Standing Trusses With the first end truss up, I like to spread the trusses if they aren’t too big (Figure 3). Figure 3. Unless trusses are too big to handle twice, spreading out trusses along the top plate makes it easy to roll them up into position later. Spread them so that they end up leaning on top of one another in the same order you want to follow when you stand them up later on. Work in pairs, keeping an eye on your partner at all times. It’s easy to knock one another off the building if your movements aren’t coordinated. After the trusses are all spread out, prepare and raise the other end truss.

Inside trusses.

With the end trusses up, raise the first inside truss and adjust it into place. Sometimes the intersection of the bottom chord and the tail overhang of the top chord is not easily determined because the very tip of the bottom chord is broken or cut short. To be absolutely sure, I run a straightedge to mark the intersection on each truss. This way, when you are standing the trusses, a quick glance will tell you when you’re on the money. This prevents you from ending up with a wavy roof line. After the first interior truss is aligned and nailed down to the exterior walls with two 16-penny nails at each end, finish installing the outriggers to tie these two trusses together. Then, before tipping up more trusses, start a piece of temporary bracing on top of these first two trusses as close to the peak as you can reach. Use 8-penny nails and highnail them slightly so that they can be easily removed during the sheathing phase. On tall trusses, you’ll need braces on both sides to reduce the risk of cascading trusses. From this point on, stand and space each truss using ridge and eaves blocks at top and bottom, and the bracing layout marks along the top chord (Figure 4). Figure 4. A carpenter nails off the top chord brace at the premarked layout line, automatically spacing the trusses. Note in the background how the outriggers have been installed in preparation for the barge rafters.