President's Message: Making the Case for Open-Web Floor Trusses

AS COMPONENT MANUFACTURERS, we spend a lot of time talking about the advantages of roof trusses. We know they provide builders with a more efficient, precise, and cost-effective way to frame a roof, and we’ve spent decades demonstrating that value to our customers. Our industry’s success is evidence that builders recognize those advantages, but I think we have an opportunity to take that same conversation a step further when it comes to floor systems.

While roof trusses have become the preferred framing method in much of the country, many builders continue to rely on dimensional lumber or engineered wood products (EWP) for their floors. There are certainly markets where open-web floor trusses are widely used, but I believe there is significant opportunity to expand their adoption by helping builders better understand the value they bring to the entire construction process.

One of the greatest advantages of floor trusses is the precision with which they are designed and manufactured. Just like roof trusses, every floor truss is engineered for a specific application and manufactured in a controlled environment. This allows us to deliver a consistent product that reduces field cutting, minimizes material waste, and helps framers install a floor system that is straight, level, and dimensionally accurate. That precision also gives builders greater confidence in their construction schedules because fewer field adjustments mean fewer opportunities for mistakes and rework.

Floor trusses also give builders greater flexibility in how they design their homes. Their engineered configuration allows them to span distances unheard of with other products, often reducing the need for interior bearing walls, beams, and other structural supports. This creates opportunities for larger, more open living spaces and gives builders additional flexibility to meet the changing expectations of home buyers.

But I think one of the most compelling advantages of open-web floor trusses is something that doesn’t necessarily benefit the framing crew as much as it benefits everyone who follows them onto the jobsite.

The open-web configuration makes it significantly easier to install HVAC ductwork, electrical wiring, and plumbing. Instead of drilling holes through dimensional lumber or EWP joists, subcontractors can route their materials through openings that are already part of the floor system. With proper coordination during design, these pathways can be optimized to accommodate mechanical systems, reducing installation time, material waste, and the potential for costly field modifications.

This isn’t just theoretical. SBCA’s 2025 Framing the American Dream study in Austin, Texas, found that homes framed with manufactured components experienced a 13% improvement in overall mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) installation cycle times compared to conventionally framed homes. While that improvement reflects the benefits of component framing as a whole, it reinforces something we should be talking about more often with our builder customers: the value of our products extends well beyond the framing process.

Another advantage worth considering is the availability of raw materials. Unlike conventional floor systems that may require larger dimensional lumber like 2x10s or 2x12s, or specialized EWP joists, floor trusses can be manufactured using readily available 2x4 lumber. This gives us opportunities to optimize material usage, manage inventory more efficiently, and potentially reduce some of the supply chain challenges associated with other framing products, particularly when the housing market heats up.

When you put all these benefits together, I think it becomes clear that we need to change how we talk about floor trusses. Too often, builders evaluate framing options based primarily on the upfront cost of materials and installation. While that cost certainly matters, it doesn’t tell the whole story. The real value comes from considering how a floor system affects the entire construction schedule, the efficiency of subsequent trades, and ultimately the total cost of building a home.

That’s where I believe we have an opportunity as component manufacturers. We need to be having more conversations with our builder customers, their designers, and their framing and MEP subcontractors about what open-web floor trusses can do for them. We should also be working with our lumber suppliers, equipment manufacturers, and other industry partners to explore how we can expand floor truss production and make these products more accessible in our markets.

Our industry has already demonstrated that we can fundamentally change how homes are built. The widespread adoption of roof trusses didn’t happen overnight. It took manufacturers willing to invest in new capabilities, build relationships with their customers, and demonstrate that the value of a manufactured component goes far beyond the cost of the lumber and connector plates.

The real value comes from considering how a floor system affects the entire construction schedule, the efficiency of subsequent trades, and ultimately the total cost of building a home.

I believe we have an opportunity to do the same thing with floor trusses. Whether you already manufacture them or are considering adding them to your product offering, I would encourage you to start having those conversations. Talk with your customers about their challenges. Ask their subcontractors where they lose time and money. Work with your suppliers to explore what’s possible.

The future growth of our industry won’t come solely from finding better ways to manufacture the products we already sell. It will also come from helping builders recognize new opportunities to use those products to construct homes more efficiently. Open-web floor trusses are a great place to start.

LARRY DIX II,
SBCA President