I started stick framing in my teens. Now, in my 50s, I build the truss. I found the easiest way for me is to pop lines on my slab of the house for a straight pattern of the truss needed. Then lay all my truss material out, attaching my gusset plates, keeping everything within the lines. All Eli witney and Ford assembly line theory, lol.
The big factor here is clearly the 4-6 weeks (plus processing time and the ~3-4 days plus delivery time). Your decision kept you and the boys gainfully employed. Just as important it also kept you from the stresses of having to rearrange your future jobs already on the books with set times which is something that I hate doing. Rearranging a construction schedule often times opens up gaps that cannot be filled with anything except unexpected down time. This prevented you from having to give your crew an unexpected few days off w/o pay and nobody including the boss likes that! Love when all pieces of the plan come together with limited changes and when a change is necessary it does not wreak havoc on a set schedule.
Comparing the costs, there is not much difference to get those built by a company, but I know how it looks when you're running tight on weather or season. When things have to be done, you have to get it done. Therefore some extra hours are needed. Yet the success on finishing a project is priceless. 😇
I priced trusses for the 24'x24' garage/shop I'm starting soon and due to cost, availability and manpower, I decided to go with rafter/ridge/collar ties instead. Ken, your lucky to live in a place that leaves you the option to build your own trusses. I've seen jurisdictions on RU-vid videos that maintain it's illegal to build your own...even by licensed carpenters/builders...they will refuse permits for it and make you purchase trusses.
Good morning Ken! A beautiful 75° here in Mesa, Arizona, so I would imagine it’s a bit cool there. Just heard you say it’s 34°. Hope you get trusses delivered before the “snowman” hits. Have a great day of building.
Thanks for the cost breakdown on the trusses. If you account for the time involved in you making them vs purchasing them, you have lost that time for building another garage. The cost difference is not as great as I thought it would be.
In the painting business I used to get all the storms and screens from several jobs for the rainy days, always hated to leave customers hanging when winter made an early showing
If it’s crunch time and your on a schedule than I would say it’s worth it but any other time it’s not worth your effort! Thanks for pointing that out Ken! ✌🏼❤️🙏🏼
Thanks for sharing this Ken. Since I'm building my own home, the materials cost comparison is what I was needing. I can see where it would save me alot of money to build them myself.
My uncle designed ,built , and sold the most popular automated saw used in the truss factory. His labor estimate to cut all of pieces in all of your trusses is 15 minutes total. DePauw saws..
Great explanation on cost of building the trusses, i think the only other thing that you could have added is the man hours used to build them could have been paying off in other areas. Thanks for the great videos.
I know I asked for this specifically the other day and I appreciate the follow up. I suspect you could crank these out faster if it's all you did, but that wasn't the point. We got to see a real-life comparison on how to make good use of your time and scheduling. IOW, life goes on and you didn't lose your shirt on the deal. That was a great business decision!
The only cost that may be considered is the lost time that could be put toward the project or another project. That is a much more difficult number to pin down. It would depend on how busy the contractor is and if there are jobs that they are putting off or losing out on because of that timing. Otherwise, great breakdown of the cost. And yeah, building trusses is a royal pain; it was my first experience in real residential construction, as a teenager!
You did good. The cost of lumber is still going up and down. So I’m thinking they are adding a little extra to the build of the trust to offset their business expenses . Thanks again for your work today.
Ken thank you for your knowledge on the subject. I have watched several videos on factories making trusses. WOW, that was interesting. The holding pins or guides adjusted by computer. Less than a minute to set, drop 2 x 4 in place, add press plates, run machine across, flip over, repeat plates and run again. Less than 5 minutes per truss. I have tried to make my own with a steel plate and sledge hammer. NO fun, but got the job done. I know you build the walls up off the floor about 3 feet, if you could do the same with the trusses? If you could find a clam shell type press to push the plates in there you go. I believe the ability to build the trusses when you need them, out of good material, might make it worth it. Hey you would get everything where you want it also. I just watched a video of a building inspector where pictures of house attic's showed broken trusses because sub-standard materials were used. I realize these trusses would not have passed muster with Ken. Keep up the good work, winter is just around the corner. Okay just watched a you tube video on how to build a 20 ton jig to press plates in place. Put the jig on rollers and roll it around to all the connections. Sorry Ken I am a retired auto mechanic, I found a way to get the car or truck fixed so I could get paid. This video looked interesting... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-O7t1ChSAwiA.html
I live in Washington State and I've built 1 garage and just finishing a pole building. The costs are astronomical for trusses and some of the lumber used is grade z lumber... I've burned better 2x4's. All trusses have to be engineered for snow loads, wind and earthquakes. I really enjoy your show always entertaining and good information.
