10 psf bcdl

[pr3dict]

I'm a little Confused about truss load capacities.

My plans say I have a bcdl of 10PSF but 0 LL. Drywall from my understanding is 2PSF.

Does this mean I have 8PSF worth of weight I can store up in the attic or can I hang heavier things from the trusses?

 

[Jlbc212]

The 10 psf dead load besides the drywall also includes the weight of the truss, insulation, lights and any other permanently affixed materials. It's always best not to overload, especially trusses.

 

[pr3dict]

So what your saying is... Don't hang a heavy bag?

 

[Firebrick43]

You should not be storing or hanging any weight on a truss with a 10 lbs bottom chord dead load rating. Only a ceiling and insulation.

If wanting storage or hanging things from a truss(if sufficiently spread out) you would need at least a 25lbs load rating

 

[pr3dict]

You should not be storing or hanging any weight on a truss with a 10 lbs bottom chord dead load rating. Only a ceiling and insulation.

If wanting storage or hanging things from a truss(if sufficiently spread out) you would need at least a 25lbs load rating

and lights? Oh I also have a comfortzone heater I wanted to throw up there. If I brace the truss a little in the corner that should be fine too right?

 

[Firebrick43]

Yes lights are ok, I don't know what a comfort zone heater is but if its 50 lbs or so I think that it would be ok.

The problem is storage, the 10lbs per square foot gives a good safety margin. I have seen people think storing a few light boxes or some boards wouldn't hurt anything.

They don't realize their 25 boards, individually are not heavy but together they weight a 150 lbs, Christmas boxes weight a couple hundred, and so on.

 

[TractorJeff]

I hung my Heater by laying a couple of 2x4's on top of the wall spanning across 2 trusses to spread the load. Yes, I know probably an overkill!

 

[Jlbc212]

So what your saying is... Don't hang a heavy bag?

A heavy bag would be considered a concentrated load. 10 psf dead load design assumes the loads will be spread out evenly. You could do what TractorJeff did, where he is actually using the walls, not the trusses, to support his heater.