An English company has become the first contractor to export trussed rafters to Gibraltar.
J Scott (Thrapston) Ltd, a member of the Trussed Rafter Association, undertook a £5,000 contract to supply trusses for the roof of a new marine section office building being built for the government.
No local manufacturer was capable of making trussed rafters of sufficient size for the contract which required 45 trusses with an 11m span to cover the 35m long roof which incorporated a hip at one end and a large skylight.
David Orfila, a partner with ME Belilo and Partners, was in charge of the structural design. He said: ‘When I’ve used trussed rafters before they’ve been made in small carpentry shops.
‘This is the first time that a contractor has brought them out from England but it’s more economical because there aren’t any dedicated factories that produce them here.’
