Attic Structural Support

Hire a building inspector or structural engineer to check the foundation and supporting walls of your home to ascertain if they can handle the additional weight of an attic conversion.

Attic structural support.

For larger porches such as wrap around porches you will want to make sure that the support is more than you need. This article describes and illustrates the different types of support that prevents roof sagging and wall bulging at buildings including definitions of collar ties rafter ties and structural ridge beams. If the joists are larger they might support attic flooring but the only reliable way to know for sure is to have a structural engineer take a look at your attic support system. A fire escape leading out to the roof as well as safe access down the attic stairs is a must.

Horizontal beams supported by posts and used to support the mid span of rafters to cover longer spans these are used in large buildings like the traditional large old barns in the us. One kind is used if you are going to finish the attic to provide living space. The floor structure of an attic is also the framing for the ceiling beneath it. The other is just used to support the trusses.

If the roof appears to droop at the ends or sway in the middle it s possible a load bearing wall has shifted from its upper support lower foundation or both. The larger the roof is the more support that you are going to need. In addition two types of braces can be used in an attic to provide extra support for the trusses if needed. In an older home a typical roof rafter can range between 2 4 s to 2 8 s.

One of a series of diagonal members of the truss that meet at the apex in order to support the roof deck and its loads. 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. In this situation the walls of a finished attic space or room would go with the roof line. Large 8 x 8 posts are necessary for the use of supporting a porch roof.

I called out insufficient structural support in this attic space what do you guys think. Collar ties rafter ties tension beams structural ridge beams. Roof truss parts explained. It s 16 2x6s on 24 center with a 1x6 at the peak no collar ties no vertical support depending on the roof pitch and rafter span vertical support may not be required on all roofs but you are correct the rafters are over spanned.

Step 8 plan for an exit strategy in case of fire. When using fiberglass insulation the pink stuff the attic roof rafter will need to be at least 16 deep. In order to create a deeper cavity for the insulation it will be necessary to attach wood framing to the existing rafters through a process called furring.