Cape Cod - Second Floor Air Blower

Hello Group,

I have been remolding my house for quite some time. We are now on to the second floor, and I want to put a split system from the first floor as Cape's naturally cant hold their own in PA in the summer months.

My question is regarding the normal codes of the celing rafters. I currently have a 20" available space to put the unit. I can purchase a 17.5" unit and would fit but once you add the pan, some plywood for support, vibrations pads, it won't fit. We currently have 2x6 beams that go about a length of 17.5'. Looking at today's code that should be at least a 2x8 I think?

I wanted to see if anyone has any ideas on how I could get enough room for my 21"x17.5"x49" air blower to fit in the attic. One other note is there is currently a fireplace which they made a box around to support the missing beams from the ceiling joists. Other than the blower + drywall from the below floor, no additional weight will be on the beams.

Can I switch to 2x4 beams for 4 ceiling joists? What if I double it them up and put 2 instead of 1 ceiling joist? What if I bond 2 or 3 2x4 together? Is there anyway to make code yet use a something smaller than a 2x6?