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I’ve got to enlarge a second floor closet (of a two story house) so that we can get rid of the other one in order to open up the entry foyer below.
The existing closet runs below the main ridge of a hipped roof. The side walls appear to be acting as roof braces. I just want to legnthen the thing, so I’m moving the non-bearing wall (perpendicular to the ridge) back about 10 or 11 feet.
The floor joists in the existing closet are 2×10. The ceiling joists in the attic are 2×6.
My first thought was to sister 2×10’s to the 2×6’s. Then I wondered if making a T beam out of the existing 2×6’s and a 2×4 on top would be strong enough. This still leaves about an inch and three quarters — three quarters of which would be subfloor. Maybe run 1″ strips under the subfloor.
What do you guys think?
Dan
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Its hard for me to picture exactly what you mean, but if you can sister the joists easily i think that would be the way to go, then youve got more strength in the floor and no uneven depths to deal with before you put down the subfloor. Depending on what kind of bearing walls are below you might be able to rip 2x6s down to the size you need and run them across the existing ceiling joists(perpendicular) to bring you up to the hieght of the closet floor.
*I was wondering if nailing a 2x4 on it's flat on top of the 2x6 attic floor / living room ceiling joists in addition to 3/4" subfloor would be as strong (or strong enough for a closet) as sistering the joists.Or if running perpendicular strapping would strengthen it enough.I kind of felt bad using all that beefy lumber for a closet...
*I see what you mean by t beam now, half an I beam.Ive seen it recommmended to beef up the bottom of joists and i guess it would do the same on top. It would depend on load, span and on center spacing whather it would be enouch. Would be a lot of lumber the other way, but a lot of time if you have to use strips and several layers to even it all out. Also if you sister them you should be able to calculate the load fairly easily and not have to worry about it sagging or worse. Id say your idea will probably work but might not be worth the extra work or worry.
*I'm just gonna use the 2x10s.Thanks Charles.