dftittUV Mlktf Mi «*H»'
Poultry Houses Need Proper Bracing To Endure Heavy Ice, Snow Loads
(Conflnuad from Pago A 1)
most younger' buildings have
seen.”
Collins spoke to 25 facility man
agers and contractors at the Poultry
Management and Health Seminar
in the midst of the year’s first heat
wave on Monday afternoon.
Collins told those present that
the winter also caused more prob
lems for existing and new facili
ties. Producers had to endure
record-breaking cold, and for
those that added insulation, more
snow accumulated on the roofs and
stayed there longer, creating more
stress on the trusses.
If another winter like the past
one occurs again, facility contrac
tors and managers can take steps
now to ensure the buildings are
properly trussed and braced with
these steps:
• Properly identify the design
load of trusses. For the Lancaster
region, building trusses should
have a designed snow load of 25
pounds per square foot (PSF). For
regions in the central to northern
part of the state, a PSF of 30-35
may be necessary. Because of the
harsh winter, Collins advises a
PSF of 30.
• Don’t forget to consider the
effects of new and additional insu
lation in the design load. Make
sure the design load is adequate,
because additional insulation may
mean more snow and ice load to
the roof.
Consider the roof slope. Most
facilities to 6S foot wide can
accommodate a metal roof with a
pitch from 4 to 12, if using prefa
bricated trusses.
• Examine the condition of the
nail plates, used to join the trusses
at critical points. Poultry houses
with indoor composting create
ammonia gas which causes heavy
corrosion to the plates, weakening
them. Protect the plates by clean
ing, priming, and painting them in
the correct way.
• Look closely to sec if the trus
ses are properly braced. This is the
“real clinker,” said Collins. The
amount of bracing and the proper
placement of bracing must be
- Smoother finish stays cleaner at
- More durable than paint 9
9 - Chip resistant ja
3 • Stainless steel nose pan a
a • Improved brass valve assembly 9
9 - Softer washer for better seal
a - Lighter spring for less required pressure
- Approx 1 3 gpm at 40 psi 9
• Plastic plug and smaller water chamber for a
m frost protection a
S • Vi" top and bottom water inlets 9
9 • Screen on valve for water filtration a
II PAUL B. ZIMMERMAN, INC. g
S 295 Woodcorner Rd., Ulltz, PA 17543 9
PH: 717-738-7365 I
fPißßnmna
considered.
Producers should consider the
various types of bracing.
Foremost is continuous lateral
bracing, or lateral 2 by 4’s that run
the lateral length of the trusses.
This ensures the stability of the
trusses. -
Next is the use of diagonally
placed bracing to “brace the brac
ing,” said Collins. Some manufac
turers indicate with tags that dia
gonal bracing should be placed,
but do not indicate exact position
or give a schematic to scale. “The
truss manuacturers could do a lot
to help that by providing a little
note saying, if you have one (brac
ing), it has to be in the midpoint, if
you have two, it has to be at third
points, and so forth. I think they
could save a lot of problems.”
Collins provided photo exam
ples of improperly installed dia
gonal bracing. “The diagonal
brace is probably missing in
almost 100 percent I’d say
90-some percent of buildings
with wood trusses. They just aren’t
there,” he said. “Lack of that
bracing was the primary cause of
failure.” The diagonal bracing
should be placed on 20-foot cen
ters in the house. In one house,
because of the lack of diagonal
bracing, the trusses completely
collapsed on one side of the house.
On the other side, the trusses
remained in place because the
framework holding the chicken
cages kept them up.
X-bracing, an additional brac
ing method, links the trusses to
keep them bom “falling over like
a bunch of dominoes.” said Col
lins. They should be placed at
12-16 foot centers across the
building.
Bottom cord bracing, placed
across the bottom of trusses, pro
vides additional support and stabil
ity, especially during high winds
and stress loads. The Truss Plate
Institute recommends placing
them at 20 foot centers, but Collins
recommends 40 foot centers,
because he thinks 20 foot centers
are too excessive.
