Help a noob with raising garage ceiling

[Iceman22]

Hey guys,

Have a couple of questions and not really sure where to begin... I apologize in advance but I am not a carpenter nor do I pretend to be one on tv. Feel free to to dumb stuff down in any explanation. I'm looking to raise my roof to accommodate a 4-post lift so that I could store a sports car up top and park my daily driver underneath it during the 6 months of bad weather here in the northeast. My hope was to have first 8ft in either direction from the ridge line be a minimum of 12ft in height. Or in other words have the ceiling be at least 12ft high once you go 3ft in from either the front or back wall.

I currently have a 2-car attached garage that measures internally at 24ft across and 22ft deep. As near as I can tell my roof pitch is either 4/12 or 5/12. (used a DIY to tell the pitch and it came out in the middle of those two options) My current ceiling height is 10ft 2inches to the bottom chord. Not sure what you call my current truss design but it looks fairly simple with no intricate "design".

My trusses run parallel with the way the car will be parked and I plan to center the lift front to back in one the bays in an attempt to have the highest point of the car be closest to the ridge line.

My question is what is the best way to gain the most amount of ceiling clearance and can what I want be done given my current configuration? I really only need the "vaulted ceilings" in 1/2 of the garage but would not be completely opposed to doing the whole thing. I've done a lot of reading on here the past few days and feel like scissor trusses might be the best solution?

Lastly, the roof was completely replaced in 2014 so I've love to do something from inside the garage so that I'm not ripping the roof off but if that's the only way things can be done then so be it.

Thanks in advance,

Iceman

P.S. Happy to answer more questions to the best of my ability if I havent provided enough info to properly help me out

 

[tvtaurus]

I would consult an engineer.

 

[Orionrising]

is there a insulated ceiling or anything?

if not honestly the cheapest and simplest solution is gonna be to pull the roof and replace with scissor trusses. Trusses for the garage your size should only cost a grand or so, and sheeting is cheap. So are shingles.

shouldnt cost more than a couple K and take a day.

or add onto the garage or build another if you have room. Around here anyway if you have a flat site you can get a 24x24 garage with slab for about 10k.

 

[Iceman22]

is there a insulated ceiling or anything?

if not honestly the cheapest and simplest solution is gonna be to pull the roof and replace with scissor trusses. Trusses for the garage your size should only cost a grand or so, and sheeting is cheap. So are shingles.

shouldnt cost more than a couple K and take a day.

or add onto the garage or build another if you have room. Around here anyway if you have a flat site you can get a 24x24 garage with slab for about 10k.

There is no isolation of any kind in the roof of the garage. It just the trusses and then some type of pressed-fiber board nailed in like sheetrock to the bottom of bottom chord. I understand the concept of scissor trusses but don't understand how much extra height they afford out towards the vertical walls...I know my height at the ridgeline will be the max height of the the roof and the ceiling will slowly get lower as you go away from the centerline but how much? I guess what I'm trying to get at is lifting a car like a Porsche that is tall in the middle and slopes downward at both ends will be the easiest but would about something boxy at one end like a station wagon... Would you care to explain?

I have a decent sized lot with the house offset so I have 35ft of width I could do new construction on but unfortunately the city code office will not allow more than 1 garage on a residentially zoned lot. I also considered leaving the garage as-is and building 20ft off the back with taller ceilings to make it double wide and double deep but once again the city said no because there is maximum square footage rules for garages as well

 

[Voi]

I currently have a 2-car attached garage that measures internally at 24ft across and 22ft deep. As near as I can tell my roof pitch is either 4/12 or 5/12. My current ceiling height is 10ft 2inches to the bottom chord.

My trusses run parallel with the way the car will be parked and I plan to center the lift front to back in one the bays in an attempt to have the highest point of the car be closest to the ridge line.

I understand the concept of scissor trusses but don't understand how much extra height they afford out towards the vertical walls...

If the bottom chord of a scissor truss has a 2:12 pitch it will raise about 1'10" over half your 22' span. A 3:12 bottom chord will raise 2'8" over the same span.

