adding a pocket in my ceiling...

[jakeb]

I have a 10' ceiling with a floor plate lift and I would like like to get another 6" or so, so I can raise a car high enough to stand under. I have standard 4/12 pitch 2x4 trusses. Can I do anything to them to add a pocket? I would only need to do it to maybe 4 trusses.

TIA

 

[kbs2244]

Get sissors trusses and slip them next to the ones you need to replace.
Screw and glue them to the existing trusses.
Then cut out the bottom cords of the orginal trusses.

 

[6768rogues]

How would you get the scissor trusses in place with the building and roof erected?

 

[v8garage]

How would you get the scissor trusses in place with the building and roof erected?

They would have to be built in place.

 

[jman103099]

Does anyone have a picture or drawing of this? I may be doing this in the future as well.

 

[autoist]

This could be an interesting thread. My ceiling height is 11'4" and there's an area that I've been wishing was about 13' or 14'. So, I could rebuild a few trusses in place, moving the bottom 2x4 up?

 

[jman103099]

Moving that bottom 2x4 up is what I am thinking as well... Im just not sure how easy it is to rebuild these trusses and ensure that your house/garage wont fall down. I would like an extra foot, but two would be great! No question then I could have a four-post lift with one car on top of the other.

 

[Bevis]

If I remember correctly, someone on here did this awhile back...but I can't remember who.

 

[sparky1562]

I just did this with 5 2x4 5/12 pitch trusses. Had Sissor trusses built and lifted them into place like KBS suggested. The Truss manufacture only needed 1 inch of bearing on each end, if I remember correctly. I actually have about 3" on each end.

The new trusses are slightly shorter than the existing ones, just enough to get them in place. Then I wedged them up tight to the roof next to the existing ones, and added blocking between the top plate and the bottom of the new truss. I nailed them together from both sides and cut the original bottom cord off. Then I added diagonal bracing up in the webs.

 

[rlk]

Sparky, was your work done with input from an engineer? Being a general contractor, I'm very hesitant to modify/cut/move an engineered truss without an engineer stamping/sealing and/or designing the work being done.

Thanks, Bob

 

[autoist]

Sparky, you're about 90 minutes from me - are your trusses still open to where they can be seen? Or have you closed them up?

How wide an area do the trusses span?

 

[BLUBAYOU]

I can certainly understand what you're saying, though if the new trusses are designed for this purpose, it seems it would be okay

[in response to rlk]

 

[jakeb]

hmmm....wondering how they would be lifted up in there. Do you have any pictures of it? I would rather just change my existing ones some how.

 

[ovilla]

I'm also thinking about this and Junkman had suggested to me to look into buying scissor trusses in halves, since my garage is already finished and it would make it easier for me to get the trusses into place. This spring I'll definitely look into that or simply buy entire trusses that are a bit shorter. Sparky, how much did it cost for the 5 trusses you had put in? Also, did you only gain half of your garage height or a little bit more? Thanks

 

[autoist]

'Sistering' a new frame member alongside a broken frame in a wooden ship is an acceptable method of repair. So, tomorrow, I'm gonna look at my trusses and see if its feasible to 'sister' a different style truss alongside the ones I would modify.

 

[Matti]

There is someone on this board who did the mods. It's called a tray or boxed ceiling. A friend of mine did the same thing but added a lot more height. I think it was at least a foot. It seems to have worked (so far) but it's not engineered and I would be very scared to cut the trusses myself.

 

[justinmc]

This got me to thinking... kinda OT. However when I worked for a rough in carpenter back in high school one summer he had an awesome little pocket framing guide that helped you figure out complicated stuff like this. However it wasn't all about existing structures rather new construction. I haven't been able to find anything like it in my small searches at bookstores but I know they exist. I would imagine a framing book would be very helpful to look at rather than just looking at photos online and trying to modify your's based on that.

Quite a few things come into play depending on the rest of the structure so at least consulting a carpenter might be a good plan of action.

 

[PAToyota]

It can be done, but definitely go back to the truss manufacturer to get an approved drawing of how they want it done. Best to put the liability on them rather than yourself.

 

[PAToyota]

However when I worked for a rough in carpenter back in high school one summer he had an awesome little pocket framing guide that helped you figure out complicated stuff like this.

You're probably talking about McGraw Hill's Wood Framing Portable Handbook - but it looks like it is out of print.

 

[justinmc]

You're probably talking about McGraw Hill's Wood Framing Portable Handbook - but it looks like it is out of print.

Probably why I can't find it Dangit... guess I'll hit up the ebay and used online book stores I use.

EDIT.. JEEEBUZ those Amazon sellers must figure those things are gold. $145. I guess if its outta print... but still. OUCH.

 

[Ray-CA]

On E-bay now for $25.00 (http://cgi.ebay.com/Wood-Framing-Po...-F-Hutchi_W0QQitemZ380066941577QQcmdZViewItem)

Ray

 

[jman103099]

Hopefully the image I attached works. What about trusses like this? I think I would like to remove two of them and create a pocket. They dont look like the friendliest trusses to mess with. Any thoughts?

This the the single bay of my three car garage and I think I need about a foot more for a 4 post lift.

 

[elmmx5]

When I installed a lift in my garage my problem was the trusses were running perpendicular to the upper crossbar of the lift. I fixed the problem by installing lvl's to support the roof. Here is a picture that gives a vague idea of what was done. If wanted, I can take more pictures from above later.