Pre-fab trusses for shed style shop?

meackerman · Dec 27, 2021

N80 said:
There is some space in the trusses of our cabin. Not what I would call an attic but still usable storage space. I put down some ply-wood for reinforcement. I'm pretty sure the truss spec says not to put anything heavy up there and we don't.

yeah lots of trusses have what looks like storage space. Mine were specifically engineered for storage. I wouldn't store thousands of pounds in mine.
I'd have go find the drawings for mine to see what the load rating is, IIRC it was pounds per square foot (though I could be mis-remembering about that), but what I have up there is way under the limit.

3Ts · Dec 27, 2021

If you want to store stuff up in the attic among the trusses, tell the truss company that and they will design the trusses so you can do so. You will need to tell them how much weight you plan to put up there. I had some trusses made to support 60 #/sqft with a clear span of 24'. Also, depending on the load, some of the truss members may be 2x6 or 2x8 so you'll need to know that if you plan to put a floor on the truss.

jthibodeau89 · Dec 27, 2021

N80 said:
So if at all possible I will daisy chain from the house. I know an electrician who will guide the work that I am able to do and I will pay him to do the rest. It will be done properly and safely.

We are also out in a poor county. We bought the property from an estate, so no previous owner to ask questions. Went to pull the septic records to confirm the tank sizes (house has 2 separate systems) and was advised that they don't have records for our property. The 48x108 horse barn has an office with roughed in plumbing including toilet and shower, but no idea if it goes anywhere. We added a 36x66 shop and roughed in a bathroom there, too. Excavation contractor suggested that we just put in a 275 gal IBC tote for a tank. But i think I'll go with a 300 gal septic tank.

If you daisy chain the shop, be sure to run both neutral and ground. We ran a 230V/100A service 230' to the barn with 2-2-2-4 in 1 1/4 pvc conduit to replace the 12/2 direct bury wire that prev owner put in. Had a meter base on barn that was never hooked up.

Also, if you daisy chain be sure that the remote panel is not bonded. My shop has temporary 230V/ 60A service from the barn panel. Both barn and shop are 4 wire unbonded with their own ground rods. Will eventually have a separate 200A service in shop with its own meter. Be aware that shop meters are charged at a different rate than a residence.

newbury · Dec 27, 2021

jthibodeau89 said:
<snip> Be aware that shop meters are charged at a different rate than a residence.

They tried to do that to me. I've a house on a small hill
and about 100 yards away the "shops".

Both have their own meter. One of the buildings in the "shops" has a kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom w/ toilet sink and shower etc. They started to charge us at a higher rate for the shops but I argued it was a residence and the power company agreed.

N80 · Dec 27, 2021

Now I’m sure I will not be putting a meter on the shop!

LD1 · Dec 28, 2021

Regarding the electric......I think that is dependent on your electric provider.

I have two meters, one at the house and one for my shop. The "fixed" fees are the same. The "usage" fees are more simply because I use less electric. But its the same at the house. In the spring and fall when my usage is down around 1200kwh/month....I actually pay MORE per kwh than in the winter when my usage gets north of 2000kwh/month. And at the shop, my usage is 300-400kwh/month. So it makes sense it cost more. (kinda like buying in bulk and saving)

Regarding the trusses....The only time I have seen single slope roofs is either for much smaller sheds, or for open sided animal barns where having posts in the middle to carry some of the load, where posts in the middle is not an issue for a simple livestock barn.

My 2 concerns for a mono-truss are 1. aesthetics. I think they look cheesy honestly. And as someone else already pointed out...your front wall even with a LOW 2:12 pitch is still gonna be 5' higher.

Second concern that you might not have thought about is the roof metal. You are most likely gonna have to use TWO sheets per run and have a seam. With an overhang, you are pushing a 33' long run of roof metal. And metal that long....even if you could find someone that can make it, is gonna be hard to handle and install without buckling.

If watershed is your only reason for not wanting a common truss....control the water with gutters. Dont know if you were planning on a gutter anyway....but for a single roof pitch sloping to ONE gutter....that gutter now has to carry twice the water as having a gutter on the front and back, with each only carrying water for 1/2 the structure

3Ts · Dec 28, 2021

Second concern that you might not have thought about is the roof metal. You are most likely gonna have to use TWO sheets per run and have a seam. With an overhang, you are pushing a 33' long run of roof metal. And metal that long....even if you could find someone that can make it, is gonna be hard to handle and install without buckling.

I had an 80' wide barn put up with a 4-12 pitch (made it a 2 story barn with a usable loft). The roof panels were about 42' long. I did not do any of the work on the barn. The panels came in on a semi truck and the builder did not seem to have a problem putting them up.

Here in Texas, metal barns are common and there are several companies that have the equipment to take a coil of steel and bend it into the panels for however long you need. The builder waited until the frame was up before he ordered the side wall panels and the roof panels, that way he could specify the length to the inch and he wouldn't have to cut anything.

N80 · Dec 28, 2021

@LD1 I hate gutters. Constantly have to clean the ones on the cabin. But, they are a requirement on the cabin due to the layout and slope etc.

With the shop, if it was a shed roof with decent overhang, gutters would not be needed front or back. If I use a typical common truss type roof then gutters will absolutely be necessary on the front. Maybe not on the back

I'm not committed to a shed roof at this point but I still think it would fit the bill best. Not too worried about having multiple runs of the 5V crimp metal roofing. We have two runs on both sides of the cabin roof and there have been no issues in 20 years. If I did a shed roof it would be roughly 17 feet high on the front and 12 on the back. So certainly not too big to manage.

Agree that a common truss, if that is the right term....single ridge line in other words....would be easier for a non-carpenter like me, especially since I've done it before.

Either way, I wouldn't be opposed to renting a boom truck or Lull type fork lift for putting up whatever type truss I end up going with.

jthibodeau89 · Dec 28, 2021

Lull type fork truck? Do you mean a telehandler? I.e. a telescoping boom with forks on an AWD buggy?

buckeyefarmer · Dec 29, 2021

When buying trusses you need to spec the live load you intend to put on them, ie the weight of insulation and ceiling. For a house they will probably include live load, for a barn probably not. If you spec floor space built in, it will have at least 30 psf built in. It’s up to you to specify. The trusses will come with the paperwork to show the inspector IF you pay for engineered stamped drawings.