If you are preparing to build your dream home on that special plot of land, you've got plenty to look forward to but a lot to think about as well. You have to coordinate all the work and make sure that all the various components required are delivered safely to the site on time. You may be taking advantage of some excellent costs when buying some of the major structural components and a number of these elements may need to be delivered to the site in advance. However, you need to be careful when it comes to storage, as otherwise additional issues can arise. What do you need to think about, especially when it comes to those all-important wooden roof trusses?

How Long on Site?

In an ideal world, a significant building project like this would always take place in dry and temperate weather conditions. However, this is not always possible and sometimes work has to go ahead even during the rainy season. It's very important to look after items such as wooden roof trusses if they are likely to be delivered quite some time ahead of the construction date.

It may well be okay to store these trusses directly on the ground for a week, even in very wet conditions. However, after that you need to take action to look after your investment.

Ventilation Important

It's possible that you don't have another structure on site, within which to put the trusses, so it's likely that you will be using tarpaulins. You should certainly cover the trusses, but must always ensure that adequate ventilation is allowed. To achieve this, leave the ends of the tarpaulin open and never be tempted to tightly pack the trusses, thinking that this affords more protection.

Raising Off the Floor

Furthermore, it's a good idea to put cinder blocks at each end of the stack and at regular intervals in between as required. Firstly, you need to ensure that the weight of the stack does not cause bending in the middle, but fundamentally you want to ensure that moisture does not seep up from the ground and get into the wood.

Compromising the Wood

Remember that when wood gets wet, mould and mildew will not be too far behind. Once the wood has absorbed a sufficient amount of moisture this can cause problems during installation. In certain circumstances, it may throw off the very precise measurements the builder was expecting to work with.

Check Before Installation

Before the actual work commences the trusses should be properly inspected to make sure they are still in usable condition. If there is any evidence of cracks or dislodged connectors due to warping, then this is likely to impair the integrity of the truss.