Can I convert my attic into living space?

16 years ago

I have a prefab trussed roof. There is an attic hatch (with steps that we installed) which we use to get up there. There is a storage space in the attic as well as our air handler and water heater so it is definitely a working attic. In the storage and utility areas some of the trusses are gone. Is there any way to remove other trusses so that we can create more usable space up there without causing our roof to blow away? Would we have to replace our roof with a different kind of roofing system to get more attic space? I'm in Florida where things do tend to blow away.

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Comments (8)

Jon1270
16 years ago
I'm not sure of the absolute limits on what you can do, but aren't most residential trusses made from 2x4s, including the bottom chord? If so, they wouldn't make good floor joists.
worthy
16 years ago
First, check whether it's even legal in your jurisdiction.

How did some of the trusses go missing?? Previous diy jobs? If anything, you may have to add back the support they took away.

Occasionally servicing equipment and storing things is not the equivalent of using an area for living space. If you want to do it right, get an engineer's opinion and follow his recommendations.
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Was it built from the beginning with joists that can support a live load, or was it only designed for storage? There IS a difference. What is the interior height? Code requires a 7' height to be considered livable space and you have to allow for room for insulation. What type of access does it currently have? You will have to take up room for the stairs both in the attic and on the floor below. Does it currently have any windows? Are they legal egress size? I already mentioned insulation, but it's really important, as is how you are planning to heat and cool the additional space. A mini split would be the easiest, but if the system in your home is old, you may want to have new calculations done, add some ducting, and replace the home's current HVAC with a unit that can handle all of the space. If the home was built from the beginning to be convertible, and has a nice high pitch with around 9' interior height, then you could have an easy project. That's not the same thing as an inexpensive project. Just a less expensive project than a difficult to convert space would be. 50K is about average.
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OP here. My roof is in great shape so I won't be replacing it any time soon plus it has some interesting curves to it so adding rigid foam and sleepers over the roof deck might be more trouble than its worth. See pic: I do have the gable vents and the giant vent over the porch so I think ventilation in the front part of the attic (the shorter knee wall in the original picture) is ok. I think what I've decided to do is to add soffit vents on the back of the house (where there are no intake vents). Then I'll install a foil radiant barrier on the bottom of the roof deck in all of the accessible attic areas. I will pull down the wood paneling stuff, add rigid foam between the studs in the knee wall as well as the roof rafters, and install sheetrock over it all. Its all 2x6 so I should be able to get 4 inches of foam (R20 or so) in there while still leaving a 2 inch gap for air flow under the roof. I found a guy on craigslist selling 4 inch closed cell foam at 75c per sqft. I've also thought about being cheap and just using fiberglass batts (r16) with baffles on the roof deck instead of foam. That would cost r4 but save quite a bit of money. So long as I make sure I've got a good air seal with the sheetrock and plenty of ventilation, after that, its all down to r value right? I've also essentially given up on the thought of spray foam on the roof deck. That would cost in the neighborhood of 5k plus the cost of ripping off and reinstalling the sheetrock.
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Do you mean to convert the auto area in the garage to a habitable room, or do you mean convert the overhead truss space to a habitable room. Your description is confusing. First step: check with your local jurisdiction to see if your zoning requires two enclosed or covered parking spaces. Don't do anything which would make your house nonconforming to local zoning. Second: any "habitable room" in the existing truss space is going to be very small and not really usable. More importantly, it will have to be insulated, heated, cooled with electrical power added. Will you need water supply and waste lines as well? How will you access the overhead space? Will there be interior or exterior stairs? The expense of all of this makes it very questionable as a cost-effective project, IMO. You will certainly need an architect or structural engineer to inspect the existing conditions to see if your project is feasible or even possible. Good luck!
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jegr
16 years ago
Prefab trusses without attics are designed to put a roof on your house, not for living space.
To use your trussed attic for anything beyond minimal storage you need stronger bottom chords (the floor in the attic) and you need stronger rafters. All those missing pieces are what made your roof strong.
'Worthy' is right - consult an engineer.
jerzeegirl
Original Author
16 years ago
The trusses aren't missing - the roof is designed to allow for some storage space - mostly for the a/c and water heater. The house is only 20 years old and that's the way the attic has always been.

You guys are right. I didn't realize that the floor (chords) was part of the roof. So if I wanted to add living space upstairs, the way to do it would be to add a complete new floor, rather than try to use the attic (which obviously is impossible).

Thanks guys!
oruboris
16 years ago
I'd have an architect or structural engineer look at it.

May turn out to be do-able with some re-inforcement, may not.
rjoh878646
16 years ago
I will tell you one thing, You cannot convert a truss roof attic into living space. the trusses are not meant for the loads that a living space requires. You are better off ripping off the roof and building another floor. Anything else will not pass building codes. A tv show from canada called "holmes on homes" broadcast on the discovery home channel here in the US fixed a house where the homeowners hired an incompentant contractor to convert their attic into living space. He ended up ripping the whole thing off and started over. Check out the link for show episodes

Here is a link that might be useful: holmes on homes
lazypup
16 years ago
You better consult an engineer before attempting to remove the existing roof and add another floor too. It would totally depend upon whether the footers are strictly for a single story structure or whether they could support another floor.

To determine the footer load they would need to know the exact detail of the existing footers as well as the local geological conditions.
Michael
16 years ago
If that space becomes a bedroom, egress is required.

Michael

Can I convert my attic into living space?

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Jon1270

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Can I convert my attic into living space?

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Jon1270

worthy

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