How to Handle Roof Trusses

Moving Trusses

• Be sure to have enough workers on hand when trusses need to be moved. The larger the truss, the more people will be needed to move it, unless you have a crane on site. Trusses should be kept upright when they are being moved. Their strength is based on their triangular shape, which resists gravity. When a truss is lifted in a horizontal position, the triangular shape is perpendicular to gravitational pull and the truss is vulnerable to being warped, damaged and even broken. Several people moving a truss together can keep it upright and support it every few feet to keep it from bending.

Storing Trusses

• Trusses should be kept upright when they are stored as well as when they are being moved. Trusses can be leaned against a wall as long as their bases are close enough to the wall so that they don't lean any more than necessary. When trusses are put into storage against a wall, place several 2-by-4s against the outside of the last truss to be stored and screw the 2-by-4s into the floor and ceiling. Doing so prevents the risk of the trusses falling over. Trusses should not be stored where they will get wet.

Getting Trusses onto the Roof

• Small construction crews don't usually have access to a crane and often have to lift trusses onto a roof by hand. This isn't ideal, but given the cost of renting a crane it is sometimes inevitable. Work out the process of handing the truss up to the roof, and be sure that everyone on the crew understands the process before you begin. If you do have a crane, it's a simple matter of attaching the truss to the crane with a rope, cable or chain so that the truss is supported at all of its critical joints and then lifting the truss and gently settling it into place.

Safety

• Safety needs to be foremost in everyone's minds when moving and installing trusses. Everyone on a construction crew should be aware of the importance of body dynamics, such as lifting with your legs rather than your back. Lifting an excessively heavy truss can injure your back. Attaching a truss inadequately to a crane can kill someone if it falls. Crew members should be required to wear hard hats and steel-toed boots at all times on a work site and especially when moving trusses.