20x30 garage-Attic Trusses y/n?

[Mwaters]

We are building a 20x30 detached garage this summer. It will have a 5/12 pitch and 10' floor to ceiling height. Overall height here is limited to 15'. The question is would attic trusses be of any real use in this scenario? I originally thought that it would be nice to have that extra space up there but in looking deeper, by the time you factor in the extra thickness for the truss materials and 3/4" ply for the flooring, there may not be as much usable space up there as originally thought. Should I just plan to use normal trusses instead? Thoughts?

 

[kaymccampbell]

It's not a place to hold a party, but it's still handy to store infrequently used light objects. And you can put a door on one end and stuff kayaks and the like up there.

 

[PhantomEB]

I wish I went to cathedral ceiling even with my 9’6” walls, insulating properly with R50 was so much more beneficial than using it for storage.

 

[469 runner]

For the small additional cost you would gain some nice storage. Maybe keep one end open to the area below like Kaymc said to have access with a ladder.

 

[SJay3660]

6/12 pitch will gain you additional head room - why the 5/12?? Compare the cost over standard trusses and divided it by the square footage you gain - you will find that the square footage cost is very low.

 

[like2wheel]

It's not a place to hold a party, but it's still handy to store infrequently used light objects. And you can put a door on one end and stuff kayaks and the like up there.

For the small additional cost you would gain some nice storage. Maybe keep one end open to the area below like Kaymc said to have access with a ladder.

This. But make the next couple cathedral trusses so you have clear access to the opening

6/12 pitch will gain you additional head room - why the 5/12??

Because he wants 10' walls & is limited to 15' overall height. 6/12 would probably put him over.


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[firebirdparts]

With 4' of headroom 10' above the ground, I probably wouldn't bother. You gotta decide if you want to put stuff up there.

 

[Mwaters]

Yes, the 5/12 pitch and 10' walls puts us at about 14'-9" overall height. We are talking with builders now and one wanted to make sure we really wanted the attic trusses since when all was said and done, we'd only end up with a space about 3 feet tall. That would be hard to use since we'd have to almost belly crawl down the length of the garage to get to anything we put up there.

 

[CombatNinja]

No point, not enough useable storage that can be accessed without tearing everything out to get to that item you want/need all the way at the back. The only way these setups work is to form a little aisle down the center so you can move into the space and access what you need. By the time you leave the 36" or so you need open, you'll have a little area on each side that starts at about 2.5' and tapers back to useless in about 4 feet. I would rather have the extra height in the garage than minimal storage. Don't even get me started on the theory of filling it all up and leaving it there for eternity. If you don't need to be able to reasonably access it, you don't need it, period. It took me about a decade to drill this into my wife's brain.

 

[matt_i]

Seems like it could be tough with the dimensions. I would guess its 4' useable in the very center. I would instead look at an "energy heel truss" which is sized so that you can maintain the ceiling insulation all the way across the entire dimension and not have to taper it down near the outside walls to get room for the soffit to breathe to the ridge.

 

[CombatNinja]

You guys are all making the assumption he is going to insulate. OP never stated that he had that in his plan, but I will say that if he does plan to insulate and put up sheathing, it becomes completely pointless.

 

[joe_padavano]

I built a 20x24 garage and used normal rafters. I built it myself. It was not difficult. I didn't have a height restriction, so I went 12/12 on the roof, but even at 5/12 the rafters will give much usable storage space.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Find out the cost before making a decision, it may not be that much more. Even if the headroom is only 3 feet it's still usable storage. For a few dollars can get a Harbor Freight moving dolly and a piece of plywood, and make a little scooter for moving back and forth up there.

 

[CombatNinja]

It's not that we are not aware that attic trusses will give 'some' useable storage for a modest cost. It is that we are suggesting that the additional height inside the garage (assuming a scissor truss or ridge beam) would be preferable to said storage.

 

[finn]

I put attic trusses in my 32x54 with 10 and 12’ ceilings.

Big waste of money. I never go up there, and the things that I put there ten years ago are still there, untouched and gathering dust.

