Truss Failure Revisited To the Editor: I am a structural engineer and have inspected dozens of structural failures involving floor and roof trusses. I can't for the life of me figure how Steven Smulski settled on the conclusions stated in his article, "Flat Truss Failure" (10/93). Smulski says that excessive heat and moisture in the closed truss space lead to the truss failure. He estimated that the moisture content of the lumber into which the connector plate teeth were inserted fluctuated from 6% to 14%. There is nothing unusual about this range. Most of the basements I inspect have similar fluctuations, yet I don't see the failures he attributes to this moisture cycling. Smulski writes as if the floor cavity space
