The bottom portion of the tiny house has now been sheathed in 1/2 inch plywood and it is time to install the trusses! The sides of the trusses have not been cut, making the rafters a full 8 feet long. This may seem extreme, but with our limited crew, the long rafters helped get the truss on top of the wall frame.
The truss raised and one edge of the rafter was set on top of the wall frame. I guided the edge of the rafter along the edge of the wall frame as my dad walked the truss towards the structure. This effectively raised the truss onto the wall using its framing as a ramp system. Once the truss was on the wall frame, it was securely screwed into place.
The truss replaces the long board that was originally used to square the wall frames. Now that the plywood sheathing is in place, they are no longer needed.
The trusses are raised, but we were concerned that they may fall over since they are only screwed on at their base. To fully secure them, we set stays inside the structure, nailed to the vertical sections of the trusses and set against cleats nailed to the subfloor. The stays were then connected via a horizontal member which tied the whole structure together and prevented any motion fore/aft of the walls, frames, or trusses.
Our next step is to raise the main beam of the house, the equivalent of a keel on a boat. It is equally as massive as a boats keel, weighing 130 pounds, spanning 18 feet, and needs to be set in a small channel 13 feet in the air. We have our work cut out for us!
