Poor Quality Trusses

[Dave Jones]

Had the trusses arrive for the garage, 2 of the 3 ( 4 hipped roof) main trusses are split to hell. Why do they think its acceptable to even bother sending them out ? Rejected of course.

 

Too much to ask these days for a decent product, not like they are cheap.

 

 

[Mike]

They don't look great, but timber grading does permit timber with surprising large splits (shakes) to be used. But it's too long ago since I had to argue over that with a supplier to remember the details.

[saveasteading]

I would reject these too.

I once thought that all graded timber went through a grading test, so was surprised to find that warehouse managers do it by eye. Not always very well by the look of these.

Trusses are designed to be very skinny, so there isn't a lot to play with.

[Gus Potter]

Appreciate your frustration @Dave Jones

 

 

Thing is that when the timber was put through the grading machine it may have been ok. Fabricated trusses tend to have their own special grade of timber TR26.

 

Remember that when the timber is tested we work on probablities and normal distribution curves to determine strengths. Here what you have is some splitting timber that could be outside the 95% percentile. But it has been spotted before it got built in.. that is good that you have spotted this as in some ways it shows the system works, awareness from site operatives.. if it looks wrong it probably is.

 

The timber could have dried out after grading and fabrication.. wood is a "living material" and is full of surprises. We design for the odd concrete cube test not being strong enough and say for the odd truss being crap as we know that really one off bad one.. say like you have will hopefully get spotted. If we designed on the basis of everything being perfect houses would cost an awful lot more to build.

 

Options that spring to mind.

 

1/ Send the photos to the truss folk and say you are concerened about the splitting. Ask them to confirm that the material is still compliant with say TR26 timber / their design and that this may be outside the normal expected strength  / material property distibution.

 

2/ Ask them if  one or two can be remediated.. at their expense or how quickly you can get new ones and the old ones taken away also at their expense. Express you preferance.

 

3/ Say you expect an immediate response and warn you will follow up with more in depth enquiry if not the case.. starting with how this got through their CE marking process, sent to site and that they are now not responding to reasonable enquiry about a safety concern.

 

The key is to state the facts, send photographs and say this is a structural safety issue.. and that it is costing you money due to delay as you can't progress the works due to a safety concern.

 

I think you may find that you have new trusses in two to five days at no cost to yourself. The reason is that when faced with a few photos and technical observation the manufacturer can fast track stuff to head of bigger problems and claims at the pass.

 

The above is the way you start to lay the groundwork for a legal claim if they don't play the game... but that is very remote.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by Gus Potter

[Dave Jones]

Truss supplier has been very good to be fair, 2 replacements coming Monday.

 

the splits were not evident when we unloaded them a week ago and it has been really sunny since ….