Glossary · T
Truss
Also called trusses, king post, king-post truss, queen post
A rigid triangulated frame; in a roof, a pair of rafters joined by a tie beam, often with a king post or queen posts, so that the rafters cannot spread.
See also: Tailiang
Rules that use the word
Span the nave in timber. Cover a wide nave with triangulated timber trusses rather than a vault: their tie-beams take the outward thrust, so the walls need only carry weight and may stand on slender columns.
Tie the feet of the rafters: the truss. To roof a wide span, join each pair of rafters to a tie beam at their feet so that the three form a triangle that cannot spread; hang the tie beam from the apex by a king post, or by two queen posts on larger spans.
Where it appears in the book
In the chapters The Roof, Byzantium and the Early Church.
A feature of Early Christian, High-Tech architecture.
Nearby in the glossary
Triglyph · Trilithon · Triumphal arch · Trompe-l’oeil · Tuscan · Tympanum · Universal space · Urushringa