Cutting Trusses For Attic Access

Remember with the plywood sheathing already nailed to the trusses it will act to keep the whole thing together.

Cutting trusses for attic access.

We recently converted some existing 30 common trusses into attic trusses. Watch as builders license institute instructor rodger peck shows you how to assemble and install an attic access. Trusses are similar to roof rafters. These trusses are usually engineered by a structural engineering company in order to carry a specific roof load.

Currently there is limited attic storage on a plywood subfloor on the bottom chords accessed via a small hatch in a closet. Most common attic trusses for homes and garages are made with 2x4 s. One use of trusses is for the support of a roof. What you must understand is that the ceiling joist is as structurally integral to a trussed rafter as the roof rafter as confirmed by the structural engineers he has.

A little more cutting and you can make room for the ridge beam again with only a minor exposure to the weather. Most modifications are possible but money spent on an engineer is well spent. When a truss becomes damaged cut or modified there is a. While they look the same you probably didn t notice the subtle differences.

Just last night i was talking with an associate who picked up a small job cutting in an attic access pull down door and placing a bunch of sheets of plywood on the ceiling joists. Our home has 2x4 roof trusses spanning 25 ft. Let s compare common roof trusses with the roof framing materials that were used in your parent s house. Just changing 3 trusses required over 1000 in materials and 4000 gun spikes.

Cutting a bit of the trusses usually isn t a problem given that it s extremely temporary at this point. Homeowners should avoid cutting or modifying their roof trusses. That sounds like cutting ceiling joists to me.