I don't know if you'll be able to get a scissor truss with a 3:12 lower chord pitch and match your current roof pitch.

There are also parallel chord trusses. You can price some of these options with a truss supplier.

 

[Orionrising]

ahh then your next question needs to be max building height or roof pitch. the steeper the pitch the faster you get interior height.

a vaulted parallel chord truss would give you the most clearance, which may be more then needed.
edited to correct math

6:12 slope would get you 3 feet of hight 6 feet in, or two feet 3 feet in, so you would have 18 feet ish of 4 foot height above a 8 foot lift

 

[Iceman22]

If the bottom chord of a scissor truss has a 2:12 pitch it will raise about 1'10" over half your 22' span. A 3:12 bottom chord will raise 2'8" over the same span.

I don't know if you'll be able to get a scissor truss with a 3:12 lower chord pitch and match your current roof pitch.

There are also parallel chord trusses. You can price some of these options with a truss supplier.

Thanks for the response. I think I understand what you mean about the top chord of a new truss may not push up flush against the roof's "sub-floor"

ahh then your next question needs to be max building height or roof pitch. the steeper the pitch the faster you get interior height.

a vaulted parallel chord truss would give you the most clearance, which may be more then needed.

at 6:12 you would have 3 feet of additional clearance at 3 feet in (roughly) which if you had the lift at 8 feet should give you roughly 18' of 5' clearance above the lift.

Let me make sure I'm tracking.... if I have 6:12 parallel cord trusses installed; for every 12 inches I move from the outside wall towards the ridgeline, the bottom of the cord will be 6inches higher?

I'll have to reach out to code/zoning. With my recent lack of luck I wouldn't be surprised if there's some dumb rule that prevents the ridgeline of the garage from being taller than the ridgeline of the living space... So I'm starting to gather there's really no way to do this without ripping the exterior roof off?

 

[Orionrising]

you can talk to the truss manufacture, depends alot on exactly how much height you need and where,

 

[Z2V]

Could you convert the current garage into living space and build a new garage to replace it?
Kinda splitting hair but worth asking

 

[Voi]

Thanks for the response. I think I understand what you mean about the top chord of a new truss may not push up flush against the roof's "sub-floor"

I'm not following what you mean.

If you went with a scissor truss or parallel chord truss you could match your current roof's pitch and get the vaulted ceiling.

Typically when someone mentions scissor trusses they mean where the upper chord of the truss is not the same angle as the bottom chord. I think technically parallel chord trusses are a type of scissor truss but in my area at least when someone says scissor truss they mean like the second imagine in my first reply (whether they have a raised heel or not) where the top and bottom chords are not parallel.

The upper chord holds the roof sheathing and is your roof pitch.

The lower chord determines your ceiling pitch.

A parallel chord truss at even the low end of your estimate should give you plenty of space.

Whether you can get them made in halves and installed against the current trusses I have no idea. I have heard of this being done with regular scissor trusses. Just install them in halves and then cut out the lower parts of the original trusses.

 

[Voi]

Let me make sure I'm tracking.... if I have 6:12 parallel cord trusses installed; for every 12 inches I move from the outside wall towards the ridgeline, the bottom of the cord will be 6inches higher?

Yes, assuming you mean parallel to the floor/perpendicular to the side walls when moving in the 12".

To be clear, same would hold true for any truss with a lower chord pitch of 6:12. It wouldn't have to be a parallel chord truss necessarily.

 

[bczygan]

A couple examples of this have been posted on this forum.

Pulling permits?

Budget?

Will zoning let you raise the whole roof?

Attached or detached?

Photos inside and out?

Could also raise the whole structure.

Bill

 

[Voi]

Or in other words have the ceiling be at least 12ft high once you go 3ft in from either the front or back wall.

Sorry, I missed this specific part.

At a sidewall height of 10' 2" you'll want another 1'10" or rise over 3'.

If I'm doing my match right you'll need a steeper pitch that your current roof. Sorry I missed this - long day.

I think that works out to like a 7.33/12 pitch. Again, long day. Don't trust my math any more than my reading comprehension.

