I would very much like to vault the ceiling in my living/dining room. I would like to get an idea of the level of difficulty or if this is even possible without having to rip off the roof. The rooms adjoin one another and run from the front to the rear of the home. Any ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
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Depends on the present structuring of the roof framing. If it is currently truss framed, it is nearly impossible without expensive engineering.
Because pre-fab trusses are constucted of smaller 2x stock, many times 2x4, rather than the larger 2x6, 8, or even 10 stock that would be used otherwise for rafters, joists, and collar ties, the pre-fab truss does not lend itself well to rehab in-place. That's not to say that it couldn't be accomplished, but the engineering and additional lumber involved for both proper support and conformance to local codes might make it not-so-worth the effort and expense.
what about the possibility of having new vaulted trusses built, butting them up to the existing trusses, securing them in place and then cutting out the unwanted parts of the old trusses. As you can probably tell I have been really trying to investigate this work as much as possible. I am able to do the electrical, drywall etc... It would just be the truss work I require to be done by professionals.
Sound crazy??
Frankly, I think it would be a whole lot simpler in the long run to remove the roof over the area you want to 'vault', remove the old and install the new trusses, replace the roof, and continue on interior rehab. Getting your new trusses into the house and up in place would be pretty difficult, and therefore pretty expensive.
Removing the roof section would allow you to construct exactly what you want, and not be left settling for something that isn't quite it.
[This message has been edited by treebeard (edited July 10, 2003).]
