Add more ties to support storage

[wordyahurdd]

Hey all,

I was hoping you could help tell me if my idea is OK or not. I did some browsing on here and it seems reasonable, just would like some reassurance.

If i add more vertical ties can I put a thin layer of plywood ontop for some light storage/insulation? Would also like to paint the bottom white to “brighten” up the garage. My detached garage is about 26x26 built in the late 1950s for reference.


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[RTBS]

You will be adding more weight to the roof structure. This could cause a problem with your roof or it might be OK depending on how it's constructed.

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[HotrodHR]

I wouldn't do it because the vertical ties are not a replacement for attic floor joists. The amount of overhead space is limited getting stuff up and down from there would be a pain in the ****. Also, how do you suppose you'd store that long material that you have shoved up ther now?

In my opinion, unless you have attic joists, decent height, stairs to walk up, and/or a lift of some sort, attics are mostly a place to put stuff to forget about.

 

[pbon]

Add more “collar ties” down low on top of the wall stud plate and store stuff other than diesel truck engines. Leave an opening or two big enough to remove the long stuff. Looks like a hip roof and assuming it was sheathed correctly and attached to the walls, it does not need collar ties. Real collar ties would be mounted higher up. I am not an engineer, but see no harm in adding some more ties connecting the side walls and storing stuff on top.

 

[3onthetree]

I did some browsing on here and it seems reasonable, just would like some reassurance.

Wood and nails are resilient and can stand up to a lot more than what paper calcs tell you, but unfortunately it's hard to weed through comments that are just eyeing it.

Back in the old days 2x4 rafter ties were done every 4' or 6'. They are still required on a hip roof, as are some sort of high uplift prevention like collar ties. Of course the 2x4 over 26' is not adequate for storage, but putting posts to the rafters does not "split" the 26' length or alleviate the load. Only if your ridge and hip rafters were designed as beams could you figure if they could support the load, here they were not.

Best and correct scenario is to increase the amount and size of rafter ties, but at 26' you'd probably be at 2x12@16"o.c. So a realistic solution, given the low height prevents storing big things, is to make what you have better by adding more 2x4s to make it 16"o.c. and then add a binder across those. But with only 3 or 4 rafter ties to remove and not being able to find a 26' long 2x4, you might as well bump up the size of the lumber. Correct size or as close to it is your decision.