To attic truss or not

[thammel]

my 32 x 28 has attic trusses which gives me a 28 x 12 foot room. I have 6/12 roof pitch. I think it's a smart thing to do....great storage, man room, get away, etc.

Tom

 

[38Chevy454]

I am liking the idea of a raised heal, I did some sketching and I think it could work pretty good. When I drop back from 10/12 pitch down to 8/12, I fall below 25' and things look well proportioned. Some CAD sketching below.

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That seems like a great idea and good way to get the attic space, while still keeping the original main floor dimensions and meeting the height requirements.

 

[n20junkie]

Here is a quick video of my garage with attic trusses. It was a quick video, and it's rough, but you get the idea.


The roof is a standard gable, 8/12 pitch with standard attic trusses. Garage is a 30x50.

 

[sdo]

Here is a quick video of my garage with attic trusses. It was a quick video, and it's rough, but you get the idea.


The roof is a standard gable, 8/12 pitch with standard attic trusses. Garage is a 30x50.

Thanks for taking the time to post this video, very nice project you have there. Very similar in scale to what I am looking at as well.

 

[Farrier]

I keep reading about extra cost for attic trusses? Is it a because they can charge whatever sort of thing?

 

[sdo]

I keep reading about extra cost for attic trusses? Is it a because they can charge whatever sort of thing?

The truss cost would be expected to cost more, just by way of more material and labor to build attic trusses vs conventional. Then the labor to frame and set trusses, additional decking materials and labor, handling girder trusses, framing stairs etc etc, its a snowball effect.

 

[Mike.VA]

YES to attic truss. Just like many of the others have said - YES, DO IT!

Here is my thread.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=351813

The attic will save my garage from getting cluttered with all that **** that comes into the garage.

 

[matt_i]

I think I paid roughly $2500 extra for the attic trusses for my 25x40 shop.

If I had more room I would have requested a design for a 3 foot on-center gap to be a permanent stairway to it. Instead I have the standard 2ft center opening.

The additional cost I found was the 3/4" sanded T+G plywood that I put in for the flooring. The width of opening in the center is around 12' 0-1/2" so 3 sheets lay down perfectly without any sawing.

Another benefit was the 2x10 bottom chord which gives a good bit of room to insulate, all the way out to the edge of the wall, instead of having to taper the ceiling insulation or use the air channels to maintain full ceiling insulation all the way out. It is going to be harder to loose-full insulate with the flooring already in-place though.

 

[Bluedodge]

I kick myself constantly for not putting in bonus room rafters in our 26 x 36 when we built back in '93. If only I could claim a mulligan.....

 

[Farrier]

The truss cost would be expected to cost more, just by way of more material and labor to build attic trusses vs conventional. Then the labor to frame and set trusses, additional decking materials and labor, handling girder trusses, framing stairs etc etc, its a snowball effect.

I get that final finish with attic trusses cost more because of flooring, insulation, etc, but what I don't get is the added expense to have attic trusses built. I see that their is more material required to construct, but it doesn't seem excessive; at least not compared to standard truss configuration. I'm gathering that truss company's simply charge more for attic configuration because they can, and not do to an substantial increase in material requirements

 

[n20junkie]

My trusses cost $225 a piece for 30' wide attic trusses. I can't see them being a whole lot cheaper for non attic style. It's not like I paid twice as much.

Some of the expense of an attic is NOT the truss companies issue. It is the fact that 24" spacing is the max for an attic. So that means MORE trusses needed compared to a roof that only has to support itself and a bit of snow for the northern guys. More trusses will of course cost more.

It is cumulative. A little bit more for the attic trusses, a little bit more for more trusses, a little bit more the floor, a little bit more for the stairs....... it all adds up unfortunately.

 

[Samato]

Hello,

I am putting up a 24 wide by 36 garage and am debating on attic trusses. I’m doing a 12” footer and 4” slab

I don’t really want the 12/12 pitch though. Totally new and a rookie at this and looking for advice.

In Alaska


Thanks all

 

[firebirdparts]

Hello,

I am putting up a 24 wide by 36 garage and am debating on attic trusses. I’m doing a 12” footer and 4” slab

I don’t really want the 12/12 pitch though. Totally new and a rookie at this and looking for advice.