 

[Iceman22]

Could you convert the current garage into living space and build a new garage to replace it?
Kinda splitting hair but worth asking

I like the way you think! The way the house is laid out that would give me the ability to make the living room and kitchen bigger. However, I think the Mrs would kill me

I'm not following what you mean.

If you went with a scissor truss or parallel chord truss you could match your current roof's pitch and get the vaulted ceiling.

Typically when someone mentions scissor trusses they mean where the upper chord of the truss is not the same angle as the bottom chord. I think technically parallel chord trusses are a type of scissor truss but in my area at least when someone says scissor truss they mean like the second imagine in my first reply (whether they have a raised heel or not) where the top and bottom chords are not parallel.

The upper chord holds the roof sheathing and is your roof pitch.

The lower chord determines your ceiling pitch.

A parallel chord truss at even the low end of your estimate should give you plenty of space.

Whether you can get them made in halves and installed against the current trusses I have no idea. I have heard of this being done with regular scissor trusses. Just install them in halves and then cut out the lower parts of the original trusses.

Thanks for the additional response. Disregard my question, I misunderstood what you were saying but now I'm following

Yes, assuming you mean parallel to the floor/perpendicular to the side walls when moving in the 12".

To be clear, same would hold true for any truss with a lower chord pitch of 6:12. It wouldn't have to be a parallel chord truss necessarily.

Copy that. So as long as I was moving inward (as you described) my current ceiling height of 10'2" would be an additional 18" taller 3ft in from the vertical wall or 11'8". So 16' of my total 22' span would be 11'8" or taller?

 

[Iceman22]

A couple examples of this have been posted on this forum.

Pulling permits?

Budget?

Will zoning let you raise the whole roof?

Attached or detached?

Photos inside and out?

Could also raise the whole structure.

Bill

1) Would love to not pull a permit by doing all the work inside of the garage but if its going to involve any exterior work I don't think I'll get away without one
2) I'd like to do it as cheap as possible but am fully aware of the fact some corners just cant be cut. Cheap but safe I guess how I would describe my thought process?
3) Not sure but can find out
4) Attached
5) Can take some pics tomorrow
6) I read about that (Jack it up, install pony wall and sister the studs) but that just screams $$$$ to me

Sorry, I missed this specific part.

At a sidewall height of 10' 2" you'll want another 1'10" or rise over 3'.

If I'm doing my match right you'll need a steeper pitch that your current roof. Sorry I missed this - long day.

I think that works out to like a 7.33/12 pitch. Again, long day. Don't trust my math any more than my reading comprehension.

No worries!!!! I'm really appreciate of any insight I receive.

 

[ard]

1) Would love to not pull a permit by doing all the work inside of the garage but if its going to involve any exterior work I don't think I'll get away without one.

So when you have to sell the house and need to fill out the disclosure will you lie, or say 'yes' and take the $$$ hit?

 

[Voi]

Copy that. So as long as I was moving inward (as you described) my current ceiling height of 10'2" would be an additional 18" taller 3ft in from the vertical wall or 11'8". So 16' of my total 22' span would be 11'8" or taller?

Correct.

 

[theoldwizard1]

My trusses run parallel with the way the car will be parked and I plan to center the lift front to back in one the bays in an attempt to have the highest point of the car be closest to the ridge line.

This is called a "reverse gable". The gable end is peak, where the ridge board would be.

Probably the fastest and easiest way of doing it, is to raise the entire garage. Disconnect the footer from the foundation and jack it up. Several thread on here and a couple of videos on YouTube.

Pretty much anything else will mean ripping off the entire roof and trusses and starting over from that level. Do you want to change to a more tradition gable end roof ? Get more upper level storage ("attic") ?

Figure out what problems you are trying to solve.

 

[Falcon67]

Going to be less than 11' 8" because you're only 22' deep. My 24' deep 5/12 is 11' 8" at the bottom of the ridge board. Also note that the height and width of the "dog house" part of any lifted car is going to limit the total rise available, along with the position and type of lift. If the dog house is 8' long and 24" high, your peak height means nothing.

