength which is balanced by cost. When reviewing the truss drawings the lumber grade will always be indicated on them.

While the OVERALL grade of the material used in those trusses may be construction grade, the butt ends of some of those pieces were NOT.
Rather than just throwing the material in a truss jig, some quick thought about where/how the fasteners were to be attached should have been employed.
Simple selection from the pile of construction grade lumber would have made a big difference.
None of the construction grade lumber need be discarded, just use the questionable pieces elsewhere in that truss, where lengths allow for the ends to be cut, or elsewhere in another truss.
If I order a rib eye steak, I just eat the meat, and discard the fat.
When the butcher trims the rib eye, many of the trimmings are not wasted, they get used in the hamburger pile.

Bottom line here is that the pole barn company did not like those nine trusses, and SENT THEM ALL BACK!
KUDOS to them !!!

 

[LD1]

Bottom line here is that the pole barn company did not like those nine trusses, and SENT THEM ALL BACK!
KUDOS to them !!!

Maybe?

Or maybe they just didn't like the fact that the OP didn't like them?

When construction grade lumber or other lower grades are selected for a member, the wane on the ends potentially being where a plate is; is all taken into consideration.

The ends of those boards are indeed construction grade.

You'd be surprised at the amount of wane that is still acceptable on even #1 grade lumber.

Either way, they were exchanged and the op is happy

 

[Rustyiron]

Anyone of those worried about the wane at the plate has never had to rip on of those plates off. It is at least a 10 minute job with hammers and bars. If those original trusses are a std length, there prolly already on another job site, installed. Your pole barn company just "took care" of you as they should.

 

[TomSeller]

I doubt any of the members who say those trusses were fine wouldn't pick the same type of lumber out of the stack at Home Depot when they are selecting wood for their own home. I bet they'd skip over those for the square end, straight ones. Same price, why would they select the blems.

 

[Streetcar]

I doubt any of the members who say those trusses were fine wouldn't pick the same type of lumber out of the stack at Home Depot when they are selecting wood for their own home. I bet they'd skip over those for the square end, straight ones. Same price, why would they select the blems.

TomSeller
I pick lumber based on what it will used for and how visible finished product will be. I Use the lesser quantity lumber to save time

 

[fried1765]

TomSeller
I pick lumber based on what it will used for and how visible finished product will be. I Use the lesser quantity lumber to save time

Lesser quality lumber saves time? Really?
Just grab all the twisted junk with split ends, from the bottom of the Home Depot 2x4 pile......and save time?
I don't think I can subscribe to that plan!

 

[Snobdds]

Those trusses were fine. All lumber sucks these days, the hemlock fir trees are the predominate species of construction grade lumber in the US. The people complaining about these trusses would never get a house built if they want perfect lumber for the entire place. The trick is knowing how to straighten out bowed wood. Find me a carpenter that knows how to build with sup-par wood over a carpenter that spends hours trying to pick through stacks of wood for that perfect piece.

My dad has a carpenter that can take a bunk of construction grade lumber with bows and twists and make a perfectly straight wall. That is where the skill in building is...

 

[ju2tin]

I'm gonna add something here to address the point of view that the customer (me) should accept the wood if it's deemed to meet the required functional standards, regardless of what it looks like, and that customers shouldn't expect prime rib if they're eating at McDonald's.

That's a fair point in general. However, the pole barn company I'm using (like many others) has a very nice website showing lots of beautiful photos of how the barns are built, the quality of the wood, etc. There are interior photos of beautiful trusses. Yes, this is all advertising, and it does its job: to give me expectations of a perfect, beautiful structure so I will choose this company, like I did.

I challenge anyone to find a pole barn company website or brochure where they say, "Our buildings use lumber that just barely meets the absolute minimum standard of what's structurally acceptable, even if it looks terrible." Bonus points if they include photos of such lumber in one of their buildings.

I doubt you'll find any. My point is, the pole barn companies lead new, inexperienced customers to expect prime rib, and then act surprised when the customer is unhappy with McDonald's.