Small Diameter Roundwood Trusses

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There is a glut of small diameter wood in many parts of the United States, both in national forests and tree farms. This resource is often wasted as it becomes fuel in massive forest fires. On tree farms, where it barely pays the bills, small diameter wood is sold cheaply to make paper. Instead of sending this wood to pulp mills, it could be used to create higher value building materials, including roundwood trusses.

The roundwood truss system described here enables DIYers to build their own trusses at very low cost. Virtually any truss configuration is possible, although roundwood is best suited to simpler designs such as: queen and king post, Fink, Howe, scissor, clerestory, parallel chord, sloping top chord, attic truss (for lofts and second story plans), asymmetric, gambrel and gable end trusses. You can download truss charts off the Internet and use them as guidelines.

Why are trusses so popular? Trusses are prefabricated so they’re ready to install when the walls are finished. This is important for drying in the structure as quickly as possible. Trusses are very strong, efficient and relatively lightweight. They use shorter pieces of wood joined together instead of large dimension lumber. Trusses span longer distances and eliminate the need for center walls or supports.

The downside is factory made trusses use milled wood such as 2x4s to speed construction, but this wood is usually not sustainably harvested and it’s shipped long distances. Both of these practices harm the environment.

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