Trusses are used quite often in residential construction. Trusses are designed using calculations that consider all the load conditions for a particular structure. The design takes into consideration factors such as grade of wood and plate sizes for the truss. Truss work by using structural redundancy within each truss. The triangle is a geometrical essential element of the truss because of its natural stability.
Now if a portion of a truss is damage or broken the redundancy of the design will most likely continue to hold the load until the appropriate repairs can be made.
The trusses in this attic were found during a home inspection in Chesapeake. You can see that multiple chords were cut. This was done in order to install some plywood to add additional storage. There was an attempt at a makeshift knee wall to support the cut trusses, but there is no way that that an engineer approved these alterations.
Just an example of the things your Virginia Beach home inspector is looking for during your home inspection in Hampton Roads.
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