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.

 

[TheMan419]

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.

Yeah the GC has been fabulous. I did not see it going on as I was at my day job.... they installed the windows in the barn in the wrong place. Called the guy at the home office I am working with and he admitted his crew screwed it up. Unfortunately for them the steel exterior had been put up and cut. So they are going to move the window to its correct location and send a new piece of steel to put up.

 

[teejk]

Yeah the GC has been fabulous. I did not see it going on as I was at my day job.... they installed the windows in the barn in the wrong place. Called the guy at the home office I am working with and he admitted his crew screwed it up. Unfortunately for them the steel exterior had been put up and cut. So they are going to move the window to its correct location and send a new piece of steel to put up.

Funny you would mention that...my builder goofed up the windows also. He built the wall sections in his shop and trucked them here. Steel was cut/fit on site so we could have modified the window locations before the steel went on if we wanted to bother. We didn't. Everything is just fine (and I hardly even notice that there are windows there anyway).

 

[noller9]

I have not seen them. I will try to get pics when I get home if the light allows. My understanding is that they were just pushed off the end of the truck and not set on anything.

To say the builder is mad at the truss sub contractor is an understatement. He said the truss company is going to lose a lot of money on this job as they will likely have to redeliver some new trusses. Likely not all of them but the ones on the bottom.

Moving them will not be an option it is for a 60x140 barn and a 36x72 barn and all the trusses are in one stack.

They are on flat ground. The difference in elevation between one end of the pile and the other end is probably measured in inches.

If your contractor is mad he must have a reason. I have had trusses laid flat like that and although they were slightly off kilter the building ended up looking great. I had to cleat 1 2x4 onto one of the rafters to get the plywood secured

 

[TheMan419]

If your contractor is mad he must have a reason. I have had trusses laid flat like that and although they were slightly off kilter the building ended up looking great. I had to cleat 1 2x4 onto one of the rafters to get the plywood secured

Lol just figured out one reason he is mad. They rented a forklift. It was capable of actin as the crane to set the smaller trusses. They had that done in one day. They had to keep the forklift an extra day to move the larger trusses so they are now next to the building site. So that was an expense they were not anticipating in their bid.

Also they know I am going to ask them to repair all the deep tire tracks that are in my field now.

 

[roadhunter]

It's always an adventure dealing with contractors. Homeowners are most vulnerable as they do the least amount of paperwork (contracts, plans, specifications, etc) and have the least leverage compared to larger commercial jobs or government jobs.

Sounds to me like this one is being pretty reasonable all things considered.

 

[teejk]

It's always an adventure dealing with contractors. Homeowners are most vulnerable as they do the least amount of paperwork (contracts, plans, specifications, etc) and have the least leverage compared to larger commercial jobs or government jobs.

Sounds to me like this one is being pretty reasonable all things considered.

Already noted in this thread somewhere that the pole-barn business in "fly-over country" is very competitive (I think we have 5-6 companies around here that have been around for a long time) and for the most part relies on "word of mouth" (in Wisconsin that would probably be "tavern talk"). Reality is they all do the same thing in the same way...they are pretty simple structures but one bad job might ruin them forever.

 

[Billrog]

I found it was on occasion an adventure dealing with home owners.

 

[/pine]

I found it was on occasion an adventure dealing with home owners.

The most "adventurous" are the ones with just a modicum of previous or casual experience...IMO...

 

[QRTRHRS]

Already noted in this thread somewhere that the pole-barn business in "fly-over country" is very competitive (I think we have 5-6 companies around here that have been around for a long time) and for the most part relies on "word of mouth" (in Wisconsin that would probably be "tavern talk"). Reality is they all do the same thing in the same way...they are pretty simple structures but one bad job might ruin them forever.

Mostly, I agree with what you have said. You will find differences in how they build however. Fastener sizes, air nails, hammered nails, clipped head vs full head, fastener type with PT lumber, nail patterns, blocking to support purlins that in turn help support trusses, vertical roof purlins vs "flat" roof purlins, PT lumber grade and/or treatment type, steel gauge, uplift ressitance on the posts, poured post pads vs precast, concrete around the posts or not, glue lam posts vs full PT, screw length and pattern, yadda, yadda, yadda. There is indeed a difference.

When it comes to pole barns, do not expect anything not in writing. Steel quage, trim, rat guard, overhangs, ridge vent, eave vents, door hardware, top and bottom, etc., etc. Your best bet is to ask to see other area barns built by the same builder if you are new at this.

Though I have seen alot of barns go up, it never ceases to amaze me how fast a good crew is. There is a barn going up near me that is maybe 40x80x16 high. It has gone from bundles of lumber on the ground last week to most of the tin on this afternoon. Hint: there are a number of workers with straw hats and women with bonnets serving up food among other chores. Tough to compete with that.

 

[teejk]

I found it was on occasion an adventure dealing with home owners.

yeah...well...offered to fix a garage window for a suit/tie guy I worked with on our lunch hour...had no tools because I didn't know we were doing it. Asked for a screw-driver and he produced something that might have been a proper screw-driver in a previous life. Asked for a hammer and I think he found something from a Fisher Price toy box. Asked for a tape measure to measure the glass and he found his wife's flexible sewing tape. Years ago I bought my wife a basic set of tools (wrenches, sockets, screw drivers, hammer, pliers etc.) for Christmas (didn't set to well at the time but all is well now...I even bought her a cordless drill last year and she loves it). She has become very proficient on construction matters. We finished out this house together...drywall taping, extensive tiling, laminate flooring, doors and trim, etc. I already knew about construction stuff and that nothing is ever "perfect" but can be made to get close...she caught on pretty quickly.