Roof Modification

[LHensh]

Hi all,

I am in the process of planning my garage sim but before I can do anything, I need to resolve a ceiling height issue.

My garage only has 8ft 4 inches from floor to joist, so I will need to modify the roof to be able to remove 3-4 of the horizintal beams to give me the additional clearance I need to be able to swing comfortably.

I know I will need professional guidance from an SE to ensure the adjustments are made safely, but I'm wondering if anyone here has modified a similar roof to accommodate their build? If so, how did you go about it and what was the cost involved?

Thanks
Dan

[Bobby]

Yes. Did something very similar. Had an SE draw up plans to raise the ceiling joists from 8 feet to 9.5 feet on a 5/12 pitch with site built rafters. Had to beef up the existing rafters and add more bracing but it was very successful. I used an SE from Upwork.com. Great experience. $700 USD for stamped drawings. Did the work myself so can’t give you exact cost but for my 20 x 18 garage it took me 40 hours. I’d guess you could get a framer to do it all in a day or two plus materials.

[Dax]

It has been done. Rick Shields has a video of his version 2 sim room video where he did something that you could watch. However, given the spacing between your rafters, what if you swing directly below one of the rafters? There seems to be a good amount of room between them that you may not need to do any other adjustments?

[JHarsen]

I’m in process of raising my roof in my 20x24 garage. Truss system similar to yours. It cost me 500 for plans from structural engineer, approximately 1000 for supplies, and 700 in labor costs. So roughly 2200 total.

[mthunt]

You only need a foot. You could sister up 2x8's to the roof trusses and then cross them at 9'4". It would be cheap and safe. Is there a snow issue? How much?

[fortner28]

How far apart are the joists? The picture may be deceiving because they look at least 2 feet apart. There are probably a few options to tie everything together in that situation. If you have someone else do it I can see that costing about $2500.

[Bobby]

For my garage this is exactly what the SE prescribed. Sister 2x6s to all rafters and add 2x6 ceiling joists at each rafter 2’ on center. I live in a mild climate so no snow load and I have a composite roof. Just looked at my lumber bill. $550 for the lumber. Maybe $100 more in Simpson ties and structural screws.

You only need a foot. You could sister up 2x8's to the roof trusses and then cross them at 9'4". It would be cheap and safe. Is there a snow issue? How much?

[mthunt]

Perfect. Do it. You’ll love it.

[LHensh]

Thanks for all the replies.

Dax - I have seen the Rick Shields sim video but not one where he talks about tacking his ceiling issue. Do you have a link?

I think the photo is deceiving on the joist spacing, but I'm going to give the garage a good clear out and try some swings just to check.

JHarsen - is that price to raise the whole roof? If so, much cheaper than I thought it would be. What solution did your SE come up with?

mthunt - I like the sound of this, I would just need to make sure I had enough height for the width of my swing as my garage is only 13ft.
I live in the North East of England near the coast, so snow isn't an issue

Bobby - not sure by what you mean by ceiling joists at each rafter 2' on center. Do you have a diagram you could share?

Thanks
Dan

[JHarsen]

That is the cost to modify the truss system. I am cutting out the trusses. Reinforcing the rafters with 2x8 and 2 LVL Beams, and add rafter ties. It brings my height from 9’ to 11’.

[Bobby]

Rafters are the support that runs from the top of the wall to the ridge (peak) of the roof. In the US, typically they are placed every two feet. I had to attach another piece of wood 2x6 to the existing 2x4 rafter and then at 9 foot 6 inches in height at every rafter there is a new horizontal ceiling joist 2x6 connecting the two rafters. It looks like the letter “A” now. I’ll see if I can find my drawings but either way I’d draw up your garage and send it to a pro to give you the correct modifications.

[LHensh]

Thanks for the reply, I can picture it now

[LHensh]

Did you need to do this for the whole roof or just the section you were increasing the height for?

[Hacker1]

should be straightforward just need someone who knows what they are doing. I raised a section of my roof to enable me to swing a driver.

[Hacker1]

I think it would depend on what clubs you are going to use and how centred you want to be. I think 1.2m might be tight if you want to use driver to wedge but it depends if you are going to move your hitting position. I feel 1.8m gives me confidence I wont hit anything if I have a bad swing. Id go for 1.8 if you can then there is no regrets!

[FourRight]

Hacker1 I have been trawling the simulator forums for what seems like an eternity looking for the roof set up you have.

Quick query - how did you manage it? From the photos posted it looks like you have fink trusses installed and a single skin wall construction with weight bearing occurring at garage entrance and personal door.

It looks like you have generated a gusset in order to increase the height of the bottom chord (raising the ceiling height in the area required). Was this easily achieved? Did you require the help of a SE?

[Hacker1]

FourRight yes its a single skinned wall. Its only a car port so timber/truss support is fairly basic. An SE was not required but someone with building experience/knowledge was to ensure it was done correctly. I have to confess I'm not an expert but basically the lateral beams (running back to front) don't bear weight as such as this is on the front and back load bearing beams and trusses but they do keep the trusses in place and give support so as long as they were not removed but just raised it has not impacted structurally. Basically the trusses need to maintain strength so as long as you achieve this it was ok. It was relatively easy to do Sorry hope that helps.