Parts of a Trussed Roof – 11 Labeled Parts, Peak to Heel

All 11 parts on the diagram

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Start here: 6 main parts 6

Top chord Forms the truss’s upper edge; usually in compression.
Bottom chord Forms the truss’s lower edge; usually in tension.
Web Joins the chords so the truss forms triangles.
Peak Where the two sloped top chords meet.
Heel Where top and bottom chords meet, at the bearing’s outside face.
Truss plate A steel connector plate joining members at a joint.

Named points 1

Panel point Any joint where a web meets a chord.

Walls, span and pitch 4

Overhang The top chord’s run on beyond the bearing.
Bearing The support under the truss, here the top of a wall.
Span Measured out to out of the bearings.
Pitch The rise in inches for every 12 inches of run.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-24. (1) Structural Building Components Association, Terminology, https://www.sbcacomponents.com/terminology : bottom chord, heel height at the outside face of bearing, panel point where webs and chords meet and are connected by truss plates, truss plate, metal connector plates, overhang, span, scissors and mono trusses; and its Truss configurations poster, https://assets.noviams.com/novi-file-uploads/sbca/graphics/marketing/toolbox/2024_Truss_Configurations_Posters_8_5x11-49356eb5.pdf : peak, top chord, rise over 12, truss plate, web, heel, bearing, panel point, splice, bottom chord, overhang, span out to out of bearings. (2) A truss plate maker's glossary of truss terms, https://alpineitw.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Glossary-of-Truss-Terms.pdf : bearing, bottom chord, heel, overhang as the extension of the top chord beyond the bearing, panel point, peak where the sloped top chords meet, slope or pitch in inches of rise per 12 of run, nominal span, splice point, the quarter point and third point where a Fink truss's webs meet the top and bottom chords, top chord, webs. (3) Wikipedia, Timber roof truss, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timber_roof_truss : top chord, bottom chord, webs, metal plate connected trusses. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-24. Licence: own work

How it works

A roof truss is a frame of triangles. Two top chords meet at the peak, a bottom chord ties their feet at the heels over the walls, and webs brace between them. Steel truss plates join every joint.

Read the full guide

Where the webs go on a Fink truss

In the W-shaped Fink truss, webs rise from the bottom chord's third points, one to the peak and one to the middle of each top chord. Every place a web meets a chord is a panel point.

Span and pitch

The span is measured out to out of the bearings, the outside faces of the walls. Pitch is the rise in inches for every 12 inches of run; this truss is drawn at 6 in 12.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a roof truss called?

The top chords, the bottom chord and the webs between them, joined by truss plates at the panel points. The top chords meet at the peak and the bottom chord at the heels, over the bearings, and an overhang runs on past each wall.

What is the heel of a truss?

The point where the top and bottom chords meet, at the outside face of the bearing it sits on. The truss's depth measured there is called the heel height.

What is the difference between a top chord and a bottom chord?

The top chord is the sloped member along the truss's upper edge and is usually in compression. The bottom chord forms the lower edge and is usually in tension. Webs join the two.