We don't know, but there may not be a better way to court disaster than to take the advice of someone writing for pay at a site like Helium (now, mercifully, gone), Associated Content (ditto), or HubPages. The worst advice, though, seemed to come from the stable of dummies over at eHow. Frankly, anyone who goes to eHow for advice is getting just what they deserve. Let's have a look at what Lacy Enderson tells us about building roof trusses.
Ms Enderson, whose bio tells us she's a counselor with a "Masters in Biblical counseling" (we mean, really: is there such a thing?) wrote hundreds of articles for eHow.com, including a whole series on carpentry. We guess because Jesus was a carpenter's son, this good Christian assumed He would speak through her. He didn't, as one might tell from an article entitled "How to Build a Wooden Roof Truss."¹
It's readily evident that Ms Enderson doesn't know jack about carpentry. For instance, she tells us
She further tells us to start constructing your roof truss like this:
¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was ehow.com/how_4827028_build-wooden-roof-truss.html
DDIY - ROOFS
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| Truss construction |
Ms Enderson, whose bio tells us she's a counselor with a "Masters in Biblical counseling" (we mean, really: is there such a thing?) wrote hundreds of articles for eHow.com, including a whole series on carpentry. We guess because Jesus was a carpenter's son, this good Christian assumed He would speak through her. He didn't, as one might tell from an article entitled "How to Build a Wooden Roof Truss."¹
It's readily evident that Ms Enderson doesn't know jack about carpentry. For instance, she tells us
Set up a table saw. Most of the roof truss 2-by-4 lumber will need to be cut to size. Once you measure and mark the lumber, cut it all at once so it is ready for construction.A friggin' table saw? To cut dimensional lumber as much as 24 feet long? Is she kidding? No, she's not: she doesn't know what a table saw is, or that on a jobsite, "2-by" lumber is generally cut with a chop saw (power miter saw) or a circular saw. FYI, Lacy, table saws do a lousy job of crosscutting long lumber, especially at an angle.
She further tells us to start constructing your roof truss like this:
"Position a 24-foot piece of 2-by-4 lumber as the bottom chord of your truss. Make a triangle out of two 18-foot pieces of 2-by-4 lumber that connect at the top peak and overhang the bottom edges of the bottom chord about 6 inches."We hope any carpenters caught this in the first example, but it's pretty obvious now that Lacy wouldn't know a roof truss if it sneaked up behind her and asked, "What church do you go to?" (you thought I was going to say, "bit her on the ass," didn't you). Simply put, you do not build roof trusses with 2 x 4s. At the very least, you use 2 x 8s for the rafters and floor joists, and that's only for something the size of a one-car garage. Anything smaller — like a 2 x 4 — would collapse under the weight of the roofing. Idiot. |
| Lacy Enderson, for writing about things you don't know and thereby helping people design and build unsafe buildings, you've earned our Dumbass of the Day award. Sure hope that doesn't hurt your feelings – but you deserve it. |
¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was ehow.com/how_4827028_build-wooden-roof-truss.html
copyright © 2015-2022 scmrak
DDIY - ROOFS
Dang!! You are a mean bully. You don't have to call people names to point out inconsistencies in an article. It just makes you look ignorant.
ReplyDeleteMean bully? I think this guy does a public service by exposing ignorant liars who published complete bullshit just because they wanted some money. I hope next time you research something new you find crap like that article. Maybe then you''ll understand.
ReplyDelete