The easier answer is to just remove the joists in that area and double the end joists in the space, or measuring the dog house on the car in question and just making a large framed opening in the ceiling to accommodate that section of the car.

Unless your building is constructed with trusses. In that case, you will need some engineering to avoid compromising the structure. EDIT - I'm slow, Wizard covered that

 

[teamextreme]

This is where you have to evaluate how much you love this house. With all the city code constraints you've listed on garage additions, and the pain this would likely be (if even possible), if I were you I'd be seriously considering a relocation to a property that better fits your storage needs.

 

[Iceman22]

This is called a "reverse gable". The gable end is peak, where the ridge board would be

Probably the fastest and easiest way of doing it, is to raise the entire garage. Disconnect the footer from the foundation and jack it up. Several thread on here and a couple of videos on YouTube.

Pretty much anything else will mean ripping off the entire roof and trusses and starting over from that level. Do you want to change to a more tradition gable end roof ? Get more upper level storage ("attic") ?

Figure out what problems you are trying to solve.

Honestly I just need the ability to store 3 cars. Anything extra above and beyond that would be great but necessary

This is where you have to evaluate how much you love this house. With all the city code constraints you've listed on garage additions, and the pain this would likely be (if even possible), if I were you I'd be seriously considering a relocation to a property that better fits your storage needs.

It's funny you mention that...we have heavily looked at other houses the past 4 months but taxes here in NY are just a killer. Every 3car garage house that's gone up lately has been between 10-14k a year in taxes. I just can't afford/justify that kind of money

 

[drivesitfar]

ICEMAN: can you maybe take some pictures of your existing home from the front and maybe a few of the inside of the garage?

i know moving isn't always the best option and i'm having somewhat of the same issues here where i have ZERO extra room and could use a bigger shop instead of leasing space and storage.

here's a thread where Denwood started it by raising his garage's ceiling so he could just put in a MAX JAX lift which won't work exactly in your situation, but it might give you a better visual on maybe how to change your ceiling to get your lift in.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6251558#post6251558

if you can afford it i really liked the idea of extending your kitchen into your existing garage and building a 2 car garage next to it if that is even possible. is it? i know it's more expensive, but i bet it would improve your home's value a lot more than what you are talking about and it also might make your wife (and you) very happy.

keep us posted and again post up a few pictures that might help us give you a few more ideas.

cheers

 

[theoldwizard1]

Honestly I just need the ability to store 3 cars. Anything extra above and beyond that would be great but necessary

The easiest solution is till raise the walls.

 

[Falcon67]

The easiest solution is till raise the walls.

I raised a 22x16 up about 2', so this is still a pretty straight forward solution.

 

[kbs2244]

I do not understand why everyone thinks a truss is the only way to frame a roof.

If you did not have any under the current roof timber would you have enough clear space for what you want to do?
If so, find a good carpentry contractor to convert what you have now to a "ridge beam" roof.
He should be able to do it without any exterior changes.
In the end you will have your current space, but as a clear to the roof vaulted room.

 

[R6 Racer]

Full disclosure!
I only read the original post & not the whole thread when I composed this reply... sorry if its been covered already

Hey guys,

Have a couple of questions a..........
My hope was to have first 8ft in either direction from the ridge line be a minimum of 12ft in height. Or in other words have the ceiling be at least 12ft high once you go 3ft in from either the front or back wall.

I currently have a 2-car attached garage that measures internally at 24ft across and 22ft deep. As near as I can tell my roof pitch is either 4/12 or 5/12. (used a DIY to tell the pitch and it came out in the middle of those two options) My current ceiling height is 10ft 2inches to the bottom chord...

My trusses run parallel with the way the car will be parked and I plan to center the lift front to back in one the bays in an attempt to have the highest point of the car be closest to the ridge line.

My question is what is the best way to gain the most amount of ceiling clearance and can what I want be done given my current configuration? I really only need the "vaulted ceilings" in 1/2 of the garage ....

Thanks in advance,

Iceman

Short answer... no
Not & get 12 feet @ 3 feet in

Basicly a 12 foot wall (I know you do not need a wall, hopefully I dont get flamed for the analogy) standing 3 feet in from the existing wall would stick out the existing roof... sorry.

