Raised Heel Attic Truss

Combined with a properly designed attic ventilation system and some well placed air sealing a roof framed with raised heel aka high heel or energy trusses reduces the temperature and pressure differences between the conditioned living space below and the unconditioned attic area thereby reducing thermal transfer or heat loss between those spaces.

Raised heel attic truss.

When insulation is compressed its r value is reduced. Easy to build with. More importantly the raised heel provides the opportunity to increase energy efficiency to meet new energy code requirements. Also the raised heel trusses are assumed to have a heel height of between 9 inches to 15 inches.

A raised heel truss is identical to a conventional truss except for one difference. This is the least expensive form of insulation for the attic floor. Raised heel trusses can allow you to install full depth uncompressed fiberglass batt insulation from wall to wall in your pole barn s attic floor. Ventilation eave baffles if needed for air flow.

Which in turn improves the overall energy efficiency of the home. With a raised heel truss you have enough space to utilize cheaper insulation methods such as blown cellulose or fiberglass batts. This allows us to install full depth insulation across the entire ceiling attic. The raised heel truss below shows how a vertical member is added to the roof truss to raise the top cord at the eave.

Though extra material is used to create the trusses raised design the extra cost can be offset by the need for less insulation without compromising energy efficiency. Building is designed in accordance with the irc. Truss heel height the vertical depth of the truss at the outside face of the bearing. Standard heel typical truss heel height is about 4.

The guide can be downloaded for free from the apa s website. Raised energy heel typical truss heel height is about 12 but may be designed to most any height per the building designer specification. Raised heel trusses are installed the same as conventional trusses. With raised heel trusses it may be possible to put hvac ductwork in the attic without the system losing too much heat.

The raised heel provides additional space for cheaper attic insulation and for the full depth of insulation to be extended right to the outside of the top plate. Raised heel trusses 9 1 4 to 15 1 4 inches in depth. Builders don t need special tools or know how to build with them. It greatly simplifies attic ventilation and it leaves ample room for insulation above exterior wall top plates.