Attic Truss Cost

[hodeld]

Hi!

We are looking to build a new garage in the spring. I've asked the builder to come back with an estimate on how much it would cost to upgrade our trusses from standard trusses to attic trusses so we can develop it in the future. The garage is ~830 ft2 (24x34). He came back with an "upgrade" cost of $18,000 (just for the truss change) which I thought seems incredibly high. Should I have expected a cost more like $3,000-$4,000?

 

[Stang65]

Seems crazy, I'm interested to hear what people have to say. Always wondered why people don't go with them more often....

 

[cdestuck]

Dang, that certainly seems a ton extra for the attic trusses. What pitch are both types of trusses spec at? I'd have a serious sit down with him and ask what stands behind that cost.

 

[Showkey]

I would suspect the $18k also included the extra roof decking, shingles, trusses, siding and sheeting for the ends.........with the pitch change might increase the roof sqft by 30% ? Still might be high but it’s just not the truss cost which might be double the cost......not mention the added labor for those other issues.

 

[tjpavlov]

When we built our house we switched to storage trusses on a 28x38 house. The builder charged us $7,000. That included the decking and the staircase going up there. This was in 2010.

 

[Briguy_123]

I paid $5200 for 25 36 foot 8:12 attic trusses for my 34x48. $500 for the crane and 4 hours labor for 2 carpenters to hang them. So yes seems high.

 

[like2wheel]

Last year I upgraded 13) 24' wide trusses to attic & 16) 28' wide trusses to scissor. The total upcharge from my builder was less than $3000.. 6:12 roof pitch.

 

[gtr1999]

The previous owner of my house had a 35 x 24 3 bay garage built- slab, studded walls, siding, roof, 2 entrance doors done in 2003 for $14,500.No wiring, insulation, or sheetrock walls. I was quoted $30k last month to add a 14' s 24' bay, unfinished to the same garage.
Building cost jumped that much in 15 years?

 

[ssdave]

I changed 18 foot of my 36 foot x 50 garage to attic trusses from 8:12/3:12 scissors. The quote went down $1200 for that change. Surprised me. And, the framer felt they were a lot easier to put up than the large scissor trusses.

 

[hodeld]

Thank you all so much for your feedback - I think best I sit down and get the engineering and walk through all the calculations

 

[Kaizen]

The previous owner of my house had a 35 x 24 3 bay garage built- slab, studded walls, siding, roof, 2 entrance doors done in 2003 for $14,500.No wiring, insulation, or sheetrock walls. I was quoted $30k last month to add a 14' s 24' bay, unfinished to the same garage.

Building cost jumped that much in 15 years?

My 30x36 that I’m building myself will be about 30k for stick frame,slab,roof,trim, and electric. Just putting up clapboards and trim on the 30 foot side cost about 1000. Prices are crazy


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[Kaizen]

Thank you all so much for your feedback - I think best I sit down and get the engineering and walk through all the calculations

My pitch is 9-12 and I used normal trusses. I think it was another 1500 if I wanted attic trusses. It wouldn’t have changed anything but the decking for the attic and a stair or ladder-both of which you could do yourself later as you said.


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[James-W]

It would help to know where you are located, prices do vary in different parts of the country.

 

[n20junkie]

Did that estimate include the attic floor, and some sort of wall for fall protection?

What are the truss width? Anything over 30’ I was told starts to get expensive.

I used 30’ wide, 8/12 pitch attic trusses built for northern snow loads that cost $180 each.

The 3/4 plywood for the floor cost another 1k in materials, plus more for the walls and labor.

I think my roof system for a 30x50 cost 20k installed with architectural shingles and a floor in the attic. No attic walls, stairs, or finish trim.

 

[Rusty Bolt]

I just had the same conversation with my general contractor. Garage is about 40x42 with hip roof on 3 sides. 41 psf snow load 4 in 12 pitch. Attic trusses where there is enough height to move around cost about $500 more. IIRC, the total was $8,300 for attic trusses.

 

[RVDan]

Sounds like they gave you a cost, not the cost difference.