Top chord bracing, placed at
60-foot centers across the top,
Commodity
buildings
with one
bay or
multi bays
B’2” high
precast
concrete walls
Ask about
engineering
for roof
system or
pole building.
[§□ SOLLENBERGER SHOS CORF.
A Nitterhouse Company
Box N, Chambersburg, PA 17201
Office # (717) 264-9588
Tabb Justus (717) 762-8663
i t * V \
according to Collins, works much
like the bottom cord bracing.
Other factors that could cause
failure include improper nailing
(using one nail per bracing was the
culprit in one collapsed house).
Collins said he recommends “two
nails at every truss and every brace
as a minimum.”
Also, if the trusses are not prop
erly braced, “they will probably
fail at or below the designed snow
load.” A truss that is designed for
25 snow load plus a 10 dead load,
for a total of 35, should carry about
50 percent more than that before
they actually collapse.
Existing poultry houses can add
bracing to protect them now, parti
cularly if additional insulation will
be added.
The position of bracing is criti
cal. Producers should make sure
they understand what the truss
manufacturer is providing and
carefully question any guarantees.
‘ ‘There’s supposed to be a built
in safety factor, but the safety fac
tor doesn’t work if the trusses
aren’t properly braced,” he said.
“When the trusses are properly
braced, they will give you and I
think they should give you their
design load plus a comfortable
margin of safety.”
Pasture Management Group To Meet
BLOOMSBURG (Columbia
Co.) Penn State’s multi-county
extension unit in the central Sus
quehanna Valley area is offering
monthly pasture discussion group
meetings for dairy and livestock
producers.
Dairy producer meetings are
being held the fourth Friday of
each month from 10 a.m. to 12
p.m. The livestock producer meet
ings are being held the first Wed
nesday of each month from 7 p.m.
to 9 p.m.
The purpose of the meetings is
to meet on area farms utilizing
intensive grazing programs to dis
cuss management strategies, suc
cesses, and problems. Grazing
management and pasture plant
species information from Penn
Commodity Buildings
Dry Stakable Storage
with Precast Concrete Walls
Ask about Ad 101
Special Discount.
k ♦ «*—■!*> •« —■• —*■ -•*- -«C»~ <*• V *
Galen “Bud” Collins, project manager for structural engi
neering at Rettew Associates, Inc., Lancaster, Investigated
the sites of 12 damaged hog facilities (with partial or full col
lapses) and one poultry house. He compared notes with
another structural engineer. What did they find? “Every one
of (the facilities) had, number one, a lack of adequate brac
ing, and, number two, faulty installation of bracing,” said
Collins.
State is also available at the
meetings.
The next dairy pasture session
will be on Friday, June 24 from 10
a.m. to noon at the farm of Tim
and Denise Wetzel, near Selins
grove in Snyder County. From
Routes 11 and IS, take Route 35
South. The farm is along Route
35. three miles outside of Free
burg. If you live west or south of
Frceburg, the farm is 1.25 miles
north of routes 35/104
intersection.
The next livestock pasture ses
sion will be on Wednesday, July 6
★ STAR SILOS
Office # (717) 866-5708
J. Robert Brubaker 464-3136
John Swope 033-4758
from 7 p.m.-9 p.m. at the farm of
Jeff Mamett, Numidia in Colum
bia County. This is a stem* back
grounding operation. From Route
42 ll tum onto Ringtown Mountain
Road at the blinking light in
Numidia. Follow this road
approximately one mile. The farm
is on the right-hand side of a four
way intersection. ■
Producers are welcome to
attend any or all sessions. No pre
registration is necessary. For more
information, call Dave Hartman at
the Columbia County Extension
Office. (717) 784-6660.
Turkey and
Chicken
Manure,
Saw Dust,
Cotton Seed,
Fertilizer
Brewers Grain
Myerstown, Pa.
Dry Stack
Storage
Buildings
For
Etc.