trusses in garage

[Marlys Gwaltney]

I have a 24' x 24' garage that has homemade trusses set 4' on center. The trusses span the width of the garage and have an M setup. I'm sorry I don't know the name of the this type of truss. The trusses are all 2x4 construction. I need to insulate and turn the garage into a workable workshop, but am worried about the structural integrity by adding more weight to the ceiling with drywall and insulation and nailing surfaces for the drywall. I have had suggestions of running 2x4s perpendicular to the trusses to provide a nailing surface for the drywall and another suggestion of building more homemade trusses so that they will be on all the rafters and be 2' on center. Please offer any help that you can.

[gbeaumont]

Originally Posted by Marlys Gwaltney

I have a 24' x 24' garage that has homemade trusses set 4' on center. The trusses span the width of the garage and have an M setup. I'm sorry I don't know the name of the this type of truss. The trusses are all 2x4 construction. I need to insulate and turn the garage into a workable workshop, but am worried about the structural integrity by adding more weight to the ceiling with drywall and insulation and nailing surfaces for the drywall. I have had suggestions of running 2x4s perpendicular to the trusses to provide a nailing surface for the drywall and another suggestion of building more homemade trusses so that they will be on all the rafters and be 2' on center. Please offer any help that you can.

Hi Marlys,

it does sound like your roof structure is fairly light, I would have to suggest that you engage a structural engineer or Architect to assess the current roof framing and design suitable strengthening to meet your needs.

Sorry not be able to help more but what your asking is an engineering issue which home inspectors are not qualified to comment on.

Regards

Gerry

[Bruce A. King]

Good advice Gerry.

I might add that it sounds less than 50 percent adequate.

Even if you had 2 ft on center, it would not be right if you use homemade trusses.
You can not easily construct any truss connector system to match the ones used in the truss factories.

I inspected an old carport once that had very heavy duty looking homemade trusses. They had sagged very badly over the years due to lack of proper construction.
The weight of the lumber itself was part of the problem.

[Bob Elliott]

Think he could go with a floating ceiling?

[Richard A. Hetzel]

Floating on what??

There is no way, without seeing the trusses and noting every small detail, that their carrying capacity can be determined. We don't even know what region you are located in, so we don't know what live load (snow load) to use. This is definitely a job for a local structural engineeer, and certainly not for any forum member anywhere, not just here.

[Marlys Gwaltney]

Thanks for your input. There is no obvious sagging, cracks, flaws or visible verification that the trusses are inadequate. The garage is about 7 years old and has been subjected to moderate snowfalls/hail/wind in Kansas. In transforming this from a mere garage to a workshop, the main worry has always been that I would decrease the structural integrity of the building. I appreciate the replies and was hoping (really hoping) for a quicker and cheaper fix than what has been running through my head. Alas, it seems that a call to a structural engineer and contractor may be my only course of action. Thanks again for your replies.