Using roof trusses lets you close in a building quickly
and gives you flexibility in placing interior partitions.
But except for some data published by the
Truss Plate Institute (Madison, Wis.; 608/833-5900), there is
little written information on how to install and brace trusses.
The few books that do discuss the issue typically show the
first truss located directly over the end wall and braced diagonally
to stakes driven into the ground.
I can give three reasons why you should, or in one case
must, support your trusses another way. First, depending on
the building's height and the slope of
the site, the length of a diagonal brace
from the peak of