Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
It is
strongly recommended
that for trussed rafter roofs the truss clip is used, whether or
not it is specified on the drawing. Skew nailing through the connector plate at the heel in-
variably results in splitting of the timber in the bottom chord, simply because the nail is
placed so close to the cut end of that particular member. Unless the nail is driven at an
angle which would result in it emerging from the bottom of the bottom chord, it can also
disturb the penetration of the teeth on the opposite side of the heel joint, thus again weak-
ening one of the most heavily loaded joints in a trussed rafter.
British Standard 5268: Part 3: 1998, which came into effect on 15 August 1998, has unfor-
tunately not taken the opportunity to ban this practice, although it does state that it should
not be used in stainless steel plates or where the workmanship on site is not of a suffi-
ciently high standard to ensure that the fasteners (nail plates), joints, timber