Thank you for the thorough analysis. The difference in cost is not that great. The time constraints are another factor that became important at this time of year. 🤔
I think thats the one thing i planned on buyiny was the gusets just because it would be that much faster and convient just stop at the hardware store and buy them when ready
Understand completely time is money, I went to trues company and watched them build them may 20 min for a trus and the really don't care what the lumber looks like they pop them in jig and all are precut and press the gusset in place ..so I get it have built Many I my years , thanks for the great video my friend. 🌴🦈😎
I'm glad you came out okay on the price, but it sure messes with the flow of the work. These are weird times- not long ago truss companies would be getting in line to accommodate you. But anyway- thanks for the update and I have to say I'm enjoying your channel more and more. Thanks !
It's not time consuming if you have your own 50-ton hyraulic press. I buy plates from CH-Machine out of Alabama and can make a full truss in about a half hour with it after I have the tooling jigs set up. Super slick, you might want to consider making your own press. I can get you my design if you want to have a look at it. I had to make it myself out of pinned steel channel iron and bar stock since I didn't have access to a welder. It will press up to 5"x8" plates no problem. I had 28 trusses I needed to make, and I had an estimate at around $7K for the bid. After buying all lumber and supplies, I spent $2K in lumber, $450 in truss plate hardware, and $1K for the hydraulic press parts. I saved $3500 by doing it myself, one time. Subsequent times would really pay off.
There is also lost business cost. If you have back to back jobs, taking time to build trusses reduces time to finish the build job and move to the next one. So building them doesn’t make sense unless you are being held up like this example.
well from my perspective it looks like you could make a profit from truss building if you had a dedicated building with jigs/fixtures for different sizes exclusively building trusses. you could also have pnuematic nailers hanging from the rafters to facilitate faster and easier nailing.
Great info, Ken. Nice to see the detail you consider as a business owner.........it all matters. If you weren't paying attention, it would be very easy to go broke. You know, those truss building hours could have been used to see who can fly a makeshift airplane, or setup hatchet throwing competitions. 🤣 Just kidding, of course...........maybe. hehe
Back that up by a year or so and I think it’s closer to 100%+. At least here in the states. And I have a friend who bought three places to rent even as late as last month who really can’t afford them. Some people are going to be getting hosed. Housing needs a good thirty ish percent correction. Just what is says on paper.
I think the joint plates of plywood and nails are stronger than the truss plates of metal, 22 foot 4/12 pitch truss 20 years ago was $39. wow ! So Yes building at shop was a good reason to get the delivery
Your dedicated and loyal crew there Ken. Cost of labor? We know you are a You Tube star. But then your dedicated and loyal crew. They are You Tube stars too. Maybe you give them a ham at Christmas time. No that was not a kind thing to say. My bad. But ~ do they get a little bit of a You Tube boost ? Maybe? ~~~ Just saying.
Ken I’m surprise you don’t hand cut your roofs with rafters and ridge boards. I know the ceiling joist is the kicker with your garages but a little engineering and I’m sure you could make it work.
Too bad the truss manufacturers are running so far behind. I think it's good that they cost perhaps a bit less but the build is not as enjoyable having to build them. Your garage space is kind of small and your trailer makes it a bit harder to transport them. I understand that the convenience of getting them from a truss manufacturer is much better. Thanks for telling us that it's not just the lead time but the time to send information to the salesman and then them getting back to you on price that also takes time before they even start to get in the line to be built. So how long to you have to wait for the 28' x 28' garage's trusses? That is a large span. Will they have to go with center supports or can they get trusses to do that span? Would steel be cheaper with the lumber prices so high? The guy that remodeled our home used steel to open up the walls. Thanks for talking to us about this Ken.
Father had a barn that had handmade Trussell's. They are still up for 69+ years the same way you make them. It is no different in quality or you can run a board down the middle and put a finger on it 16" on center and a load board across them.
Ken, I know truss builds are the exception, not the norm, but another cost to factor is potential lost earnings for jobs that could be done in place of the time spent building the trusses!
Thanks Ken Another interesting video I’m on to rafter prep tomorrow for my 24’x24’ cape style garage with 10’ walls 26 2x10x20s I’m hoping to have the roof on mid October It’s just me with some occasional help But I’m getting there Do you use 3/4 plywood for the gussets on the rafters ? Thanks again God bless Seacoast NH here It’s not that cool here just yet Thankfully
Maybe making your own trusses saves some money, but clearly you don't enjoy it. It's worth it to buy them, I think. BUT, the timing is the big thing, and you got the job done on time.
Thanks for doing a cost comparison video. I was curious if it was more cost prohibitive to build them yourself. Sounds like as long as you can buy them, might just as well buy them. 👍
Here in Canada its better to buy but there is way too much government overreach. We have build our own and got them inspected - they were far stronger - look what happened to Lumnah Acres with the truss that collapsed.
Good Saturday mornin Kens Karpentry📐📏🔨✏ Having the expertise to build these trusses yourself, saved your bacon (so to speak). You gotta do whatcha gotta do .... well done. Take care Ken .... stay warm 🔥🔥👣
A recent video on another channel compared (only to a limited extent, since sponsored by a truss mfr) the costs of using trusses vs. stick-built. The on-site time is a lot less with trusses. If you’re building the trusses yourself off-site, I don’t know how the total time would compare.
