Medeek Truss

Given the slopes of the dual pitch truss and the span calculate the distance between the left bearing and the peak:

However, you might notice that we are assuming the buttcut and top chord depth is equivalent for both sides. If the slopes are different then this will mean that the heel heights will be different. Should the heel heights be the same?

from my experience as a roof carpenter, generally one tries to line up the the fascia, so for dual pitch, or offset roofing a common Z or height position can be determined based on eaves width and pitch to determine any heel differences. So if the the building has a common eaves width then the heel positions would change to suit the pitches, otherwise if all the walls had a common pitching point the eaves width would change with the different pitches

Outlookers enabled under advanced roof options for Common, Scissor and Attic truss types.

Not really sure what is the best treatment of the outlookers at the peak of the roof and consequently what is best way to space them. Measure them from the peak or the eave/fascia?

Outlookers get a little complicated depending on whether they are structural or not. Typically around here we see them at 24" on center and they are usually structural. The top chord of the truss is dropped either 1.5" or 3.5" depending on if they are oriented horizontally or vertically. With structural lookouts the first lookout from the eave is usually non-structural since the dropped top chord truss will have a special slider attached to top chord to achieve the overhang. See image below:

Usually the sheeting goes on starting at the bottom so based on that the lookouts would be measured from the bottom edge of the sheeting so that they line up with the seams every 48".

I’ve seen a single vertical placed the ridge when the outlookers are vertical however what is common practice when the outlookers are horizontal?

Notice the different configuration of the top chord when the drop is only 1.5" (oriented flat).

If the overhang is zero then this slider or splice goes away.

A dropped top chord with flat orientation might look something like this:

Without an overhang the gable end truss becomes:

Note that the outlookers would probably be spaced from the bottom at 24" on center.

Vertical structural outlookers with 12" overhang and 16" gable overhang:

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Note, I have not coded this into the plugin yet I’m just verifying the correct way to frame out these different options with feedback from others before I commit to a specific method.

some times the gable end truss is self supporting like a standard truss, with drop chords, for carports or verandas without a supporting beam. however like what you have done as noted.

Agreed, there are times that it is structural so the triangulating webs are included as well as the vertical studs. At some point I will also look at adding that option in as well

Outlookers enabled under advanced roof options for Monopitch truss types.

Fixed all truss types so that the outlookers are measured from the bottom. I also added the option to include outlookers at the peak.

Version 1.1.4 - 11.25.2015
Structural outlookers (vert. & horz.) enabled under advanced roof options for Common (Fink) truss type.
Structural outlookers (vert. & horz.) enabled under advanced roof options for Common (Fink) truss type with raised heel (vertical w/ strut).

The logic to make the dropped top gable end truss is ugly but it seems to work, I may find a few bugs with it yet but I think I’ve addressed most cases. The plugin will now allow you to create fairly complete roof geometry in a matter of seconds, something that even a prolific SketchUp user would probably take almost a half an hour to create. That alone makes me feel pretty good about it.

I love your plugin thank you. Above you asked about Mac users. That is what we use and it works great.

Do you have any plans for a double fink? We will be using your software to create models of existing trusses so we can send the info to an engineer to vet additional tcdl from solar panels. Your plugin will save us a lot of time in creating models of the existing trusses.

We have a request for double fink, and fan. Do you have any plans to add these?

Thank you once again for your awesome plugin.

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I have been concentrating on figuring out the detailing with gable end trusses and other issues rather than adding new common truss types, perhaps a misstep on my part. The fan, mod queen, double fink and double howe should really be hot items on the todo list. Let me see what I can do.

Hi medeek.

I’d love to have a chat with you sometime concerning automating timber framing, trusses and rafters in SketchUp. I’ve been searching high and low to find an extension for Sketchup. Recently I made a forum post in this community seeking advice after which I then stumbled across your posts.

Many thanks,

Rob

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Version 1.1.5 - 11.25.2015

  • Added Double Fink common truss type.
  • Structural outlookers (vert. & horz.) enabled under advanced roof options for Common (Double Fink) truss type.

Now that I have the basic template in place it takes me only about an hour or so of coding to add a new common truss type. I still need to add raised heels for the double fink but first I need to compress my algorithms for this option and then I can create a modular chunk of code that deals specifically with raised heels for all truss types.

Feel free to give me a call at any time: 425-420-5715, I’m just here at my desk.

I’ve given some thought to rafter framing. A gable roof is a piece of cake, I can probably knock it out in a couple of hours with all the options. Hip roof framing is a slightly different story. I’ve worked out the geometry and where all the planes and lines need to go, just need to find the time to make it happen.

Wall framing is something I would also like to tackle in the near future. I’ve used the housebuilder plugin which is pretty good but I think a lot more can be done in this regard (ie. portal frames, shearwalls, holdowns, corner treatment, beam pockets, etc…)

A couple examples of more advanced framing topics:

Thanks medeek. Do you mind if I email you over some details in a day or two? I’m based in the UK and it’s getting late now. What’s a good email address to contact you on?

Many thanks, your work looks great. I’d love to throw some ideas to you.

The best email to reach me at is nathan@medeek.com

Version 1.1.6 - 11.26.2015

  • Added Fan and Mod Queen common truss types.
  • Structural outlookers (vert. & horz.) enabled under advanced roof options for Common (Fan & Mod Queen) truss types.

Four more common truss types still need to be added:

  • Double Howe (6/6)
  • Mod Fan (8/4)
  • Triple Fink (8/7)
  • Triple Howe (8/8)

For very large buildings one could also consider:

  • Quad Fan (10/5)
  • Quad Fink (10/9)
  • Quad Howe (10/10)
  • Quin Fan (12/6) …

A quad fink truss (10/9) with a raised heel (slider):

Valley Sets are here:

Proceed with caution though I just put it together so it is still a bit rough around the edges. Further testing and refinement is necessary but it seems to be working fairly decently.

Currently the main roof plane and two points need to be selected rather carefully I’m not sure I can do much about that, if not I will need to document in some detail how to use this function.