Exposed Trusses: A New Architectural Trend
Posted on: 9 September 2020
Building trusses are extremely functional. Without trusses, the weight of a building's roof and attic space could not be supported. Although the primary role of trusses is to provide structural stability, these construction components are being featured as a design element in more and more spaces.
Exposed trusses is a new architectural trend sweeping across the nation. Knowing how a particular truss design will impact your space allows you to better incorporate exposed trusses into your buildings in the future.
King Trusses
When you think of a roofing truss, you are probably picturing a king truss. These trusses are characterized by a triangle shape formed from a tie beam bottom and two sloping rafters. A larger post, referred to as a king post, runs from the apex of the triangle to the base.
Because king trusses have an additional center post in their design, these trusses are capable of holding a lot of weight. You can utilize exposed king trusses in any building that features heavy roofing materials without worrying about the weight of the roof damaging the building's structure in any way.
Queen Trusses
A queen truss is similar to a king truss. The major difference between the two is that instead of the center post featured on a king truss, the queen truss has two symmetrical posts extending downward from each triangle leg to the bottom tie beam.
The absence of the king post in the middle of the truss makes queen trusses ideal for use in attic spaces or rooms where a sloped roof limits standing room. The raised center of an exposed queen truss can offer a corridor that makes awkward rooms more accessible while still keeping a modern aesthetic.
Raised Collar Trusses
If you want to incorporate exposed beams into your building design but you don't have any rooms with super high ceilings, raised collar trusses may be your best option. The tie beam on raised collar trusses is much smaller than the tie beam on both the king and queen truss.
In addition to being smaller, the tie beam on a raised collar truss is connected to each rafter at a point relatively close to the ceiling.
These simple design characteristics allow you to maximize the amount of space beneath each raised collar truss. You can install exposed trusses in almost any room when you opt to invest in raised collar trusses for your project.
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