Building trusses with tight member to member joints insures accurate truss profiles and consistency between setups. The member to member gaps are limited to 1/8” and 1/16” on floor truss chord splices. This requirement is primarily concerned with compressive joint situations where excessive load might collapse a gap creating a buckle in the plate.
The truss designer utilizing the design software should take special care to provide logical joints that make assembly straight forward and reasonable. In the photo below at a pitch break, the web (3) and vertical web (2) configuration has created a gap between these members. This was created because the software was used in a manner which generated the two angle web (3) cut against the first chord (A) and the chord's square end cut rather than cutting against the vertical web (2). It should be noted – The software will take into account this gap and generate an acceptable plate and connection accounting for the gap, however, the existence of this gap creates confusion and difficulty distinguishing member gap situations related to misplaced webs, mis-calibration cuts, or other culprits at the table. It may also require a larger plate and/or gauge requirement.
Based on these issues, it is recommended that designers keep these considerations in mind when designing components. Occasionally, these types of situations occur when there are extensive manipulations of trusses during the design process or overall poor design practices. Designers should take special care to review joints for effective, sound connections. It will provide benefits in the shop and will also generate the best plate selection for the job at hand.