Raise attic ceiling height by cutting rafter cross beams

brtnrider152

I'm remodeling a story and a half attic space. Were turning a big open room into a master bedroom and bathroom. I'm considering raising the ceiling height. here is my question-

I was going to just cut the cross beams on the rafters that are nailed into the rafters and raise them up about 8". However the angle of the rafters under the roof is such a steep angle my chop saw will not cut that for the cross beams. So I considered placing a 2x4 on the out side. Or possibly two, one on each side. However I'm worried that will weaken the strength of the rafters. I live in minnesota so I'm always worried about the weight of snow on the roof and my crappy remodeling skills.

I have attached photos so your not totally confused on what I am saying.
http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/...3a9f17f0f9.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/...3a9f172988.jpg


Thanks for any help!

joecaption

You have a whole lot of other issues when turning an attic into living space that have to be concidered.
Main two are the access to it, and the size of the floor joist.
Then you have only 2 X 4 rafters to work with now. Not near enough room for for the amount of insulation your going to need in your reagon.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?...sulation_table

All those cross ties you have now were installed wrong anyway in my opion and are are not doing much. They were suppost to be long enough that they could be attached to the sides of the rafters not just sitting on the bottom of them.

GBrackins

brtnrider152,

Welcome to the forum!

where are you located?

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Gary

"You get what you pay for, and sometimes free costs more!"