Truss connection in North Carolina

I’m a Florida inspector that just looked at a house in North Carolina.
The house was built in 2008 and the trusses are toe-nailed to the top plate and no straps.

This would not fly in Florida. Is it acceptable in North Carolina?

Looks like Raised or Standing engineered heal truss.
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Built in 2008 means the permit could have been pulled in 2007…what county are we talking about.

Jeff

It’s in Mebane. I think it’s Alamance county

Just found out it’s in Orange county

I don’t know about NC, but here in Maine we use these;
http://www.dhcsupplies.com/store/i/is.aspx?path=/images/simpson/simpson_h1.jpg

And we also use ceiling insulation with an R-factor of at least 38. :):wink:

2009 IRC R802.10.5 Truss to wall connection. Trusses shall be connected
to wall plates by the use of approved connectors having a resistance
to uplift of not less than 175 pounds (779 N) and shall be
installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications.
For roof assemblies subject to wind uplift pressures of 20 pounds
per square foot (960 Pa) or greater, as established in Table
R301.2(2), adjusted for height and exposure per TableR301.2(3),
see section R802.11.

[That code is unchanged from the 2003 IRC and perhaps back further.]

Commentary: In conventional rafter-ceiling joist construction, the
ceiling joist is toenailed to the top plate, and the rafter
is toenailed to the top plate with the ceiling joist face
nailed to the rafter. Toenailing of trusses to the top
plate does not provide an equivalent connection.
Toenailing may splinter the truss chord and compromise
truss stability. This section requires that the
proper framing anchor be used for the truss-to-wall
connection
to maintain the same structural integrity as
expected in a conventionally framed roof.

Kevin… I am pretty sure they are required in 2008 even 07 because we were installing them in every county I have built in (about 10 counties…did commercial jobs in Orange last year but not residential)…contact 919 245-2600…that is Orange County Inspection Department…they can give you the low down…I wouldn’t tell them your a home inspector…most of the AHJ that I deal with do not like to talk to HI’s about code and you can understand.

Also, for your info…in times past truss manufactures would allow trusses to be toenailed (3 approved fasteners) without consideration to any additional connectors however with more concern with uplift they are opting for an approved connector.

The problem I have always had with connectors such as what Marcel has show including your basic Strong Tie H3 is that there is no true load path (I speak of uplift) tying it back to the foundation…most of these ties are tied to a double top plate and it ends there…no straps are found joining the top plates to the studs, studs to band joist etc…all the way to the foundation.

Don’t get me wrong…I am not saying they are useless…and of course not every region should adhere to 110 mph wind loads yet if counties are going to require such connectors then they should consider the whole load path.

And finally on a side note…trusses are typically made using Yellow Pine which any carpenter will tell you completely sucks when it comes to framing…as Joe said, the wood splits easily. I love SPF myself and will pay to oversize a components versus dealing with the splits…and finally when you look at trusses…well over 90% of the time you will find framers nailing the bottom chord to interior partitions instead of using a Tclip / tie or blocking between the bottom chord…when you are talking uplift forces the bottom chord will more often than not will split…other times it can actually lift/separate the interior partition / top plates. I write this up all the time.

regards

Jeff

Jeff

Jeff, did you see my post right above yours??? It’s been required since at least 2003.

Can anything be done about it now? Probably not. But I’d make them aware that its unconventional and a deviation from ‘commonly accepted standards’. May even want to refer them to a licensed engineer. I’d definitely put it in the Summary as a significant defect or one that needs further evaluation.

Thank you for the feedback guys.

http://www.cbs.state.or.us/bcd/committees/11orsc/chapters/Chapter_8-Board_version.pdf