JZG85
Member
Hi all,
Just found this place and thought maybe someone has been in my situation before or could come up with some ideas to help me proceed.
I recently got my first house about 6 months ago which has a 500 sq ft detached garage behind it that I want to use as a shop. The interior is not finished at all but due to summers here consistently exceeding 110F, I have to insulate it. I'm not sure how hot it gets in there but it's got to be close to 130. This is in California and moisture is not a huge problem here.
The shop was built in 88 or 89, all 2x4, with regular trusses. 4 soffit vents total and 1 gable vent on each end. I added a solar attic fan to one of the gable vents. Currently there is no ridge vent.
On the interior it's regular trusses (not sure of the pitch), 24 OC with ceiling joists at 8 ft. Not many people are understanding why I don't just drywall the ceiling at 8' and call it done but I really, really, do not want a shop closed in that low. I know that raising the structural ceiling, you might as well rip the roof off and start over with a different truss type.
What I'm thinking of doing, and I know it's not ideal or great aesthetics, is to work around the existing trusses and vault the ceiling up to at least 10 ft or so, and then flatten the ceiling across a 2x3 or 2x4 similar to a collar tie. As far as I understand, I won't be compromising the structural strength or doing anything that cant be reversed.
For insulation, I would use 1" polyiso foam board (R-6) in the rafter bays, with a 1.5" air gap between the decking from the frieze/bird blocking to the mini attic space near the ridge. Behind that I would use either R-15 or R-23 mineral wool. This requires some sistering, furring, or something of the rafters to add some depth. The last layer would be galvanized corrugated paneling because it's light, not flammable, I can get it up there between the trusses, and I don't think it will put much stress on the rafters. I think I can make the corrugated paneling look OK in the end with some creative thinking. The ventilation does require cutting a 1.5" slot into each frieze/bird block but I did try it on one with an oscillating tool and it's doable.
From the exterior wall truss on each end to the adjacent truss, I would finish the ceiling at 8' ft with drywall. This would connect both gable vents and the mini attic so the entire roof is vented... who knows what the airflow would ultimately do though. A ridge vent might make more sense and could possibly do that down the road and seal up the gable vents.
So lots of work, maybe a crazy idea, and not sure what the best way would be to increase the remaining rafter bay depth. 5.5" is needed for R-23 mineral wool, I can almost get there by (daughtering?) a 2x4 to the rafters.
Just put the corrugated panel up there to visualize it, not fastened.
Idea of about where the flat ceiling would be
Just found this place and thought maybe someone has been in my situation before or could come up with some ideas to help me proceed.
I recently got my first house about 6 months ago which has a 500 sq ft detached garage behind it that I want to use as a shop. The interior is not finished at all but due to summers here consistently exceeding 110F, I have to insulate it. I'm not sure how hot it gets in there but it's got to be close to 130. This is in California and moisture is not a huge problem here.
The shop was built in 88 or 89, all 2x4, with regular trusses. 4 soffit vents total and 1 gable vent on each end. I added a solar attic fan to one of the gable vents. Currently there is no ridge vent.
On the interior it's regular trusses (not sure of the pitch), 24 OC with ceiling joists at 8 ft. Not many people are understanding why I don't just drywall the ceiling at 8' and call it done but I really, really, do not want a shop closed in that low. I know that raising the structural ceiling, you might as well rip the roof off and start over with a different truss type.
What I'm thinking of doing, and I know it's not ideal or great aesthetics, is to work around the existing trusses and vault the ceiling up to at least 10 ft or so, and then flatten the ceiling across a 2x3 or 2x4 similar to a collar tie. As far as I understand, I won't be compromising the structural strength or doing anything that cant be reversed.
For insulation, I would use 1" polyiso foam board (R-6) in the rafter bays, with a 1.5" air gap between the decking from the frieze/bird blocking to the mini attic space near the ridge. Behind that I would use either R-15 or R-23 mineral wool. This requires some sistering, furring, or something of the rafters to add some depth. The last layer would be galvanized corrugated paneling because it's light, not flammable, I can get it up there between the trusses, and I don't think it will put much stress on the rafters. I think I can make the corrugated paneling look OK in the end with some creative thinking. The ventilation does require cutting a 1.5" slot into each frieze/bird block but I did try it on one with an oscillating tool and it's doable.
From the exterior wall truss on each end to the adjacent truss, I would finish the ceiling at 8' ft with drywall. This would connect both gable vents and the mini attic so the entire roof is vented... who knows what the airflow would ultimately do though. A ridge vent might make more sense and could possibly do that down the road and seal up the gable vents.
So lots of work, maybe a crazy idea, and not sure what the best way would be to increase the remaining rafter bay depth. 5.5" is needed for R-23 mineral wool, I can almost get there by (daughtering?) a 2x4 to the rafters.
Just put the corrugated panel up there to visualize it, not fastened.
Idea of about where the flat ceiling would be
Last edited:
