Cut Ceiling Joists For Attic

I have done this many times in rooms and older garages with sagging ceiling joists.

Cut ceiling joists for attic.

Hopefully the attached pictures provide additional info. Single story house built in the 1940s. Attic fans provide an energy saving answer for homes in areas with low humidity high daytime temperatures and rapid cooling at night. Step 1 mark if the room has a ceiling and you have cut the required hole go to step 2.

These are trimmer joists. Ceiling joist are 2x4. In order to maintain the support integrity of the ceiling or floor joist or rafter system it is important that if joists are cut that the load that was bearing on those joists be transferred to a modified support system. 2 how much weight could the ceiling joist hold.

If your attic joists won t bear the weight necessary to finish out a living space but the engineer cleared them to support floor decking for light storage you can install inch plywood or. Steel is so much easier to work with and weighs practically nothing and is straight. Ceiling joist are support by a wall that runs roughly down the middle of the house. Screw the metal joist to the existing wood ceiling joist and to each plate and you have very effectively reduced the load deflection of any stored attic loads for little cost.

Before cutting the joists you must attach them to other joists in the attic to keep the ceiling from sagging or completely collapsing. Good luck take your time and be safe. Cutting and or removing joists to provide an entry or access can be the most difficult part of the overall project. Click here to get free fast bids from local structural engineers who can help you cut your trusses.

While this is not the optimal setup it is acceptable to have ceiling joists covered with plywood or osb to use for light attic storage of dead loads. 1 can the joist be cut to make room for the attic ladder. Measure the distance between the full joists on either side of the cut joists. In attics built purely for storage purposes you may find 2x6 ceiling joists or in some cases even 2x4 joists.

I ve also used attic trusses on jobs where a standard rectangular room was created that had straight walls floor to ceiling.