5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Ordering Custom Steel Trusses
Ordering custom steel trusses feels simple right up until fabrication starts and someone realizes the span is off by two feet, or the local building department wants documentation nobody planned for. Small mistakes at the ordering stage turn into big problems on the jobsite: delayed deliveries, expensive redesigns, and trusses that don't fit the building they were built for.
At Buffalo River Truss, we manufacture custom steel trusses for pole barns, riding arenas, and ag and commercial buildings, and we've watched the ordering process go sideways in the same handful of ways, over and over. Every one of these mistakes is avoidable once you know what to watch for.
We’re not saying you’re going to make these mistakes, but we’ve seen this happen in our years of operation. So here's what trips up contractors, builders, and property owners most often, and how to steer clear of it.
TL;DR - 5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Ordering Custom Steel Trusses
- Accurate building dimensions, not estimates from a plan set, are the foundation of a correct truss order.
- Roof pitch, span, snow load, wind load, and intended building use all shape the engineering behind your trusses. Change one, and the whole design has to change with it.
- The most common ordering mistakes are unverified measurements, skipping local code requirements, forgetting to plan for delivery and crane access, and changing the design after fabrication starts.
- A short pre-order checklist can catch most of these mistakes before you ever request a quote.
- Working with a manufacturer who asks the right questions upfront keeps your project on schedule and on budget.
Why Accurate Measurements Make or Break Your Truss Order
You know that old saying: “Measure twice, cut once.” Every truss order starts with numbers: building width, length, post spacing, and overhang. If those numbers are wrong, everything downstream is wrong too.
Here's why that matters so much. A one- or two-foot error in building length can mean you're short a truss, or you've ordered one you don't need. The result is you're waiting on a reorder while your crew stands around.
Plans on paper don't always match what gets staked out on the ground. That's why we recommend verifying your dimensions at layout, before or right as your posts go in, rather than trusting the plan set alone. Use a laser measure for long spans, and check the width and spacing at both ends of the building and in the middle. If those three measurements don't agree, you want to know that before you place your order, not after fabrication starts.
This timing matters for your schedule too. Order as soon as your layout is locked in, to allow your truss manufacturer time (our lead time is typically two weeks) to run alongside your other site work: foundation, floor prep, wall girts. Your trusses show up ready to set right when your posts are, instead of leaving your crew waiting on us.
How Roof Pitch, Span, and Load Requirements Shape Your Design
Your truss isn't just a shape. It's an engineered response to a specific set of conditions: how wide the building is, how far the truss must span between supports, how much snow and wind the roof must carry, and what the building is actually used for.
Roof pitch affects both looks and function. We build trusses at pitches ranging from 4/12 to steeper slopes, and pitch affects how loads move through the truss. Span matters too. A 24-foot pole barn truss and a 60-foot truss aren't the same design scaled up, because they carry weight differently.
Snow and wind loads come from your local building code, and those codes have been changing. The 2024 editions of the International Building Code and International Residential Code adopted new snow load provisions per ASCE 7-22, introducing updated ground snow load figures and a different calculation method for many parts of the country. If your project is in a jurisdiction that's adopted the newer code, the load numbers your truss needs to meet may be different than they were even a few years ago.
Finally, intended use matters. A truss holding up a storage building has a different load capacity than one supporting a riding arena with overhead equipment or a shop with a mezzanine. Your manufacturer needs to know how you'll actually use the space, not just what the building looks like on paper.
Mistake #1: Rough Measurements Instead of Verified Ones
We covered why measurements matter above, but it's worth calling out as its own mistake because it's the most common one we see. Someone quotes a truss order from a plan set or a rough tape-measure reading, and the actual building comes in differently.
The fix is simple: measure twice, verify onsite, and don't round to the nearest foot when a few inches could change your truss count or spacing.
