Completing the Trusses

We have now finished installing all 52 trusses on the house!

After the trusses were installed with all the necessary blocking, I began attaching the hurricane ties, which provide a secure connection between the trusses and the top plate. Our inspector had told me that we could install hurricane ties on every-other truss, so that made for approximately 104 hurricane ties across the whole house. I hammered the shorter nails into the trusses by hand and used a nail gun for the longer nails that go into the top plate.

My friends John and Armando helped me install the 2×6 fascia board around the perimeter of the house. This was a fairly straight-forward task, although installing the fascia board on the gable ends was a bit more challenging and time-consuming.

With the trusses installed and the fascia board completed, I was ready to call in the partial roof inspection. The inspector had told me they’d want to see how the trusses were installed prior to the sheathing installation. After passing the inspection, I began to put up 7/16 OSB sheathing on the western gable end. My rationale for sheathing the gable ends prior to the roof sheathing was to provide a bit of a windbreak so that wind wouldn’t blow through the trusses and pull on the roof sheathing before it was entirely closed in. All three gable ends will have access doors, so I made a hinged opening that will also eventually have a gable vent.

Our next stage of construction will be to simultaneously begin installing the R-49 insulation batts in the attic as we install the 5/8″ tongue and groove OSB sheathing on the roof. My next blog post will detail that upcoming work. Thanks for reading!