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Accidentally cut the bottom chord of truss. It happens on the corner of the stud and not fully cut through as picture showing. If I would like to fix it, which contractor should I contact? And would the repair make it even worse since there may need to use screws? Great thanks. enter image description here

S Z
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  • All these truss questions lately are terrifying. But there seems to be some question about whether this is actually a truss. Can you slide a tape measure up there and get the dimensions of the lumber? – JimmyJames Dec 21 '20 at 21:23

3 Answers3

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No contractor needed. Cut a piece of 1/2" plywood 3-1/2" X 12", drill 10 screw holes in it, slather it with glue and screw it on there. Might be overkill, but should do the job.

Ecnerwal
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    Agreed with both Ecnerwal & JACK. That's a pretty minor problem. Like JACK said, if you want to sleep at night and not worry about it, I'd just sister on a piece of plywood like Ecnerwal said and call it a day. Also, it's close to the support so even less of a problem than if it were in the middle of the beam. IMHO, Like Kris said, I wouldn't even fix it. You're fine. – George Anderson Dec 20 '20 at 15:29
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    Or omit the screws and just clamp it. I'd use an epoxy with bonding fillers, that comes out about ketchup consistency... wet both surfaces, push 'em together, smallest possible wood screws just to get the surfaces to clamp together hard. The screws are irrelevant after the epoxy cures. The epoxy is doing all the heavy lifting. A million years later, a civilization doing archaeology will find bare copper wires, and that thin layer of epoxy. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Dec 20 '20 at 17:45
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    When it comes to peace-of-mind "there is no overkill" (the rest of the quote doesn't apply here) – Criggie Dec 21 '20 at 06:25
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    DIY building repairs are how you get your insurance company denying payments if something goes wrong. If that beam is load-bearing and the roof collapses because he did a dodgy DIY job, good luck getting your insurance to pay up. – nick012000 Dec 21 '20 at 12:46
  • Here's the thing... if we're concerned that this 2x4 is going to fail, adding a half inch of plywood isn't going to replace its strength. You'd need to install something capable of carrying equivalent loads. This ain't it. (That said, we're not concerned.) – isherwood Dec 21 '20 at 16:38
  • Most of it is still there, so you don't need a full sister - it's not cut through. 1/2" ply is a common material in wooden trusses that are not "factory built" with metal connectors but which **are** engineered (check your agricultural extension service plan libraries.) – Ecnerwal Dec 21 '20 at 22:34
  • @nick012000: you have to colossally screw up for the insurance to not pay up. Bad things happening because someone did something stupid accounts for about 90% of the reason for insurance in the first place. Homeowners doing dodgy DIY work is part of the risk assessment insurance companies have to do. Pretty much criminal negligence or intentional damage are the only outs for insurance, and dodgy DIY jobs are not criminal. – whatsisname Dec 22 '20 at 04:25
  • @whatsisname "Pretty much criminal negligence or intentional damage are the only outs for insurance, and dodgy DIY jobs are not criminal." Really? That's not how it works in Australia. Dodgy DIY is totally a reason for insurance companies to reject a payment here - which is why you should always have a licensed tradesman do all work more complex that replacing a lightbulb or screwing on a new showerhead. – nick012000 Dec 22 '20 at 09:22
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    @nick012000 This is a DIY site. – Kris Dec 22 '20 at 13:55
  • @isherwood ... Something like an engineered stainless steel bracket... – Billy left SE for Codidact Dec 24 '20 at 04:21
  • Was that a question? Stainless is rarely used in construction, but I'd just use a 4' 2x4. If you needed steel, 1/4" x 3" x say 24" might do, properly fastened. – isherwood Dec 24 '20 at 13:50
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If you need to fix this so you can sleep better at night, any carpenter would be able to sister this truss for a repair. In my humble opinion though, no repair is needed. If you look around up there, there' a good chance you'll see notches cut all the way through for cables, conduit, pipes, etc.

JACK
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    If the description is accurate, this is a truss so there shouldn't be notches in the flanges at all. Having said that, the picture sure looks like a solid joist, not a truss, so I think you're right that no repair is needed. – Drew Stephens Dec 21 '20 at 17:32
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A strong-tie splice would work very well here. Here's one in my home that was used to splice beams for a bottom chord.

enter image description here

user48956
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