Plans and specifications are made after the concept is set with the owner. An architect will make up a set of drawings, and a structural engineer will do the same. Together they come up with approximate sizes of the truss members along with all the other drawings.

The drawings we receive are in one of two stages: Either they are in a preliminary stage, and the architect will issue a set of drawings intended for pricing only; or the owner will employ a general contractor, along with the architect and engineer, and will issue a complete set of drawings with specifications for construction. We use a full set of plans to determine the amount of material, labor and truss engineering are needed and give the parties involved a bid.

The more complete the drawings and specifications are, the more accurate our bid will be. We will often work with architects to better specify heavy timber trusses for manufacturing and cost savings.

The attached drawing is what we used to bid the Blue Ash Bistro trusses:

Some drawings we see use a super structure made of steel to support the roof and a second, non-structural truss facade is attached for looks. In our experience, it costs just as much to build a non-structural truss as it does to build a structural one. So, why build the roof system twice? Structural Wood Products' trusses are beautiful and self supporting. Building only with timber can save money.

We start shop drawings after the truss job has been confirmed.

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