Switched my stance on prefab trusses after a $14k framing error

I was dead set against factory trusses for years, thinking site-built was always better. Then a crew mis-cut a roof on a 40-unit townhouse job and the delay cost me $14k in penalties, so I tried prefab for the next project and they fit perfect in half the time. Has anyone else had a bad experience that flipped their opinion on a specific material or method?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamiegreen4d ago

Funny enough, my whole view flipped the opposite way on trusses. I had a prefab crew drop a load that was three inches off on a simple gable end, and the builder ended up having to shim every single rafter just to get the sheathing to lay flat. Took twice as long as site-built would have and the homeowner was not happy. But I've also seen site-built jobs where the crew was just sloppy and the roof had a wave in it you could see from the street. Really comes down to who's running the saw on either side of the argument, in my experience.

samward4d ago

Three inches off?! Man, that would've had me pulling my hair out. I've seen truss crews show up and just set stuff on the foundation without even checking the plans first, acting like it's always right. Had a buddy who had a whole roof truss layout where every single piece was cut for a 4/12 pitch but the house was specced at a 5/12. They just unloaded it and left. Builder didn't catch it til the sheathing was going on and the whole thing looked like a roller coaster. I'm with you though, it's always about the guy holding the tape.