Making Attic Space Usable With Trusses

Making sure your attic loft or mezzanine can be a usable living space is key.

Making attic space usable with trusses.

My home is around 15 years old and the attic is accessed through a panel in the ceiling of a closet. I am new on the board and seeking advice on how to locate an engineer or architect to determine if i can make my attic into usable space. Unfortunately my home builder had framed out the attic using a common truss system utilizing 2x4 s see attached picture of exact type although my roof is much steeper and no middle non bearing wall below. The space is filled with trusses.

In reading some other threads and doing some research on converting attics i quickly realized that attempting. Watch how to make extra space in your attic that is not being used. The role of the horizontal beam is to tie the truss together and carry the load that would otherwise be sustained by the support and vertical timber also known as the king post. This framing style typically provides the most open space in an attic.

The attic space is 22 on the side parallel to the trusses 28 on the other side. This same truss framed as a light storage truss costs just 87. Trusses are like big structural triangles that have angled top pieces that serve as rafters horizontal pieces that serve as floor joists and interconnecting web pieces that give the triangle strength. From boxes and bags to bigger ticket items attic plus can tell you how to make a truss attic suitable for storage.

This is especially us. It s a 12 12 roof so that s a good 11 at the ridge which even with new floor joists and a 5 knee wall should be plenty of room for a nice space. The structure must be wide enough and the roof steep enough to allow space for a loft area with. An attic truss is a type of roof truss with an open space at its bottom center to accommodate a living space with webbing above and on either side of this living space.

A regular common truss with a 24 foot span and a 10 12 roof pitch with no storage space costs 69 in my market at this time. The trusses are double cantilever style. There s plenty of room to make a 12 x 12 room with 10 foot ceiling at its peak. In order to create an attic truss certain conditions must be met in the plan.

Attic conversions are now possible by replacing the truss rafters with a shaped trusses or horizontal beams which in return create additional space. If you want a full blown attic truss with a room the cost of a single truss is just 158. While the area in a trussed roof can limit what you do with the space the team at attic plus can help you create a storage area to eliminate clutter in your home.