Old garage rafter adding bracing

[lafr0023]

Looking for ideas on how to / needed bracing for a old 50's? garage.
22' x 14' framed with 2"x4" 16in on center. Not a fancy garage at all and has settled a little bit over the years

The garage is at my girlfriends place, that she moved into 2 years ago. She didn't put much thought into at time of purchase. Being naive to the can of worms, I offered my limited skills in cleaning it up(adding shelving, adding some more lighting, painting, etc).

I turned to the rafters and what the previous owners/she had going on up there.
The rafters have three rafter ties for half the garage. The other half has no rafter ties as the garage door(old with tall panels) rises above the level of the wall plate when opening.

These rafter ties are 2"x 4" spanning the width set 48" on center, doubled up on two of the three rafters. above this they had placed heavy 1" thick hardwood scrap boards to create storage space(nothing screwed together). then they put shingles, tar paper rolls, old lumber, more heavy stuff. I know this wasn't cool so all of the items and boards have came down.

She still would like some storage space there, I compromised with only very light plywood and only empty coolers/folding lawn chairs/very limited.

So here is where I am with my plans, looking for feedback and ideas if you could:
1) place collar ties on all of the rafters. currently no ridge beam, just nailed together.
2) add vertical supports from the existing rafter ties to the rafters. two on each side of each rafter.

Uncertain:
3) do I try to add a strongback support down the middle length? To clear the garage door, It would have to be ~9" above the wall plate on the half. I am not sure how I would tie the existing rafter ties to this or if it is worth it.

Should I just forget the added support down the length and add some rafter ties above the garage door(off the wall plate but in the bottom third of the height?

Ultimate goal is to shore up the overall support of the roof(MN winters with snow) while adding the limited, limited storage area on part of the space.
Sorry for the long post, any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[jetnow1]

What size are the roof rafters? You might be able to add diagonal bracing between the rafters and the rafter ties, in effect converting them to w truss. Would kill the storage thou. What are you going tp do about the garage doors? Rafter ties will still help as long as they are not too high.

 

[lafr0023]

The roof rafters are 2"x4". I had thought about adding the diagonal, but wanted to try to leave that space if I could.

The garage door is staying as is. not in the budget to replace that at this time. If anything, that is why I mentioned placing rafter ties over the garage door space, they just wouldn't sit directly on the wall plate, but still in the bottom third of the rafter height.
That approach makes having a strongback support more difficult.

 

[spudley]

Assuming the garage width is 14', I'd add the rafter ties above the plate allowing room for the door. At 14', rafter ties will help more than collar ties.
Just keep your anvil collection on the floor.

 

[lafr0023]

14' -> 13'6" roughly inside the studs.
With it being so old and no ridge beam, there is a bit of separation(not enough to panic) at the peak. That is where the collar tie came in. MN snow probably doesn't help that.

The height of the rafters is 34", if i put the rafter ties in above the door, I could get them in at 10" above the wall plate. Forgoing the strongback because of the door clearance, would 2x4 suffice for the rafter tie and maybe just add a couple more?(lumber isn't that expensive)

Since the rafter tie would not sit directly on the wall plate, would a rafter tie larger than a 2x4 make much of a difference?

 

[firebirdparts]

Rafter ties everywhere will certainly be the right thing to do. if the garage is 14' wide, then it would be nice, I think, put 2 by 6's across through there. A 14' 2x4 is a pretty long 2x4, but it'll work as a rafter tie in the part where you don't want storage. Wood is unbelievably strong in tension and compression. The nails will be the limiting factor on its effectiveness as a rafter tie.

Wood is cheap, so I think the strongback is a fine idea, but it's not useful for holding the building up. It'll help hold the storage up.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Our shop is considerabley older, and it showed its age...

We ended up running parallel 2x6 lumber and tying it all together with drilled and tightened bolts... also rebuilt one sagging wall at the same time, insulated and sheeted it, and it went from "hope it doesn't come down under the snow load" to solid again.

 

[3onthetree]

Put a rafter tie on every rafter (code). Minimum 2x8 for light storage on a 14' span. No vertical posts/purlins to roof rafters. Plan for collar ties is good.