Attic Conversion Truss Roof

The conversion from a trussed roof to a trussless roof simply involves the redistribution of the roofs weight from the trusses to beams running from gable to gable.

Attic conversion truss roof.

Before work can begin a structural engineer will calculate the size of the steels required. It s a 12 12 roof so that s a good 11 at the ridge which even with new floor joists and a 5 knee wall should be plenty of room for a nice space. Measure in from the lower edge of the roof to a point 1 4 the width of the truss on either side of the attic. Converting a trussed roof is now commonplace.

If you have trusses it will be next to impossible to reconfigure them to allow for clear space. If the roof slope is steeper than 9 inches in 12 inches of run it doesn t take much width to end up with a nice room 12 feet wide with an 8 foot. The role of the horizontal beam is to tie the truss together and carry the load that would otherwise be sustained by the support and vertical timber also known as the king post. Although once regarded as hard to convert on account of their relatively slender roof timbers typically only about 30 x 70mm many lofts of this type have been successfully converted.

Ironically though it s the rafters that provide a better environment for an attic conversion because of the clear space. Attic trusses have a rectangular shape inside each truss. The attic space is 22 on the side parallel to the trusses 28 on the other side. Most roofs built from the late 1960s onwards are of prefabricated trussed rafter construction with distinctive w shaped webbing.

The sad fact is your builder could have installed attic trusses over this garage for just slightly more than what the existing trusses cost. Trusses are considered a superior method of framing a roof because of the additional support. This process involves the installation and use of steel beams. Added rafters and floor beams strengthen the current loft structure creating an open larger living area.

The w shaped trusses are replaced with a shaped trusses or horizontal beams. Looking back i was very lucky in that my roof had an unusually high 47 degree pitch and so there was lots of head room. Use a chalk line to draw a line along the floor parallel to the lower edge of the roof from one end of the attic to the other on both sides. Often loft conversion projects can end up being a disappointment as on completion the owner finds out that roof height is very limited and as a result the space ends up being rather pokey.