If you have a 4 or 5 /12 pitch now I do not believe you can even get 12 feet of height 3 feet in from the walls.
Your existing roof should only be between 1'4" to 2'2" higher than your existing ceiling height at 3' in from the walls. (2'2" sounds great if you get that much, but that's all the way up to the roof sheeting. You'll need room for structure & my guess is you'll need around a foot for that.)
I will readily admit that my math might be wrong. A quick measurement from the bottom of the bottom cord of the existing truss straight up to the roof sheeting 3 feet in from the wall should confirm it.
At 3 feet in from the wall your roof sheeting has only had a 1' to 1'3" rise. Depending on pitch (4/12 or 5/12)
Using a scissor truss @ 1/2 the pitch of the roof (4/12 outer = 2/12 inside) (somewhere I read this is optimal set up. I'm not sure weather its the limits of a scissor truss or not, but...) would put your ceiling 6" higher 3' in with the 4/12 or 7&1/2" higher with the 5/12
In order to gain 2 feet of height using the 1/2 pitch formula you will get it @ 12 feet in from the walls with a 2/12 pitch...

Now I could be totally "F"ed up. But that's the way it looks to me.
I have a similar situation only my shop is 31+" feet deep & I have a 6/12 pitch on my roof.
If you like to im me I will tell you what I have learnt so far... trade info...

Steve

 

[Iceman22]

ICEMAN: can you maybe take some pictures of your existing home from the front and maybe a few of the inside of the garage?

i know moving isn't always the best option and i'm having somewhat of the same issues here where i have ZERO extra room and could use a bigger shop instead of leasing space and storage.

here's a thread where Denwood started it by raising his garage's ceiling so he could just put in a MAX JAX lift which won't work exactly in your situation, but it might give you a better visual on maybe how to change your ceiling to get your lift in.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6251558#post6251558

if you can afford it i really liked the idea of extending your kitchen into your existing garage and building a 2 car garage next to it if that is even possible. is it? i know it's more expensive, but i bet it would improve your home's value a lot more than what you are talking about and it also might make your wife (and you) very happy.

keep us posted and again post up a few pictures that might help us give you a few more ideas.

cheers

I'll definitely get some pics posted up soon. Coming off back to back 16hr shifts and finally getting to catch up on some replies. Hopefully I can snap some pics in the AM. Thanks for the lead on the thread you posted as well. That should be 68 pages of relaxing reading tonight

As for the suggestion of making the garage living space and building on to the other side, I really like it! Two major problems with that though....

1) In 2015 the kitchen was taken down to the studs and the Mrs got her dream kitchen to the tune of about $40k so re-configuring the kitchen after it was just built would bring me to tears! (wish I had had more forethought
2) Based on the houses floor plan putting a new attached garage on the other side of the house would force me to removed a bathroom that was just redone in 2016 and make it an entrance/mud-room.

(If only I could go back to the house pre-reno and follow a different path knowing what I know now...)

Truth be told I absolutely love the location of where my house is. I'm 4 houses away from my parents and place a huge value on that as they begin to age into their late 60's. I also got a great deal on the house because of the outdated kitchen and baths. However, I've now invested 2/3's of the purchase price into remodeling and fear I've reached or am fastly approaching diminishing returns based on my neighborhood. I consider myself to make a decent living but am by no means rich. I live in a humble section of my town and don't want to have a 250k house on a 130k street if you know what I mean. Which, is why I was willing to concede all of the "pros" of this house and look for a new one that already comes with the desired space but I just cant swing a tax payment of $1,000/month.

I do not understand why everyone thinks a truss is the only way to frame a roof.

If you did not have any under the current roof timber would you have enough clear space for what you want to do?
If so, find a good carpentry contractor to convert what you have now to a "ridge beam" roof.
He should be able to do it without any exterior changes.
In the end you will have your current space, but as a clear to the roof vaulted room.

