Can TJI's be Used as Roof Framing for an "A" Frame House?

An “A” frame house has a roof that is extremely steep, where the roof joists act as both the roof and wall framing of the structure.  

In general, TJI® joists should not be used as “A” frame roof joists, or for roof slopes greater than 12/12.  In addition to hardware and framing/detailing limitations, these steeper slopes result in large axial forces that a TJI is not intended to resist.

Specifiers tasked with these steep slope applications should consider a solid section such as TimberStrand® LSL or Microllam® LVL for the roof joists in their design. In addition to being more favorable for framing and connection detailing, the rectangular cross sections have published axial and beam design properties (see ESR-1387 ) that can be used to design these unique structures.