Converting the attic into a living space
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Help Support House Repair Talk:
If the joists were snipped off and now that section of the ceiling is floating on one end you have to fix that. Over 6 foot of opening as Neal said the point the joists come in should be joined by a double 2x6 and maybe even 3. My suggestion is and this is just going by being a handyman and DIY homeowner is that the number of joists cut off have to be replaced at the ends to support the beam of 2 or 3 you are adding in with hangers. If you take out 4 joists then you need to add in two at each end and I would do one more per end for good measure. If I thought the span is too long for 2x6 to carry more than the weight of the ceiling then you need to add in more joists. There is two ways to get strength in a joist or a beam the best is to go taller so as Neal suggested 2x8 2x10 etc. the reason a beam gets stronger as it gets taller is because of what they call extreme fiber and in the calculation height counts more than width. The reason I beams have the flanges with nothing between except the web. The trouble with going higher is you lose ceiling height. That’s not to say adding in 2x6 will not improve the load bearing of the floor it’s just that it is not the best most efficient use of material. You will be adding more weight per strength, but I think I would think about that.
Something else to think about is as storage space the floor loading in an attic could end up much higher than your tv and recliner you first thought about. Once you make easy access with stairs people have a way of filling attics with heavy stuff one little box at a time. Next thing you know you have massive amount of weight up there.
Just speaking as a DIY here I would want the collar ties raised up to be around 6’ if I could. It might require one on each side of every pair of rafters. But I would like a walk way down the center if I could. I would also suggest you hire someone to run the numbers and recommend how to do it and give you a report. Where I live I probably wouldn’t do that and just fix it to my satisfaction running my own numbers. That’s a risk we all take in home repair and I certainly can’t recommend you do it that way. That’s up to everyone to evaluate for themselves.
My attic is not conditioned it is just vented and we use it for storage but we understand it gets quite cold in the winter and quite warm in the summer so what we put up there are things that don’t care about temp. I would never consider making it a heated space but love it as a storage place. My stairs are also narrow and steep and the door to the attic I added 4” of foam insulation to the inside of it.
Something else to think about is as storage space the floor loading in an attic could end up much higher than your tv and recliner you first thought about. Once you make easy access with stairs people have a way of filling attics with heavy stuff one little box at a time. Next thing you know you have massive amount of weight up there.
Just speaking as a DIY here I would want the collar ties raised up to be around 6’ if I could. It might require one on each side of every pair of rafters. But I would like a walk way down the center if I could. I would also suggest you hire someone to run the numbers and recommend how to do it and give you a report. Where I live I probably wouldn’t do that and just fix it to my satisfaction running my own numbers. That’s a risk we all take in home repair and I certainly can’t recommend you do it that way. That’s up to everyone to evaluate for themselves.
My attic is not conditioned it is just vented and we use it for storage but we understand it gets quite cold in the winter and quite warm in the summer so what we put up there are things that don’t care about temp. I would never consider making it a heated space but love it as a storage place. My stairs are also narrow and steep and the door to the attic I added 4” of foam insulation to the inside of it.
nealtw
Contractor retired
If he raises the ties the insulation blocks the air flow.
I think the stairs are out, I think it will be a landing and 2 fixed ladders.
I am not sure how long the joists are outside the knee wall are but he can use that area for storage..
The wait from this floor is being carried by I think the dining room floor down stairs. I think doubling every other one of those joists would be the simplest. One at each end of the 10 ft if he puts a beam at the end or the joists in the attic.
nealtw
Contractor retired
That would be a stronger place for storage.
That should be the same width as the bedroom down stairs, I can't make that compute. I would have thought 10 maybe 11 ft.
nealtw
Contractor retired
The vent on the end of the building, where exactly is that, centered? how high?
It occurred to me t it is in the right place, air may not have to get under the ridge board, so maybe you could raise the ties a little.
The vent on the end of the building, where exactly is that, centered? how high?
Not in the center on the 3rd row on each side.. They all 80" high.
It occurred to me t it is in the right place, air may not have to get under the ridge board, so maybe you could raise the ties a little.[/QUOTE]
Not in the center on the 3rd row on each side.. They all 80" high.
It occurred to me t it is in the right place, air may not have to get under the ridge board, so maybe you could raise the ties a little.[/QUOTE]
nealtw
Contractor retired
Here you have it:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6u5_PQ5F4A7ZWlILU1CN0otMEk/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6u5_PQ5F4A7MDdjQ19VZUVmbzQ/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6u5_PQ5F4A7ZHdJaWtjNGtSMlU/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6u5_PQ5F4A7eFZQcDVHZDhObnc/view?usp=sharing
i have 4 of the vents, and one of the site window or whatever is called.
Post a photo.[/QUOTE]
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6u5_PQ5F4A7ZWlILU1CN0otMEk/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6u5_PQ5F4A7MDdjQ19VZUVmbzQ/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6u5_PQ5F4A7ZHdJaWtjNGtSMlU/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6u5_PQ5F4A7eFZQcDVHZDhObnc/view?usp=sharing
i have 4 of the vents, and one of the site window or whatever is called.
Post a photo.[/QUOTE]
nealtw
Contractor retired
So the vent in the end is not high enough to use it for anything and as I understand it should not be there. It would only short circuit the system that takes air from soffits to the peak vents.
So two choices, ridge vent or have the bottom of the ties eight inches below the ridge board, that would give you 6 inches for insulation and 2 inches air gap.
I think you have 10 now, not much to be gained there.
So two choices, ridge vent or have the bottom of the ties eight inches below the ridge board, that would give you 6 inches for insulation and 2 inches air gap.
I think you have 10 now, not much to be gained there.
