Demand for long-span trussed rafters

Around one third of the output from TRA Members is for long-span, non-domestic construction and this looks like increasing further.

Trussed rafters have become part of everyday building vocabulary since they were introduced into the UK building industry some 40 years ago.

So common are they, due to practicality, lightness in weight, economy and avoidance of skilled carpenter trades, that it is easy to assume that these utilitarian uses are the limit of their application.

Fortunately, this is not the case and, even in domestic construction, the advent of Room in Roof or 'Attic' trusses has been an integral part of the building revolution for optimising living space on ever more congested sites.

However, there has been a quieter revolution going on in the construction Industry where trussed rafters have played an increasingly important role.

Many clients, specifiers and contractors alike have begun to favour the use of timber in the roofs of small to medium sized commercial buildings such as schools, hospital extensions, supermarkets, etc Architectural preference for pitched roofs, coupled with the well-known concern on long-span flat roofs, has encouraged specifiers and contractors to look increasingly towards trussed rafters to provide a solution.

This trend is increasing apace.

Already, around one third of the output from TRA Members is for long-span, non-domestic construction and this looks like increasing further.

This market development can only be accelerated by the soon-to-be-published revisions to the British Standard BS 5268-3, the trussed rafter design code, which will now incorporate extended standard roof bracing details for spans over 12 metres.

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