Factory-Made Flooring and Roofing Systems

Most of the wood-frame houses built in the last hundred years have been assembled of dimensional lumber, the standardized two-by-fours, two-by-sixes, two-by-eights, and the rest that you encounter at your lumberyard. You shouldn't be surprised to learn, given the finite number of trees to be harvested, that new products have been developed that take better advantage of the trees we have. Thus, a number of factory-made wood products have begun to appear at the construction site.

Trusses
Perhaps the most common variety of prefabricated structural members are trusses. Trusses are carefully engineered arrangements of triangles that can carry large loads over broad spans. They're most often used in home construction to form the triangular gable roof, but other roof shapes and even interior floors are being framed today using trusses.

Trusses use the inherent rigidity of the triangle. Most are assemblages of two-by-fours. At the same time that they conserve materials, they also give the designer the option of creating larger uninterrupted spaces. Trusses are fabricated elsewhere, delivered to the job site oh a flatbed truck, lifted into place by a crew or even a crane, and nailed in place much like traditional solid-wood joists or rafters. The costs are roughly comparable, especially when savings in labor are considered.