Dead Load Weight of Roof Trusses

Weight per
Top Chord Bottom Chord Webs
Lineal Foot (plf)
2x4 2x4 2x4 4.3
2x4 2x8 2x4 5.6
2x6 2x4 2x4 4.8
2x6 2x6 2x4 5.5
2x6 2x6 2x6 6.2
2x6 2x8 2x4 5.9
2x6 2x10 2x4 6.6
2x6 2x10 2x6 7.2
2x8 2x8 2x4 6.6
2x8 2x8 2x6 7.2
2x8 2x10 2x8 8.4

Dead Load Weight of Floor Trusses

Weight per
Depth in Inches Top Chord Bottom Chord
Lineal Foot (plf)
12 Single Single 4.0
12 Double Single 5.2
12 Double Double 6.3
18 Single Single 4.3
18 Double Single 5.5
18 Double Double 6.6
24 Single Single 4.7
24 Double Single 5.8
24 Double Double 7.0
 Section 07 – Codes & Load Types
Problem 1
Given: Roof system consisting of the following:
• Asphalt shingles
• 30 lb. Felt
• 7/16 in. OSB sheathing
• 30 ft Fink trusses, 6/12 pitch and 2x4 chords and webs, 2' o.c.
• 6 in. of fiberglass insulation at ceiling (use .045 psf per inch)
• 5/8 in. gypsum board ceiling
• 30 psf snow load

Find:
a) Determine the weights of the materials
b) Identify the top chord and bottom chord dead load and live loads.
c) Sketch the loading diagram for this truss (TCLL, TCDL, BCLL, BCDL).
d) Calculate the end reactions for this truss assuming no overhangs.

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 Section 07 – Codes & Load Types
Problem 2

Given: A floor joist is to be designed to meet a live load deflection criteria of

L/360 and a total load deflection of L/240. The joist specified is a 2x10
DF/L #1. The span is 15 feet. The Uniform Design Live Load is 78 plf and
the Uniform Design Dead Load is 30 plf.

Find:
a) What is the actual live load deflection of the member and does it meet
the design criteria?

b) What is the total load deflection of the member and does it meet the
design criteria?

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 Section 07 – Codes & Load Types
Problem 3
Given: 20 ft. long, 18 in. deep floor trusses at 24" o.c. with single 4x2 chords
designed to support the following loads:
• Floor live load = 40 psf
• Floor dead load = 20 psf
During construction, a 20-piece stack of 5/8 in. by 4'x 12' gypsum board is stored
near the mid-span of two of the trusses with the long dimension parallel to the
trusses. At the time, the trusses are sheathed with ¾ in. T&G plywood and
support approximately 1.5 psf of mechanicals and ductwork.

Find:
a) Which is the greater load on the trusses, construction load or design
load?
b) If these truss materials have values of E= 1,700,000 psi and I = 842.94
in4 what is the expected maximum deflection of a typical truss under each
load condition?

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 Section 07 – Codes & Load Types
Problem 4
Given: An air conditioning unit weighing 2500 lbs. is to be supported by 5 trusses
in the roof of a restaurant. The AC unit will rest on curbing, which runs
perpendicular to the trusses and is spaced 4 ft apart.

Find:
a) Based on the provisions of Section 4.7.2 of ASCE 7, how much should
the weight of the AC unit be increased?
b) Assuming that the AC unit is supported equally by each truss, how much
load should each truss be designed to support?

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 Section 07 – Codes & Load Types
Problem 5
Given: A building is to be designed using the following loads:
D = Dead Load = 20 psf LDF = ________

L = Live Load = 40 psf LDF = _________

Lr = Roof Live Load = 20 psf LDF = ________

S = Snow Load = 40 psf LDF = ________

W = Wind Load = 22 psf LDF = _________

E = Earthquake Load = 20 psf LDF = _________

a) Fill in the Load Duration Factor (LDF) for each of these loads.

b) Calculate the load for these roof load combinations:

D + Lr = ________

D + S = ________

D + W = ________

D + E = ________

c) Which is the load duration factor for the highest load combination in part b?
LDF = __________

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 Section 07 – Codes & Load Types
Bonus Problem 6
(not presented in course material, answer on following page)

Given: A series of 30-ft, 2 by 4 Fink roof trusses spaced at 2 ft on center with

6/12 pitch are to be designed for use in a residence. The construction
documents also provide the following information:
• 30 psf design roof snow load
• heavy clay tile roofing, no mortar
• 30 lb. roofing paper
• ⅝ inch plywood decking under tile roofing.
• 12 in. of fiberglass insulation at the ceiling (use 0.045 psf/in)
• ½ inch drywall ceiling
• ½ psf ceiling load for A/C ducts, plumbing, and wiring
• The attic space is considered uninhabitable, but will be used for
storage.

