In the process of planning our house, we decided that floor and roof trusses would be the way to go. To build trusses requires not only manufacturing skill, but also the engineering capability to design the floor loading capabilities for the distances needed. We decided to call on a company that was tops in their field to become a partner with us.
The main requirements fell into these areas:
1. The trusses must be properly designed for our needs. We wanted assurance of the highest quality and wanted a firm with a good reputation.
2. The company must purchase its wood products from companies that reforest.
3. We preferred a local company so we could reduce fuel usage for delivery and also to support our local ecomony.
4. We wanted to find a company that had a "zero waste" production technique. This meant computer engineering and compliant production: low waste, no waste cutting and assembly.
After looking at the best five companies in our area, we chose AC Lumber & Truss Company. Their staff was exceptional. I explained the floor layouts and our special requirements for in-floor heating and the cement deck required for our solar collection area. Within 24 hours, they presented me with the initial design and their solutions to our special requirements. I am still waiting for bids from three of the five companies, now, two years after our request. AC Lumber will came out to our site after the basement walls are poured, took the final measurements, and then custom built the floor trusses for us.
In addition to a quality product, the design work was superb. Our roof trusses were designed to use 2 X 4s instead of 2 X 6s which saved us thousands of dollars as well as gave us at least a 30% savings in timber resources. The final roof trusses were 57' long and 15' high in the center. We ended up setting all of the trusses by hand in less than five days. Our labor cost for doing this was less than the cost of just the crane rental alone.
We are extremely pleased to be able to use products built by our neighbors but to recommend them to everyone we know. Our philosophy is to reduce fossil fuel consumption by reducing shipping distance. In the process we support local business and our neighbors.
Our thanks to the staff and workers at AC Lumber & Truss for providing us with the highest quality products to build our Eco-Home.
For further information about this product, visit our sponsor:
AC Lumber & Truss Company
