Reinforce Existing Roof Trusses

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Reinforce existing roof trusses.

Then sister 2 12 s to the existing trusses and use plywood gussets with an engineered nail pattern in place of a ridge beam. The first step to reinforcing the roof is to add an x to the frame. Throw in some collar ties and your done. Space them four inches apart along the edges and six inches apart in the middle of the plywood sheathing.

After setting the second truss in the same manner workers attach a ridge beam to the peak of both trusses. Apply construction adhesive along the edge of the truss to strengthen the connection to the plywood roof deck. Simply take 2 diagonal pieces and place them between the trusses. In this situation the walls of a finished attic space or room would go with the roof line.

Take 2 6x4 as long as your longest stored lumber and cut 2 inch deep grooves in them as wide as your 2x6 is thick every foot or so. Put on the adhesive as you would caulk. Connect roof sheathing to the roof framing with ten penny weight common or eight penny weight ring shank nails. Install these over your existing horizontal 2x6s 2 feet from the roof edge inside and paralel to the roof ends crosswise from your existing 2x6.

Extra support for the trusses can be made by placing a 2 by 4 inch piece of lumber from each truss on one side to the truss on the other side high enough to provide head room but low enough to provide support for the trusses. Use wood adhesive underneath the sheathing along the connecting joint with the roof trusses. And build the decking on top of that. If you don t have an a frame roof you can run parallel boards between the studs to further offer support and to strengthen the frame.