Attic Support Structure

Certain conditions must be met before an attic truss can be built.

Attic support structure.

Flooring your attic is the best way to add space to your home at a low cost. This is made up of ceiling joists typically 2x6 or larger boards. If your attic joists won t bear the weight necessary to finish out a living space but the engineer cleared them to support floor decking for light storage you can install inch plywood or. Homeowners cannot take chances with the structural integrity of their roofs.

They are designed to carry only the weight of the drywall or plaster depending on the age of your home. If required by local code. Typically ceiling joists are 2 6 or 2 8. The red lines on the left side indicate the knee wall.

As long as they are not damaged the joists should be strong enough to allow you to move around in the attic for an inspection and to provide storage for typical boxed items. The floor structure of an attic is also the framing for the ceiling beneath it. This attic structure needs additional support and was most likely repaired by a non professional. Though that 2x6 ceiling joists spaced every 24 inches on center a typical arrangement found in attics will not support live loads for a bedroom.

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. Collar tie used for adding additional support to attic roof supports. Once we look to make the attic livable space the existing ceiling joists usually will not meet the. How to brace rafters in an attic.

More times than not the floor structure of an existing attic is actually a ceiling joist. Extra support for the trusses can be made by placing a 2 by 4 inch piece of lumber from each truss on one side to the truss on the other side high enough to provide head room but low enough to provide support for the trusses. If your roof is supported by w shaped trusses it will either be too expensive or practically impossible to create living space out of the attic. Once the structure has passed the building inspection you can run electrical plumbing.

This photo indicates a properly installed knee wall in a attic for additional support to roof structure. Proper roof structure is a must the first requirement for an attic conversion is to have the right roof structure in place.