Framing Question

[motrctyman]

I don't know much about this and would like some input from others if you don't mind. Would truly ruin my day if my ceiling caved in...

Before I install my IB, I need to remove this structural piece running down the center of my ceiling, across the joists. It is a poor picture here (I'm glad I at least took some pictures during construction). The single brace running perpendicular to the joists is the one I am referring to towards the bottom of the picture. It is a 2x6 running end to end with another 2x6 fastened to the top of it perpendicular, creating what I think is a piece to either prevent the ceiling from sagging or possibly racking back and forth.



If I cut a small section of this out at one end of the roof and then replace it with almost 400lbs of MDF, OSB, and Speakers, will I have problems with my ceiling? I will have almost an 8' span between the joists for my manifold and can fasten something more significant on the sides...but do not know if this is enough or if I even need to worry about it.

I'm sure it is there for a reason as the framers who framed my house wouldn't even use an extra nail if they didn't have to. Does anyone know for sure?

[JeremyG]

I had the same issue in my new house as well (I also live in Tarrant County, might be a local build thing). Thomas' answer is the same that I got from my builder... just used to position the trusses when they and the roof are installed. Luckily my manifold squeezed in under it, but I had the jigsaw ready. And my roof didn't sag at all with 180 pounds of me, 30 some odd pounds of manifold parts and two drivers at 45 pounds each up there for over 4 hours in the Texas July heat. Good luck.

Jeremy

[motrctyman]

Thank you for the responses.

Every time I think "...you know, that probably won't hurt anything..." Well, after a week or so I usually have a really funny story to tell. HOWEVER, my wife would see absolutely zero humor in a disaster like this so I had to ask.

Jeremy, what part of Tarrant County do you live in? I'm about as far North and East as you can get, by Lake Grapevine off of 114.

I didn't realize there were other folks so close by. I guess I need to check out that map.

[brady]

motrctyman, that 2x6 running down the center of your ceiling trusses is called lateral bracing if I'm looking at the picture correctly. It is not temporary and placement is determined by the truss details used by the builder.

With that said you can remove a section of it as long as your IB baffle still forms a continuous run of the bracing, in other words all the trusses are still connected.

The others are right about your ceiling not caving it the bracing is just to keep the trusses from racking, for example high wind.

So don't worry and start building

[JeremyG]

I live in the Saginaw/north Ft. Worth area by 35W and 820. There's actually quite a few people around North Texas with IB's. We may need to be carefull, or Texas could crumble .

[formica]

brady said:

It is not temporary and placement is determined by the truss details used by the builder.

With that said you can remove a section of it as long as your IB baffle still forms a continuous run of the bracing, in other words all the trusses are still connected.

The others are right about your ceiling not caving it the bracing is just to keep the trusses from racking, for example high wind

Although I agree with most of that, I'd like add that those braces will not only keep the trusses from racking in high wind, but it also prevents the trusses from twisting upon themselves under high load. It's the same theory that applies to beams and floor joist.

As a simple example, look at an engineering wood joist selection table... and note that they are specified not only for load and span, but also for braced and un-braced construction. Using un-braced forces you to use a joist which is one or two sizes taller than a continuously braced one.

Wood is easy to work with, given building codes usually require a substantial safety factors given it's varied natural capacity and construction errors. All the same, I'd add a couple of extra braces on either side of the IB... (spanning them over as many trusses as possible) as to keep that factor intact.
ROb

[poppabirdy]

Ditto to Formica's suggestion. Simply nail a couple of long braces on either side of the manifold, assuming you can get them up there.

If the cross brace is not terribly long, you could pry it up and then renail it into another position away from the IB. If you did this, it would make a good place to sit while you are installing the IB.

Is the picture from the actual location? If so, those don't look like trusses to me. I don't see any webbing. I would guess that Thomas is right and the board is just there to provide a place for the framers to stand. If this is the case, the board will probably not be uniformily nailed into every ceiling joist.

[motrctyman]

I guess I should have taken a better picture....let me see if I can explain this.

The roof above the center is probably 12' above the ceiling joists. The roof has a 16/12 pitch and is attaced the the corner of the walls/ceiling of the media room on one side and the game room on the other side. At two different spots there are pairs of 2x8's, attached perpendicular to each other, that span from about half-way up the ceiling to locations where there appears to be supporting walls (i.e. the rear wall of the media room). These are spaced somewhat evenly across the length of the roof.

The attic is huge...I can walk from one end of the house to the other (about 60-70') and it appears that each room in the house has one of these boards right down the center like the media room.

I can't take a picture of them now as they are surrounded by expandable foam so I hope this explanation works.

Thanks!

[tomw]

What you have is sometimes refered to as a stick built roof, not a truss roof, and what you are needing to cut is a stiff back. It adds strength & braceing to the joists. My suggestion is to add another one just like it as close as possible and go ahead and cut away.

Tom W

[motrctyman]

Thank you all for taking the time to answer my questions.

I am going to order the components with my next order and anticipate getting the installation done prior to the end of March. I will post my progress/results.

Thanks again for the wealth of information provided, it will be utilized accordingly!

[carl]

You better hurry, Texas attics get hot quick! It's still tolerable now but not for long. Carl