In Alaska


Thanks all

With a 24 foot wide building you'd need at least a 10/12; You could cheat a little on the interior height. The 2nd floor of my house has 7-1/2 foot ceilings. It's not bad. the dimensions on my house are a bit irregular, but not far off 24 feet and 10/12. You generate a lot of room.

 

[cabin fever]

Friend of mine did them in his but its 36 ft wide. They are nice. His wife basically claimed the space though.

I really wanted to in mine but mine is to narrow and the extra space id gain didnt seem worth it.

 

[Ray-CA]

We built a 28x30 with attic trusses for 8-ft and scissor trusses for the rest. Use pull down stairs to access the storage area.

Ray

 

[nadogail]

Have you considered a Pull Down Attic Stair?

 

[Milzo]

I have a 36x48 shop with attic trusses. my trusses are 2x10 bottom cord with a live load rating of 40psf. interior height of 7ft and width of 14ft. if interested I can take some pictures. installing stairs in next week or so and a dumb waiter.

 

[like2wheel]

With a 24 foot wide building you'd need at least a 10/12; You could cheat a little on the interior height. The 2nd floor of my house has 7-1/2 foot ceilings. It's not bad. the dimensions on my house are a bit irregular, but not far off 24 feet and 10/12. You generate a lot of room.

I have attic trusses in the 24' wide portion of my barn with a 6/12 roof. You cant stand up in the room, but it works well for storage. 9' wide.

 

[jmarkwolf]

Still in the dream phase of planning my detached garage build. I am estimating a size of no more than 1200 sq ft. (30 x 40). I am going back and forth about attic trusses. The biggest concerns against are cost and some loss of floor space with interior steps (I am in MN).

Put a "closet" under the stairs to recover most of the space.

 

[gearhead1]

Biggest mistake I made when building by detached garage was not using attic trusses I Kick myself every day over it. The slight additional cost and the very small amount of space lost to the stairs would have been well worth it over the years.

I did the analysis, I couldn’t build a shed that size for the additional cost of attic trusses, the few extra roof sheathing, shingles, and 3/4 OSB for the floor. I have 800 sq ft upstairs! Bottom is 36’ x 50’, 2nd floor ‘attic’ is 16’ x 50’.

 

[renloy]

Do it. I regret letting the contractor talk me out of the attic trusses when I built my shop.

 

[jkuro]

Why not just stick build for your future plans and scrap the truss option.

 

[brownbagg]

what about fold down attic stairs

 

[gearhead1]

A lot of room upstairs.

 

[cabin fever]

I did the analysis, I couldn’t build a shed that size for the additional cost of attic trusses, the few extra roof sheathing, shingles, and 3/4 OSB for the floor. I have 800 sq ft upstairs! Bottom is 36’ x 50’, 2nd floor ‘attic’ is 16’ x 50’.


Sweet shop!

 

[acer66]

I Second was my code dept said I would have to do full footers and walls if I had them or a second floor of any type.

What kind of footers do you have?

 

[rburke65]

Everyone...ya do realize this is a 3 year old post, right? Do attic trusses and a stairway....no pull down

 

[like2wheel]

ya do realize everyone is now replying to post 52 from yesterday, right?

 

[twistedstang]

I'm building a 30 wide x 24 deep with attic trusses this summer...as long as my variances get approved. I'm in town with limited space for a shop and want the carriage house look since I'm in an older house. Going with a 30' truss, I'm getting a 14.5 wide room upstairs. Im putting the staircase outside in the back to keep as much room as possible inside.

 

[tapout187]

I chose to go with gambrel attic trusses and super happy I did. It was for sure more money up front but the square footage I gained is awesome. I just waited a little longer and saved up the extra money. No regrets at all. As for the stairs eating up floor space I did also decide to make garage a few feet deeper (price option for that wasn’t too bad) and built the bathroom and utility/compressor rooms underneath.

 

[acer66]

I chose to go with gambrel attic trusses and super happy I did. It was for sure more money up front but the square footage I gained is awesome. I just waited a little longer and saved up the extra money. No regrets at all. As for the stairs waiting up floor space I did also decide to make garage a few feet deeper (price option for that wasn’t too bad) and built the bathroom and utility/compressor rooms underneath.

Looks great and I am in the camp of having the stairs inside too.