Ways to add extra support to roof trusses by ann azbill.
Add bridging attic trust.
Attic trusses create a free room or rooms.
The structure should be sufficiently wide to allow for a loft and attic spaces the loft area must be on a living floor and have attic rooms on both sides separated by knee walls a flat ceiling in the loft area and a floor below steep enough roof pitch to provide appropriate ceiling height for the loft area.
The lumber components are.
From the foundation wall.
Add a row of new bridging at both of the one third points of the span.
Attic trusses have a room built right in them.
Room in attic trusses are professionally designed with state of the art computer programs.
If there is no bridging in the center of the span install a row there as.
To install the type shown here drive the toothed end into the joist and nail the other end.
Adding two rows of bridging costs a few dollars per joist.
If your joists span 12 ft for example place bridging 4 ft.
Bridging is removed to allow for the installation of duct work as shown in figure 3 dryer vent pipes plumbing drains water pipes and lighting.
In addition two types of braces can be used in an attic to provide extra support for the trusses if needed.
Attic trusses can have rooms up to 20 w x 8 h.
We have lots of customers that take what would be a big empty dead attic area and use attic trusses to increase living space.
The joists shown here for example span 12 ft so we added rows of bridging 4 ft.
From both ends of the span.
Which in turn raises the value of your home.
If any of it is loose add some nails or screws to secure it.
Attic trusses are great for living space or storage space.
Do you need a crane to set attic trusses.
Yes you ll need a crane because a typical attic truss weighs well over 100 pounds.
The rooms in the attic trusses depend on the length of the truss and the pitch or steepness of the roof.
Begin by checking the original bridging.
Various types of metal bridging are available at home centers and lumberyards.
One kind is used if you are going to finish the attic to provide living space.
Figure 3 bridging removed for duct work although not as good as solid or cross bridging a 2 x 4 supporting the duct work as shown in figure 4 would provide more support and load sharing than a.
It s safer to use a crane for all involved.
If the existing joist system is very close to being sufficient to support a new attic flooring the addition of bridging between the joists may be all that s required.
In this situation the walls of a finished attic space or room would go with the roof line.
He trusted me to build his home and it was one of the first i had ever done.
My friend loren power will be the first to tell you that i made a mistake on his house.
He was the one who pointed up into the vast attic space of his home and said what a huge waste of space.
The longer the truss and the steeper the roof pitch the larger the room.
