What Does Your Pole Barn Have In Common With The Eiffel Tower?
Common Factors: Agricultural
Trusses In St. Joseph, MO + The Eiffel Tower?
Learn How Truss Design Is
Is Found In Almost
Everything!
If you’re shopping for agricultural trusses in St. Joseph, MO, you know they’re a vital part of your pole barn’s construction. But what do trusses do, really? And what – other than barns – are they good for?
Here at North Country Truss, we design and produce trusses for roofs in the Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska. While most of our customers understand that strong truss systems are vital for their roofs, not everyone knows just how common trusses are in everyday life.
Truss structures are characterized by distinctive triangular shapes formed by angled beams. These angled beams are the trusses and help structures distribute weight evenly, even over long stretches without support.
If you’ve only thought about trusses as part of a pole barn, you’ll be impressed to know how many trusses you encounter every day.
Bridge Trusses
This application of truss structures is easy to find out in the wild. Truss structures are absolutely vital to most large bridges thanks to their ability to bear heavy loads across large spans.
Here in St. Joseph, MO you can see truss structures in action every time you drive by the St. Joseph Swing Bridge. Those diagonal beams that make up the sides of the bridge are steel trusses!
Truss structures’ iconic triangular shape lends strength to bridges, which need to stand up to high winds and heavy loads without much support from below.
Large Roof Trusses
If you have a pole barn, those truss structures in your roof help the barn support the roof while keeping the space underneath open.
This same concept applies to any large building that needs a wide, open space underneath. Trusses are found on the roofs of sports stadiums, airports, and other large buildings.
With their ability to carry loads across open spaces, you can easily see how trusses make plenty of modern marvels possible.
Airplane Trusses
Looking at the sleek exteriors of airplanes, you’d be surprised to know how many trusses are hidden under the surface.
Metal trusses form the bones of many small airplane fuselages, creating a lightweight structure that can handle strong air currents and pressure changes. These structures are covered with thin “skins” made of aluminum, though many early airplanes implemented the same structures using wood and canvas.
For an easy-to-see example of truss structures in airplanes, look at a biplane. Triangular Truss structures between the wings of biplanes allow for incredible strength while keeping the plane aerodynamic.
A Variety Of Applications For Steel Trusses
There are a lot of tall vertical structures that rely on trusses to stay upright. Because trusses are incredibly strong but allow wind to pass through, they are a great choice for tall, narrow structures.
You can see trusses in the arms of cranes, which can lift incredibly heavy objects into hard-to-reach places – through the same type of structure that allows trusses to hold up roofs over open spaces.
While smaller wind turbines tend to sit at the top of cylindrical poles, large ones often swap out such poles for large steel truss structures, which provide enhanced stability without blocking wind.
Oil and cell towers also benefit from trusses. The iconic triangular shape of steel trusses allow heavy equipment to be held high in the air without concern for heavy winds.
The Most Iconic Truss Design
Cell towers may bring to mind another famous tower using truss structures – the Eiffel Tower. Likely the most famous truss structure in the world, the Eiffel Tower is one of the most recognizable buildings ever created.
The incredible strength of trusses has allowed the 7,300-ton wrought-iron structure to stand strong for 135 years.
If you’re looking to get that kind of strength for yourself, turn to experts in truss design and production. We may not be as old as the Eiffel Tower, but North Country Lumber & Truss has been making quality trusses in the Midwest since 1998.
Call us at (816) 449-5778 today for your free quote.