What should you do before cutting the bottom chord of a truss?

Before cutting the bottom chord of a truss, it is essential to temporarily support the truss. Trusses are engineered structures designed to distribute loads effectively, and cutting a component without proper support can lead to failure or structural issues.

By providing temporary support, you help maintain the load-bearing capacity of the truss while modifications are made. This ensures safety during the cutting process and protects both workers and the integrity of the structure.

While other actions such as inspecting the truss and marking the cut line are important steps in planning the work, they do not address the immediate concern of structural stability during the cutting operation. Connecting adjacent trusses with cross ties may assist in load distribution, but it does not serve as a direct method of supporting the truss being modified. Therefore, providing temporary support is the most critical action to undertake before proceeding with the cut.