This mistake isn't limited to first-time builders. We see it just as often on professional jobs, usually from relying on the plan set instead of confirming what's actually staked out on the ground. On a DIY build, the stakes are often higher too: it's usually one person measuring, ordering, and installing, with no second set of eyes to catch a mismatch before the trusses ship.
Mistake #2: Assuming the Permit Process Will Catch a Code Problem
Every jurisdiction sets its own snow load, wind load, and sometimes seismic requirements, and those requirements can change when a county or state adopts a newer edition of the building code. Ordering trusses without checking the current local requirements could result in a design that doesn't meet your building department's expectations.
Don't count on the permitting process to catch this for you. Truss design drawings are typically reviewed as a deferred submittal later in the process, closer to installation than to your first call for a quote, and many agricultural and pole barn projects fall under permit exemptions in rural counties, so there may be no plan reviewer checking your loads at all. Call your local building department and ask what code edition and load requirements apply to your project. It's a five-minute phone call that can save money and weeks of delay later.
Mistake #3: Forgetting About Delivery and Crane Access
A truss can be engineered perfectly and still cause problems if nobody thought about how it gets from the truck to the roofline. Trusses on larger pole barns and post-frame buildings can run 70 to 80 feet long, and lifting them safely requires the right equipment and enough room to maneuver.
Site access is often the real limiting factor, not the weight of the truss itself. A lot has a way of looking big enough for delivery but too tight for a crane's outriggers and working radius. On sites with limited room, a telehandler with the right attachment can be a more practical and cost-effective option than a jobsite crane.
Before your trusses ship, walk the site and ask: is there room for a crane to set up, or does this call for a telehandler? Is the ground stable enough to support the equipment? Are there overhead lines or other obstructions along the delivery route? Answering these questions before delivery day keeps your crew from standing around waiting for a solution.
Mistake #4: Changing the Design After Fabrication Begins
Once a truss order goes into production, changing the span, pitch, or bearing points means starting over rather than making on-the-fly adjustments. Custom steel trusses are built to the specifications you provide, and those specifications drive everything from the cut list to the connection design.
This is also why locking in accurate dimensions and load requirements upfront pays off during erection. Field crews that verify anchor bolt layout and stage materials against final stamped drawings before steel arrives keep their erection schedule on track. A late design change undoes that preparation and can push your whole project back by weeks.
If your plans are still in flux, tell us before you place the order. We'd rather help you finalize the design than rebuild it after the fact.
Your Pre-Order Checklist for Custom Steel Trusses
Run through this list before you request a quote:
- Confirm exact building dimensions. Verify width, length, and post spacing in the layout, not just from a plan set, and order as soon as the layout is locked in.
- Know your roof pitch. Decide on pitch and overhang requirements before you call.
- Check your local code requirements. Call your building department for current snow load, wind load, and seismic requirements.
- Define the building's use. Storage, livestock, equipment, or a riding arena all carry different load needs.
- Identify any wide spans. Note any large doors or open bays that need a longer clear span.
- Plan your delivery route. Check road width, turnaround space, and overhead obstructions.
- Assess crane or telehandler access. Make sure the site can accommodate whichever equipment your installer plans to use.
- Lock in your design. Finalize dimensions and specs before fabrication starts, not after.
Why the Right Manufacturer Makes All the Difference
A truss manufacturer that asks questions before cutting steel is doing you a favor, even if it feels like an extra step. At Buffalo River Truss, we keep our engineer-approved drawings current to code, inspect every truss before it leaves our plant, and back our work with a 50-year warranty against defects in material and workmanship.
We also keep standard sizes like 24, 40, and 60-foot trusses in stock, so if your project fits a common configuration, you're not always waiting on a full custom build. And when it is custom, we'd rather spend some extra time confirming your dimensions, loads, and site access than send you a truss that doesn't fit.
If you're planning a pole barn, riding arena, or ag building and want to get your truss order right the first time, give us a call. We'll walk through your project with you before we ever cut a piece of steel.