I wouldn’t do it again. In my case, the money would have been better sense adding a foot to the building footprint, or adding a small lean to or entrance shelter, or even a partial concrete apron or walk.

 

[thammel]

Why don't you go for a zoning variance and exceed the 15' height limitation. I did that in a prior garage. I presume the 15' height limitation is a local zoning rule.

 

[like2wheel]

I put attic trusses in my 32x54 with 10 and 12’ ceilings.

Big waste of money. I never go up there, and the things that I put there ten years ago are still there, untouched and gathering dust.

I wouldn’t do it again. In my case, the money would have been better sense adding a foot to the building footprint, or adding a small lean to or entrance shelter, or even a partial concrete apron or walk.

I have a similar building, but the opposite experience.

I put them over the side with the 10' ceiling, & love having the space, especially for seasonal storage. It was worth it for the Christmas stuff alone. I'm probably up there for something at least a couple times a week.

 

[finn]

I have a similar building, but the opposite experience.

I put them over the side with the 10' ceiling, & love having the space, especially for seasonal storage. It was worth it for the Christmas stuff alone. I'm probably up there for something at least a couple times a week.

That’s how I did mine, to.

I did use it for a year it two, but not after that. Maybe with proper stairs it would be different, but the aluminum attic stairs are too steep and narrow, and the tread depth is too shallow for comfort.

Regular stairs would take too much useable floor space.

Seasonal things go in the shed, along with garden tools.

 

[Mwaters]

You guys are all making the assumption he is going to insulate. OP never stated that he had that in his plan, but I will say that if he does plan to insulate and put up sheathing, it becomes completely pointless.

Yes, we originally planned to insulate and sheetrock during construction, but I think I will do that later on my own and not have the contractor do it because of cost. One thought was to use ply or OSB instead of the wall rock. I've seen that mentioned in other places and seems interesting. Easier to mount things to and can still paint it if I want. Thoughts?

I think I am going to lean in the direction of conventional trusses and give up the idea of using that space above the ceiling for anything. It just doesn't seem like there would be much usable space there anyway, plus it would be difficult to get into without multiple openings throughout the ceiling for access.

With the 10' walls I can make a 2' tall or so shelving storage area around the perimeter of the garage that would be more than we need (for now...) The garage will be 10' back from one of the property lines (it's in a corner of the lot) and I was thinking later I could just build a 5' wide x 10' long storage building back there for more storage.

I haven't yet selected our contractor though I am down to the last two contestants. So all the talk about sheetrock or not and trusses is playing a large part in their quote/bid process. Many decisions...

 

[bigdav160]

I would just cut a roof out of dimensional lumber. Way cheaper.

 

[CraigStu]

With the 10' walls I can make a 2' tall or so shelving storage area around the perimeter of the garage that would be more than we need (for now...) Many decisions...

We did this in a previous garage. Built kind of a ladder of 2x4s and screwed one side to the wall studs. The outside edge had chain w/ turnbuckles run up to an eye screwed into the bottom of the trusses about every 3-4 feet. Surface of the shelf was 3/8 plywood. First we just stuffed things on the shelf. Then HD had a sale on plastic containers so I bought a bunch of them. A little care in using a marker for labels and we then had a very neat looking storage area.

 

[finn]

I would just cut a roof out of dimensional lumber. Way cheaper.

I might be wrong about this, but it’s my understanding that our local building inspector will approve a roof built withe factory trusses, with stamps or paperwork showing they meet the county code for snow load requirements, but a stick built roof needs an engineering stamp.

Trusses come with paperwork, and homemade rafters, although cheaper to build, cost more all in because of the sign off requirements.

 

[bigdav160]

I might be wrong about this, but it’s my understanding that our local building inspector will approve a roof built withe factory trusses, with stamps or paperwork showing they meet the county code for snow load requirements, but a stick built roof needs an engineering stamp.

Trusses come with paperwork, and homemade rafters, although cheaper to build, cost more all in because of the sign off requirements.

Location is important. No inspections for a building like that where I am from.