ROOF TRUSS HEIGHT

Question:

ROOF TRUSS 6/12 PITCH WHAT IS THE HEIGHT FROM BOTTOM CORD TO THE HIGHEST POINT

answer:
The actual height of any truss depends on the width of the structure being built. Without knowing the width of the building, it is impossible to come up with a specific answer.

The 6:12 pitch means for every 12 inches horizontally, you rise 6 inches vertically. Assuming that the building is symmetrical i.e at the middle of the building, the left side is identical to the right which will put the peak of the truss at the middle.



Dividing the total width of the house by two will give us the distance required to reach the highest point of the truss. That's why it is very important to know the width in order to calculate the total height of the truss.

The above diagram illustrates how the calculation is made. For a 20 feet total width, the highest point should be at 10 feet from the side. Using the slope 6:12 we need to rise 6 inches ten times to get to the peak.

In other words, multiply the 6 inches by ten will yield the total height of 60 inches or 5 feet. One thing to watch for if the height of the structure needs to be set at a certain point, the total thickness of the roofing, decks, shingles, etc must be considered in the calculations.

The calculations explained above are only for the truss itself. By adding the roofing, sheathing, decking, roof tiles, roof shingles etc may raise the roof 3 to 6 inches. In areas where building height is restrictive, it can cause problems with building officials.

It is very important to consider the building’s height very early and to make sure to design the truss height carefully. Trying to lower any roof by an inch or two is very time consuming and very costly process.