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Replace trussed roof with cathedral ceiling?

3K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  johnrem 
#1 · (Edited)
The one story portion of our house measures 30' - 10" by 13' - 6" with the walls constructed from 2 X 4 studs on 16" centers. The roof was supported by pre-built 30' trusses at a 12 | 4 ratio.

The roof was destroyed by a fallen tree. Instead of having the roof replaced as was, I am considering a cathedral ceiling. The building contractor might be agreeable to doing the cathedral ceiling for the same price. I think the roof would be supported by 2 X 10' or 2 X 12's on 16" centers.

Would there be any problem with the 2 X 4 walls on 16" centers supporting a cathedral ceiling at 12 |4 covering the 30' - 10" span?
 
#3 ·
I agree.

Someone may be able to confirm one way or another that the a standard cathedral ceiling constructed with rafters may work over that distance, but be aware, the loading on the stud wall from a cathedral ceiling assembly and a truss are rather different.

A truss distributes the loads much more vertically down to the bearing wall. A cathedral ceiling applies a lateral force in addition to a vertical load, thrusting the bearing walls outward.

Perhaps a hipped-roof cathedral ceiling would be another alternative to the scissors truss. Your contractor should be able to provide you with the alternatives available. :thumbsup:
 
#5 ·
Thanks, The idea of a cathedral ceiling is appealing but not if structural integrity is compromised. Your reply and others have confirmed my intuitive guess that a cathedral ceiling would place more lateral loading on the walls than the original trussed roof. I will discuss this in detail with the contractor.
 
#6 ·
Since the walls are short, if I read your post correctly, then the loading won't be a major issue...we do a lot of 30+ foot spans with scissors on low pitch applications with no problems...if you are concerned, you can have an exposed beam dividing the 13 feet into 3 bays, as a tie to the walls.
 
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