ceiling joists

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Kelly, removing or relocating the joists is not a definate NO but it definately is something to be discussed with a structural engineer. The chances are extremely good that the engineering cost will be the major item of the job and you may not be allowed to change much. Remember that it's not the joist that really are the concern, it's the walls and roof. Building a great room would not be attractive if the roof collapsed, the walls bowed in at the first windstorm, or your flying roof destroyed the neighbors house. A nice little "and by the way," is that your home owners insurance would not cover this unless you had the engineers plans and a building permit to make the changes. You would also have to have inspections to show that you had followed the plans.

You might want to consider having someone come in and spray painting the joists and bottom of the flooring, that you can attach to the top of the joists. Black or white paint would hide the area or accentuate the area respectively. You do not want to paint the bottom of the roof because of the amount of heat you would get from the sun might be a problem. By the way, have you thought about heating and cooling the area?? That could also be a challenge.

Some other questions for your consideration. Do you have 5/8" thick drywall for fire resistance between the garage section and living areas, both walls and ceiling? Have you checked your local building code to see what you have to do to make a living area and to see what has to be done BEFORE you can let people stay in the area? You might want to do this because they can make you tear out walls and things to see if you have done it right. They do have the honest responsibility to insure that you are not going to do something that may harm yourself, harm others that might stay there, and harm people that might buy or live in a divided section of the structure in the future. At the same time, there is no reason that you can not do this job yourself. Just be sure that you are doing it right as I'm sure you want to do.

Henry in MI