To answer your question: Yes, I think so? You took the words right out of my mouth! If I could cut everything out of the ceiling and just have the shingles "float" where they currently are I would have enough space to accomplish exactly what I want. What appears to be in my way is the bottom chord that runs parallel to the way you park the car and vertical boards that go from the bottom chord towards the sky. (please excuse my layman description)

 

[R6 Racer]

What's the absolute minimum height you need based on the vehicles you need to store?
I think there are people on this site that have lifts in 10 foot high garages.
Have you done the math for your vehicles?

Steve

 

[xyster101]

NY does **** with taxes. Where are you in ny? I am just outside Albany with a 2 garage attached and 4 detached I built. Assessment went up 40k. [emoji20]
I vote to rip off the roof and do trusses OR just raise the whole thing up 2 feet.


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[padroo]

Do you have room to add another single bay onto your existing garage? You could build it with the scisors truss idea. It would be three walls and a roof. What is the exterior of the house made of?

 

[Iceman22]

What's the absolute minimum height you need based on the vehicles you need to store?
I think there are people on this site that have lifts in 10 foot high garages.
Have you done the math for your vehicles?

Steve

My Dream vehicle lineup would be a Porsche 911 and a pickup truck. That being said my problem is I'm not sure what the vehicle situation will ultimately be....I currently drive a '15 Sti year around partially due to my garage. I'd like to go back to a sports car and DD ( SUV/pickup). My thought is sports car goes on the 4 post in the winter and the DD goes on the 4 post during the summer. Gotta love Northeast winters I guess my biggest headache would be if I got an SUV as a DD as it'd be squared off in the rear. I feel like a sedan or a pickup would actually lessen my minimum height requirement compared to an SUV.

NY does **** with taxes. Where are you in ny? I am just outside Albany with a 2 garage attached and 4 detached I built. Assessment went up 40k. [emoji20]
I vote to rip off the roof and do trusses OR just raise the whole thing up 2 feet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm In Binghamton, NY. Holy assessment!!! But at least you feel my pain

Do you have room to add another single bay onto your existing garage? You could build it with the scisors truss idea. It would be three walls and a roof. What is the exterior of the house made of?

No room on the garage side; I'm maxed out on my side setback. Could build attached on the opposite side of the house but would require a trip to the variance board and if I wanted interior entry into the house it would require putting an entry door into our master on suite or guest bedroom.

Full disclosure!
I only read the original post & not the whole thread when I composed this reply... sorry if its been covered already


Short answer... no
Not & get 12 feet @ 3 feet in

Basicly a 12 foot wall (I know you do not need a wall, hopefully I dont get flamed for the analogy) standing 3 feet in from the existing wall would stick out the existing roof... sorry.

If you have a 4 or 5 /12 pitch now I do not believe you can even get 12 feet of height 3 feet in from the walls.
Your existing roof should only be between 1'4" to 2'2" higher than your existing ceiling height at 3' in from the walls. (2'2" sounds great if you get that much, but that's all the way up to the roof sheeting. You'll need room for structure & my guess is you'll need around a foot for that.)
I will readily admit that my math might be wrong. A quick measurement from the bottom of the bottom cord of the existing truss straight up to the roof sheeting 3 feet in from the wall should confirm it.
At 3 feet in from the wall your roof sheeting has only had a 1' to 1'3" rise. Depending on pitch (4/12 or 5/12)
Using a scissor truss @ 1/2 the pitch of the roof (4/12 outer = 2/12 inside) (somewhere I read this is optimal set up. I'm not sure weather its the limits of a scissor truss or not, but...) would put your ceiling 6" higher 3' in with the 4/12 or 7&1/2" higher with the 5/12
In order to gain 2 feet of height using the 1/2 pitch formula you will get it @ 12 feet in from the walls with a 2/12 pitch...

Now I could be totally "F"ed up. But that's the way it looks to me.
I have a similar situation only my shop is 31+" feet deep & I have a 6/12 pitch on my roof.
If you like to im me I will tell you what I have learnt so far... trade info...

