Attic Truss With Heel

Raised heel trusses are installed the same as conventional trusses.

Attic truss with heel.

Girder trusses are designed to carry additional loads other than standard roof loads. A raised heel truss is identical to a conventional truss except for one difference. It greatly simplifies attic ventilation and it leaves ample room for insulation above exterior wall top plates. Truss heel height the vertical depth of the truss at the outside face of the bearing.

Builders don t need special tools or know how to build with them. Ventilation eave baffles if needed for air flow. Raised energy heel typical truss heel height is about 12 but may be designed to most any height per the building designer specification. It is raised higher with a heel that extends up from the top of the wall and elevates the truss at the building s edges.

A truss with the same pitch and heel on both sides and a peak at the center is called a common truss. Simply it is the thickness of the truss measured at the point where the bottom chord meets the top chord from the top of the top plate to the underside of the sheathing. One of the most important measurements needed to match an existing roof is called the heel height. Raising the truss higher has two big advantages.

Below are some diagrams to help illustrate the measurement points. More importantly the raised heel provides the opportunity to increase energy efficiency to meet new energy code requirements. These loads can be other trusses that attach by sitting on top of the girder or they may attach to the side of the girder using truss hangers. The extra height of a raised heel truss roof provides additional space for uncompressed attic insulation and the full depth of insulation to be extended right to the outside of the top plate.

Building is designed in accordance with the irc.