They Supported The Weight Of The Roof And The Walls

Trusses are pre fabricated triangulated wooden structures used to support the roof.

They supported the weight of the roof and the walls.

Not all external walls are always load bearing. This house uses trusses for the roof framing. Posts in the basement or crawlspace can indicate supporting walls up above. When in doubt about whether a wall is supporting treat it as if it is.

The spacing and allowable span of ceiling joists in residential construction is standardized according to building codes which cover not only basic wall to wall room design but nonparallel. Framing in construction is the fitting together of pieces to give a structure support and shape. They not only support the weight of the ceiling material but also bear the outward pressure that is placed on exterior walls from the weight of the roof. Are used without framing.

For example a gable end truss may be designed with support members that transmit the roof weight load outward to the side walls allowing the end wall directly below it to have breaks or openings in it that would otherwise be impossible. If so it is probably load bearing. Some houses are designed so that only some of the outside walls support the roof weight. See if you have a hole in it where you can see if it is a double top plate.

They should be designed to span the whole width but they also could have been engineered to have a load bearing wall. Trusses are quite common these days because they have five big advantages from the builder s standpoint. The alternative is to build up the roof s frame with 2x8s and 2x10s.