Steve

Let me read this multiple times and get back to you... There's a lot of numbers there lol. Want to make sure I'm tracking before I respond

 

[jd_1138]

My friend bought a foreclosure house that had a 2 car garage. The pitch of the roof was terribly deficient and the roof was made of 2x4's. At some point, someone sistered in some other 2x4's to raise the pitch a little. Also the shingles were half gone and there were leaks. But the garage had a nice concrete foundation and otherwise in nice shape.

He had the Amish carpentry crew he uses to tear off the old roof completely down to the top plate. And they added an additional 4 feet or so of height by going taller on the walls (additional bottom plate, studs, top plate). Plus they added additional studs down below in the old walls to get them 12" on center.

Then they installed some pre-engineered trusses from the local lumberyard, new plywood, paper, singles. And they re-sided the garage. Really brought it back to life for about third price of a new garage.

 

[James-W]

The Amish are VERY good builders and they make really nice furniture too. I have seen some furniture they have made, gorgeous stuff and superbly made. If you can get an Amish crew to do the work, you can be sure it will be done right.

 

[Iceman22]

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[Iceman22]

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[Iceman22]

Hopefully I did this right...not very good at posting pics. Roof pitch is definitely 5:12 now that I have a better understanding of how to take the measurement

Also, the thing you see at the ridge line where the garage meets the house is the fact the garage is 6ft shallower than the depth of the house. Pitch on the front side and the back side of the garage are both 5:12


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[Farmall450]

Nice looking arrangement OP! I however see why raising the garage would be an issue unless you bring the house up with it

 

[Falcon67]

LOL on raising the garage now. However, the rafters and joists look substantial even for older work. No trusses, built in place by guys swinging framing hammers.

The bay at the end of the garage by the side wall looks - to me - ripe for a tray ceiling, or even removing the joists in that area and insulating under the rafters (with some ridge venting). Also, assuming there is a bearing wall on the left side (street view) between the garage and house you could install a beam under the ridge supported by the bearing walls on both sides, thereby allowing you to remove all the joists and ceiling in the garage for max lifting room.

 

[Iceman22]

LOL on raising the garage now. However, the rafters and joists look substantial even for older work. No trusses, built in place by guys swinging framing hammers.

So those aren't trusses? (please forgive my stupidity)

The bay at the end of the garage by the side wall looks - to me - ripe for a tray ceiling, or even removing the joists in that area and insulating under the rafters (with some ridge venting). Also, assuming there is a bearing wall on the left side (street view) between the garage and house you could install a beam under the ridge supported by the bearing walls on both sides, thereby allowing you to remove all the joists and ceiling in the garage for max lifting room.

More stupid questions....do I want it to be vented if I plan on heating the whole garage? Winters routinely dip into the teens or single digits where I live. If you can't tell I certainly won't be doing the work myself but I'd like to be well informed so I don't get taken to the cleaners by a contractor.

Yes, the wall between the house and the garage is load bearing or at least I think it is.... There's a big steal I beam that runs between that wall and my chimney above the ceiling in the living room. Is what you're describing what previous member was talking about when they mentioned a ridgebeam roof?

 

[kbs2244]

If you have a vaulted ceiling in your living room then that steel beam is the ridge beam for your roof over the vault.
It is common to have a ridge beam over a vaulted ceiling living room and conventual ridge board framing over the bed rooms.

I am guessing what your carpenter would do is put a beam under the current ridge board with temporary supports.
The beam may be steel or double or triple 2 x's depending on his preference.
He may want to fish it through the gable vent in your right peak.
Then permanent supports for the new beam ends are put in the left and right walls.

He will need to put Simson connectors at the current rafter/roof board joint and the rafter/top plate joint because those joints will change from compression to tension when the joists are removed.

At this point the weight of your roof is supported by the new beam and it's end posts and the joists and those verticals hanging down to them can be removed.

What you will end up with is no exterior changes at all.
Just all that high space now useable.
I would guess no permit would be needed since you are not adding any square footage.
But that is a local thing.
If you care, all this should be able to be done with the doors closed.
But plan on buying some cooling fans.

But get a guy with framing experience, not just a low cost nail pounder.
You are reversing the push and pull of the whole roof assembly and you need a guy that understands that.