MG-Wales

The truss clips of the type shown by Marvin are to restrain any uplift (wind) force whether the birdsmouth joint is to provide enough bearing for the rafter over the wall top plate under vertical downward forces. If the rafters aren't birdsmouthed you could potentially have very concentrated forces causing "crushing" on the timbers (rafters and or top plate failing in compression perpendicular to the grain). In this case I would recommend to fix a timber fillet under the rafter and making sure everything is fixed together. There are other connectors (wedge shaped) which can do both up an down forces but I can't find an example right now.

Hi, a truss clip can be used, as others suggest, just to be on the safe side but it is not strictly necessary. I'm a structural engineer and I work mainly with timber frame structures: we specify truss clips only when the wind uplift force is quite high (windy locations, shallow pitched roofs) and the dead load is low (e.g. lightweight roof covering). Otherwise rafters birdsmouthed to the top plate and fixed down with a pair of skew screws/nails would be providing an acceptable nominal connection.

Hi everyone. My partner @er-wales and I are starting to plan our self-build project for our new home in South Wales. We still haven't got a building plot, but we've found some potential candidates and are hoping to buy one in the Brecon Beacons or Monmouthshire area later this year. I am a structural engineer with 10 years experience in timber buildings and I am very keen on a cross-laminated timber structure for the building. We are planning to manage the build ourselves and do a minor part of the works as well. We'll keep you posted about our progress and probably ask quite a lot of questions as we go along!

Hi, my partner @er-wales and I are thinking of buying a plot of land in Wales that has outline planning permission for our self-build project. The planning permission is for a 4-bed detached house, which is what we want to build. The approved site plan shows a 10m x 6m rectangular footprint but it also states that the house can be a maximum of 12m x 10m on plan. This is only on the plans and officer report, but the maximum size doesn't appear to be on any of the planning approval conditions. We were looking at different layouts and because of the irregular shape of the plot, we were thinking of an L shaped ground floor which would be less than 120sqm footprint but would be 12m in each direction. We’re also thinking of having some areas of the first floor as a cantilever to provide some shading to the big openings on the south-west elevation which would make the house as viewed from the top 14m long. Has anyone got any similar experience with planning regarding house size stated in the OPP and know how likely the planners are to accept a dwelling with the same footprint area but with a different overall dimensions? We were thinking of getting in touch with the planning officers before buying anyway, but wondering if anyone has had a similar experience before applying for the reserved matters?