Dormer's strength leave it as is?

bigal0043 · 05-13-2010, 06:56 PM

So i have an 1880(year) house, it has 4 dormers on them that are flat with a pitch of 3:12. the rest of the house is a 7:12 pitch. We are redoing the roof and i started on the dormers. On the main part of the house it is 2x6 rafters 24"oc the dormers though are only 2x4 also 24" oc. Should we swap those out for a 2x6 or would it be fine as is? the length of the dormer is 24' long by 8' wide.

seeyou · 05-13-2010, 07:23 PM

Unless it feels unsound or you want more insulation space, leave it alone. Those old growth, full dimension 2x4's (if they were original to the house) are probably stronger than 2x6's you can buy today.

edit: Is that Big Al or Bi Gal?

bigal0043 · 05-13-2010, 07:53 PM

big al.... sorry to let you down...

But they dont look to be the old rough sawn, putting a tape measure to them they look more like current 2x4 where they are actually like 1 3/4 x 3 3/4.

If i jump on it it is bouncy

seeyou · 05-13-2010, 08:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigal0043

But they dont look to be the old rough sawn, putting a tape measure to them they look more like current 2x4 where they are actually like 1 3/4 x 3 3/4.

If i jump on it it is bouncy

Well then, now's your chance.

edit: On second thought: How big are you? That might have something to do with the bouncing. But, 2x4's spanning 8 ft on 2' centers is certainly a little on the light side.