DIYbanter - View Single Post - Removal of roof truss cross-members, to make for easier attic storage access...[??]

wrote:

This is the main reason I would NEVER build a house with trusses. The
older homes I have lived in all my life had stick framed roofs.
Normally 2x8's across the floor (above your ceiling) and they go from
the outer walls to the center support wall.

Most of the older homes that I've seen don't have such beefy floors.
Most of them have 2x6 ceiling joists or even 2x4s.

Then the roof is 2X6's
from the outer walls, and come together at the peak. Built that way,
you can make a real attic, build rooms up there and whatever.

Sure, if the home is built the way you say.

Trusses
save the expense of the larger dimension lumber, but are all wasted
space. They are fine for a barn or something where you would not need
an attic, but for a house they are just a big waste of space.

Trusses can be, and are, designed for all sorts of conditions and
loads. I frequently have to beef up or replace existing stick frame
structures when remodeling. If it wasn't designed for it, it has to be
modified. The only difference is that trusses are more complicated to
analyze and therefore modify.

Considering the high cost of trusses, I tend to wonder if they are
really worth the savings, because I tend to think the savings is
minimal.

Every tract home builder in the country disagrees with you. There are
many advantages - much longer spans possible eliminating the need for
interior support and concomitant foundation costs, faster roof framing,
weight savings, etc.

As for your situation, I can only say this. You cant just sister
the
roof joists, because the floor could drop (along with your ceiling
below) However, if you were to sister 2x8s across the floor, AND
2x6's on the roof, being sure both the 2x8's and 2x6s are resting on
the outer walls, and on the center support wall of the home, you could
probably get away with it.

If he's just looking to add storage capabilities (floor load), why does
he have to touch the roof? He could ignore the trusses and install
floor joists next to them, but if he doesn't have a center support
wall, he probably can't do that.

Look at the way an older home roof was
built, and duplicate that. But, if your trusses are 2x4s, you may not
be able to get your new wood onto the outer walls, unless you can cut
the angle and still have enough wood on the walls. I am not
suggesting you do this without having a professional engineer or
builder look at it, but it could possibly work. Your other option
would be to remove the entire roof and rebuild it using stick
construction, but I dont think you want to go that extreme.

Probably not.

As someone else said, trusses are not made to hold heavy loads, as a
floor. Those 2x4's are likely spliced right in the middle of your
rooms below, so even if you leave the trusses intact, I would still
add some at least 2x6's from outer walls to center walls and floor on
top of them.

You are advising that substantial loads be placed on walls that may not
be bearing walls...?

Of course you could move too....
Remember, many of the older stick built houses have lasted a hundred
years or more. These new houses built out of crap have a life
expectancy of about 30 years. So you might save a few bucks today,
but you will pay and pay and pay later.

Not sure where you got your life expectancy number from, but it's
_extremely_ pessimistic.

R