I am in the planning stages of building a 20' x 30' pole barn type garage.  I won't have any problems getting the poles set and square, but I am having a hard time figuring out how to erect the roof without a lift truck or crane.  Has anyone been successful in raising fabricated roof trusses with 1 partner and no lift, or am I kidding myself here?  Could two people just walk a 20' span truss up ladders and set it on the walls and then go back, stand them up, and screw them down with ties?

If you've hired out the hanging of trusses, what did you have to spend for the labor?  I've seen where some folks will buy the trusses and have them delivered and raised by the same outfit - is this costly or not so bad?

Thanks for any info,

Allan

I bought a set of plans from these guys:

Barn plans

They have a great truss raising system and dozens of pictures on their website of customer-built barns.

Get a crane.  It doesn't have to be a big one.  The crane won't have a truss hook.  You can make one out of rebar.  

Doing it by hand is possible (and cheaper) but it requires adapting steps similar to those below to fit your situation.

Set one end of a truss on one wall plate with the truss upside down.

Set the other end on the other plate.

Swing the truss into its upright position.

Rest it against the gable end truss already secured.

Raise the other trusses the same way, one by one, and stack them against the gable end truss, making sure the other gable end truss is the last one to go up.
Two people can handle this routine if they have ladders and scaffolding standing by to safely climb up into position to swing the trusses up and stack them up one by one.

But ideally, there would be a couple people up on the wall plates pulling the trusses up and a couple people below pushing--especially on 2-story buildings. (And possibly a fifth person with a pole or a 2x4 to help tilt up the peaks).

Good luck

Make your own gin pole.

That is why I never go prefab.  Far easier to stick build in place.  Yes, cutting rafters is an art.

Quoted: I bought a set of plans from these guys: Barn plans They have a great truss raising system and dozens of pictures on their website of customer-built barns.

Nice find.

Homemade gin pole and car hitch.

ive built 2 barns in the last 4 years.

one a 50x30 car barn.

the other a 70x40 horse barn.

I did it with myself and my son.

things like this are incredibly easy when you have a backhoe to lift the trusses up and nail the trusses in place, and move on to the next.

took maybe 3-4 months to build a barn, including fitting out the inside with horse stalls.

the car barn took about the same, but that was because i added a 2nd floor to it heh.

if you can come up with a total of five guys, you can just hand them up without a problem. One person walking each wall, two outside the structure handing the truss up to the nearest wall, then one person inside the building with a stud to hold the truss up as it gets pushed across the first wall and span to the second person on the far wall...

nail then repeat...