 

[Radix2]

You can go to the lumberyard and price the difference in truss cost - which will be minor. This must include more -and what do you mean by attic? Same roof, but an open area for storage with limited headroom? Or a new design with full headroom suitable for living space? What is your roof pitch? Depending on which way your trusses run, it may take much more than attic trusses to get real space up there.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

The difference in cost for the trusses alone should be small: hundreds of dollars, not many thousands.
Now, adding stairways, attic floor, etc. that could be significant, depending on what you choose.

For my 21 x 25' garage, the attic trusses cost $1870, delivered.

 

[matt_i]

More data point

Approx $2400 to upgrade from 6:12 "W" style trusses to 6:12 attic storage truss, with 12ft storage room @ 40psf. This is material cost only. 26' outer wall x 40 ft with 2 extra trusses.

I think I used around 70 sheets of plywood to deck the roof & sheath the walls. Forgot how many went to the roof alone. I put 3/4" ply in the attic room, it was approx 15 sheets, they're probably $25 each (?)

I estimate around $2500 for material costs for roofing and the aluminum fascia and soffit trim. Which was GAF architectural shingles & cobra snow country ridge vent.

My Dad and I were the only laborers.

To add, if you do the general math, I got roughly 480sf of dry area for $2400 which runs out at $5/sq ft. Try adding that with new construction that isn't an animal-skinned yurt

 

[ncboat]

19 34 ft attic trusses with 6:12 pitch delivered yesterday 3800 dollars delivered with hurricane brackets. I prepaid them earlier this year so maybe 4200 now.

 

[d300]

My last project used 19 attic and 12 scissor with a 43 ft span and the total cost, including 4 hrs of crane time was less than $10k.
You need to find out exactly what is offered for the $18k. Maybe there is a boat down-payment hidden on line 43........

 

[77Birdman]

I'm a contractor, so i hate to throw another one under the bus, but i am presently building a 24 x 24 garage for myself (new thread under way), I upgraded to attic/storage trusses. Pitch is 10/12, the add on cost difference between the 2 types of trusses was less than $600. Now, in addition to that i needed to add 9 pieces of Advantech at $30 per sheet for the floor, which is also required for bracing. There would be an additional charge if you want stairs.

 

[rburke65]

If that was the update cost, he's crazy. Confirm the price first. Go to Home Depot and price the trusses each way. At least that's a start.

 

[jgiles101982]

Not sure where your from but I just got a quote back from a truss company for attic trusses (8/12) for a 24'x60' for a total of 31 trusses was 4k.

 

[kbs2244]

I would ask for the up charge to be itemized.
It may include things you do not need.
(As mentioned, more siding, stairway, flooring, etc)

That has to more than just a truss style swap.

 

[Garagetime]

My garage 26x32 attic trusses were 3,800. Regular trusses 1,500 I went with regular trusses. Both were 6/12 on the pitch. That's the prices from the lowest place. I had quotes up to 6,000 on attic trusses and 3,500 on non attic trusses.

 

[Vintage Veloce]

Having read the responses above.. I'd meekly ask the contractor, "that sounds expensive, is that just for the trusses?" If he said yes, I'd reply, "You are fired".
If they really are overcharging that much, it's not somebody I'd want bidding any other change orders.

 

[hodeld]

Thank youeveryone again - clearly there must be "issues" with translating the upgrade into real cost numbers. we'll be sitting down over the coming days, and hopefully i'll report back that everything was a misunderstanding!

 

[scottydosnntkno]

Sounds like they gave you a cost, not the cost difference.

Either their area of the country is incredibly expensive, or the builder is charging a huge markup.

I just ordered trusses for our new house, which is 4700sq ft plus 2 garages totaling another 2000sq ft, with most of the House trusses and girder trusses being 40+ feet long. There is 189 trusses total and the cost is a hair under $17,000 total.

 

[pratapmech]

More data point

Approx $2400 to upgrade from 6:12 "W" style trusses to 6:12 attic storage truss, with 12ft storage room @ 40psf. This is material cost only. 26' outer wall x 40 ft with 2 extra trusses.

I think I used around 70 sheets of plywood to deck the roof & sheath the walls. Forgot how many went to the roof alone. I put 3/4" ply in the attic room, it was approx 15 sheets, they're probably $25 each (?)

