Posted: 4/27/2010 8:02:36 AM EDT
| Im wanting to raise the ceiling in my garage from the current 8 ft to possibly 12 or 13 ft. I currently have trusses and was curious to know how I need to go about doing this. I realize pics will most likely be needed and I will try and post some as soon as I get home but what would be the most practical way to go about doing this? Raising the whole roof and extending the walls? Tearing off the roof and replacing with a different type of truss or bracing and cutting the existing trusses? And what would a reasonable idea on what something of this nature would cost? 5k 10k? |
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It's not a structural engineering problem. It's a cost-of-construction problem. I, or any other structural engineer, could design all sorts of solutions that will work, and are generally economically feasible. If the garage is freestanding (i.e., not attached to your house) then raising the walls and trying to salvage the existing roof trusses is probably not a bad idea. There are so many factors that go into this: age and condition of existing roof, age and condition of foundation, height restrictions of your local building code for garages and accessory structures, etc. |
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Quoted:
It's not a structural engineering problem. It's a cost-of-construction problem. I, or any other structural engineer, could design all sorts of solutions that will work, and are generally economically feasible. If the garage is freestanding (i.e., not attached to your house) then raising the walls and trying to salvage the existing roof trusses is probably not a bad idea. There are so many factors that go into this: age and condition of existing roof, age and condition of foundation, height restrictions of your local building code for garages and accessory structures, etc. This is the stuff I need to be knowing lol... Age is less than 5 years old the condition of the roof I would rate as good as new, foundation was poured when the garage was built, not sure on height restrictions, the garage is free standing, I have a pic of the garage just no pics of the trusses...Thx Dz 
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Quoted: That's a nice garage! Talk to a local contractor about what it would cost to raise the roof 5'. I don't think it's practical to reconfigure the trusses.This is the stuff I need to be knowing lol... Age is less than 5 years old the condition of the roof I would rate as good as new, foundation was poured when the garage was built, not sure on height restrictions, the garage is free standing, I have a pic of the garage just no pics of the trusses...Thx Dz http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h24/wpsharpshooter/House/Garage008.jpg |
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Most house movers would probably consider that a fairly easy "raise"
They would probably slice the anchor bolts off with a Sawzall, (between the sill plate and the concrete foundation.) A heavy 12-inch channel iron on each side of each long wall lagged into every wall stud a couple feet off the floor, and extending a few feet beyond each end wall would probably pick it easily if the walls were cross-braced properly and lifted slowly, similtaneously, and STRAIGHT UP. (Big hydraulic jacks under the ends of the channels.) The ground under the jacks would need to be tested for load-bearing ability and possibly dug out and compacted gravel placed as appropriate. The wall studs could then be sistered with new ones after the sill plate was knocked off, or the whole thing simply set back down on a new 4-foot high block wall, etc. You could probably do it yourself with a lot of ambition, a weekend of hard work and a few smart construction-oriented buddies. You could re-sell the channel iron for probably 75% or more of what you paid for it new and could probably rent hydraulic jacks. Raising it from the very bottom would allow you to leave the existing siding alone for the most part, and it would look good with brick-face or a contrasting colored siding on the lower one-third of the wall... Get a permit if requred. http://devooghthouseandbuildingmovers.com/ |