Find:
a) The top and bottom chord dead load.
b) The top chord live (include snow load as a live load) and bottom chord
live load.
c) Determine the total load and proper load duration.
d) Sketch the loading diagram and calculate the reactions

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 Section 07 – Codes & Load Types
Problem 6 - Answer
a) The top and bottom chord dead loads:
TCDL = Tile = 20.0 psf
Felt = .30 psf
Ply = 2.0 psf
Total = 22.3psf x slope factor of 1.118 = 24.93
½ truss = 1.1 psf
Total = 26.03 psf x tw of 2' = 52.06 plf use 52 plf
BCDL = ½ truss = 1.1 psf
Insul = .54 psf
Gyp = 2.2 psf
Mech = 0.5 psf
Total = 4.34 psf x tw of 2' = 8.68 plf use 9 plf

b) Top and bottom chord Live Loads:

TCLL = 30 psf (snow load controls over roof live load (Lr)
Per ASCE 7, Section 4.9 when evaluating the Roof Live Load (Lr) it might be able to
be reduced.
Lr = 20R1R2 where 12 ≤ Lr ≤ 20
R1 = 1 since At = 2'x30' = 60 ft2 < 200
R2 = 1.2 - .05(6) = 0.90
Lr = 20(1)(.90) = 18 psf
BCLL = 20 psf
c) Total Load & proper load duration
Per ASCE 7, Section 2.4, the basic load combinations that apply are:
DL
DL + LL + SL
DL = TCDL + BCDL = 26 psf + 4.5 psf = 30.5 psf
Load duration factor = 0.9 (permanent)
DL + LL + SL = 30.5 + 20 + 30 = 80.5 psf
Load duration factor = 1.15 (Snow)

TCLL = 60 plf (snow load) TCDL = 52 plf Total TC = 112 plf

BCLL = 40 plf BCDL = 9 plf Total BC = 49 plf

Total = 161 plf

161× 30
R1 = R2 = = 2415 lb
2

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 Section 07 – Codes & Load Types
Bonus Problem 7
(not presented in course material, answer on following page)

Given: An 18 inch deep truss 22 feet long is used in the floor of an office project.
The floor assembly consists of linoleum tile over a hydronic floor heating
system with 1-½ inch light weight concrete (assume hydronic heating
system = weight of the lightweight concrete it replaces) and ¾ inch
plywood subflooring. The ceiling attached to the bottom chord is ½ inch
drywall and there is 6 inches of fiberglass insulation above the ceiling
(use 0.045 psf for insulation). Assume that the truss is spaced at 2 foot
centers and has double 4x2 top and bottom chords. Assume a 1.0
pounds per square foot ceiling load for A/C ducts, plumbing, and wiring.
Assume a 20 psf floor load for partitions.

Find:
a) The top chord and bottom chord dead load.
b) The top chord live and bottom chord live load.
c) Draw the loading diagram and calculate the reactions.
d) What would the live load be if this truss supported a floor in office lobby?

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 Section 07 – Codes & Load Types
Bonus Problem 7 – Answer
a) The top chord and bottom chord dead load:
TCDL = ½ truss = 1.65 psf (6.6 plf/2 = 3.3 psf /2)
linoleum = 1.00 psf per ¼"
1½" concrete = 12.0 psf (8 psf/inch = 1.5x8)
ply = 2.40 psf (0.4/1/8")
Total = 17.05 psf TCDL = 17 psf

BCDL = ½ truss = 1.65 psf (6.6 plf/2 = 3.3 psf /2)

½" gypsum = 2.00 psf (0.55/1/8")
6" fiberglass = 0.27 psf (.045psf/inch)
mechanicals = 1.00 psf
Total = 4.92 psf` BCDL = 5 psf

b) The top chord live and bottom chord live load:

TCLL = Office = 50.0 psf (per ASCE 7, Table 4-1)
Partitions = 20.0 psf (per ASCE 7, Sec. 4.2.2, using given value)
Total = 70.0 psf TCLL = 70 psf

Note: Safe load per Table 4-1 specifies a 2000 lb over a 2.5ft x 2.5ft area. For
trusses at 2 ft o.c. this translates into a uniform load of 640 plf across 2.5 ft of the
span. The truss is analyzed for each possible location of the 640 plf load along the
span.

BCLL = 0 psf No storage available in floor trusses. BCLL = 0 psf

c) Draw the loading diagram and calculate the reactions.

Case 1 – LL + DL
140 plf TCLL
34 plf TCDL
10 plf BCDL

d) What would the live load be if this truss supported a floor in office lobby?
Case 2 – DL + Concentrated Load
2000# concentrated load randomly applied
17.05 psf TCDL
4.92 psf BCDL

Deflection criteria depends upon building designer, minimum = L/360

Office lobby floor live load = 100 psf per ASCE 7 Table 4-1

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