I estimate around $2500 for material costs for roofing and the aluminum fascia and soffit trim. Which was GAF architectural shingles & cobra snow country ridge vent.

My Dad and I were the only laborers.

To add, if you do the general math, I got roughly 480sf of dry area for $2400 which runs out at $5/sq ft. Try adding that with new construction that isn't an animal-skinned yurt

Hi Matt, I’m also trying to build similar thing, to convert my garage’s attic space to storage space. Is there an email to contact you directly?

 

[James-W]

When I built my 24X36X8 garage I wanted to have storage space upstairs. This was back in 2012 and the trusses cost me $250 each at that time. The price you were quoted sounds way too much money to me, but then again, EVERYTHING is VERY high priced these days. So depending on where you live maybe the quoted price is not all that bad. Still, that price does sound wrong to me.

 

[puttinonthekritz]

My 46x46x14 with an 8/12 pitch had an increase of around 5k with labor, materials and truss increase in late 2019/early 2020 right before crazy prices. Either way, my design called for an 8/12 pitch for aesthetic purposes. At my width and pitch, even without an attic truss, would have required a crane cost and the additional piggyback framing labor anyway. I merely changed it to attic style truss. This resulted with a beefier 2x8 top chord and 2x12 bottom chord with an 18" heel height and associated truss design. Also, that pricing included that 4ft wide stairwell made of four LVL's (over 20ft long for my rise/run), associated lumber, treads, and 3/4 Advantech floor. The attic room itself had 8ft sidewall height through the entire space, it was 20ft wide by the length of the building. I'm located in Minnesota. With respect, you are getting hosed.

 

[Dig Doug]

Hi!

We are looking to build a new garage in the spring. I've asked the builder to come back with an estimate on how much it would cost to upgrade our trusses from standard trusses to attic trusses so we can develop it in the future. The garage is ~830 ft2 (24x34). He came back with an "upgrade" cost of $18,000 (just for the truss change) which I thought seems incredibly high. Should I have expected a cost more like $3,000-$4,000?

edit -
i just saw the dates it’s from 2018



What did he have spec’d before? Simple A frame 4/12? What was the original cost For the trusses ?

Is the 18 on top of the original quote?

how tall is the new roof truss ? It can be extensive if you want to make a 2nd floor out of it
or
just some usable storage

what do you mean “ Develop “ develop into what?
Granny flat, office, loft type storage. The type of use effects the cost

a friend just had 41 trusses only 16ft long w/ Engineering drawings and paid $9,300 ! Flat roof open web w/ an 8 inch tall parapet around the outside perimeter

he is building a 16x80 by 17 tall (12 w X 14 ft tall door ) RV style garage And attaching it to his current garage.

 

[TurnipTruck]

Relatively speaking, my attic trusses were each twice the cost and twice the weight of the standard trusses.


($14k overall, in 2019)

 

[ericlar80]

Hi!

We are looking to build a new garage in the spring. I've asked the builder to come back with an estimate on how much it would cost to upgrade our trusses from standard trusses to attic trusses so we can develop it in the future. The garage is ~830 ft2 (24x34). He came back with an "upgrade" cost of $18,000 (just for the truss change) which I thought seems incredibly high. Should I have expected a cost more like $3,000-$4,000?

In Southern California, I recently priced an 800sqft garage with attic trusses and it was $4200 total. Not a whole lot cheaper to go with standard trusses, maybe a few hundred dollars less.

26x31
4 in 12 roof pitch
1 foot overhangs

 

[WisJim]

When we built our new building in 2019 I got the trusses from Menards. I had gambrel type attic room trusses custom designed and built because of building height limitations in our town. But I just checked the Menards site for readily available stock trusses, 24 foot span, and a 10/12 pitch attic room truss is $320 each, and a 6/12 pitch common truss is $122 each. Big difference! The attic room trusses are much heavier built as the attic room has a floor live load design of 40psf, same as often required for a house living space--and of course the common truss has no live load rating. And this difference in truss cost doesn't consider the flooring in the attic room or the additional roof area requiring more sheathing and shingles (and labor). For a 24 by 40 building just trusses would cost over $4000 more, plus the attic room decking, etc etc.