Kind sir –
I have a conceptual question for you –
I’m working on construction details of the first two sections of the three-part house I’m shortly to build. Basically, each part is an independant rectangle. One is 30’7 x 34’7 (house), and the other is 28’7 x 38’7 (heated garage). The funny dimensions are to work easily with the ICFs. Each will have a hipped roof with a monitor top.
My plan for both is to use SIPs with a bead-board bottom layer on the trusses. So far so good. But, I want to paint everything, trusses and plates and SIP undersides white, and have no ceiling. I’d use commercial spiral HVAC duct neatly threaded through, also painted.
House will be sealed with an HRV.
The idea is that daylight will filter down through the roof monitor, and you’ll get the impression of being under a random lacing of tree limbs, instead of individual bits of painted construction lumber and galvanized nail plates.
Trusses would be sprayed a couple coats after erecting, the SIPS prepainted, then assembly and dry in, then a last touch-up coat of white to go over any rain or damage marks. They goal is not to look like furniture, but “clean, white-painted roughness”.
My questions – is this done? Anything to watch out for? Any specifics I should give my truss supplier?
I believe the roof will look “floaty-er” over the rooms, if the overhangs are also part of the roof volume – that is, the SIPS would continue on past the exterior walls. Of course, then the underside of the soffits would need to be insulated as well.
Any problem with that last bit?
Thanks tons!
Forrest
Replies
1-2-3 year ago FHB had an article on adding a skylight in a trussed roof and instead of re-engineering it the exposed and painted the trusses.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Seems like there was a discussion about this a while back. Most people seemed to think it was a bad idea, and it would look funny. But that's not really what you asked me, so I'll leave that one alone.
From a truss design perspective, it does make SOME difference if there is no ceiling. Trusses are generally assumed to have a continuously braced bottom chord.
The BC bracing is for stress reversals that happen during high wind and/or seismic events. So you will likely need SOME bracing somewhere. It would be best to discuss it with the supplier, as they'll know the codes ii your area.
If you talk to your truss supplier about your plans, they can build the trusses out of higher grade lumber than what they normally use. They can also put a note on the shop paperwork asking that the guys try to keep the plates straight and cull any bad lumber. That will cost more, but should be worth it IMHO.
One other thing came to mind - you might want to at least prime the trusses before you set them. That will be a lot easier than painting them in place.
That's all I can think of for the moment.
Thanks much for the advice - I had started that earlier discussion; it involved using LVLs or Parallelams under a flat roof, with windows between them, as they crossed the exterior walls.
This is another attempt at the same "feel", of being under a complicated surface.
I guess I'll plan on putting a network of symmetrical diagonal horizontal bracing across the top edges of the bottom chords. The lower surface will remain clear in case some later, boring person wants DW ceilings.
Interior accent lighting will be continuous around the perimeter, where the roof plane crosses the exterior walls, aimed up to the center - hopefully making it purty at night, too.
Forrest
what you want to do is pretty common in commercial situations... look at a new taco bell .... most of them go with painted black... some even hang a ceiling grid but no tiles... i have seen the cloth duct work in these situations and it was pretty cool...
I looked at one where it looked like the used 2 trusses blocked with 2x4 so that it was a double truss every 30" or so... opened it up alot for a nice effect...
i do agree paint one coat before they are ever set... would be really cool to paint all the wood before the trusses were built so that you'd see the galv. plates but all the wood would be painted...
i like the idea... but then i look at framing as art...
p
All the previous comments are good ones, however, you might want to double check with your building inspector before putting any paint or primer on the trusses.
Not sure if this is a common practice everywhere, but around here, every truss is stamped with an engineering approval stamp for the different jurisdictions in which I've built.
If the building inspector can't see the stamps, you might be in for a rough go.
--Jay A
Jay,
You could paint it after the close-in inspection and document the trusses with pics and paperwork.
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Hey - good call - I'll check on that right away.
Forrest
<edit> I'm honored that I've received 33% of your posts in 5 years!
;-)
Edited 8/28/2007 8:56 pm by McDesign
>> Not sure if this is a common practice everywhere, but around here, every truss is stamped with an engineering approval stamp for the different jurisdictions in which I've built. <<
FYI, that is not done here in NC.... Truss drawings have the stamps. Not the trusses themselves.
I grew up in Los Angeles and they do stuff like what you are talking about. A lot of the homes up in the hills are very white. The stucco on the outside and the interiors. A lot of windows with architectural/structural details showing.
Then the interior is accented with colors. Sparsely mind you. I think it's kind a Mediterranean look. I like it.
Forrest,
I worked on a house awhile back that had some exposed trusses on a porch. They were painted and the mending plates were bondo'd. Made em almost dissappear.
dug
Sounds cool. My only concern would be proportion. Wouldn't the trusses look too sparse?
If i'm understanding what you are trying to accomplice it sounds like your going for a post and beam type ceiling.
<Wouldn't the trusses look too sparse?>
I don't think so - being a hipped roof, there will be more "stuff" involved. Also, the extra diagonal bracing Boss tells me I need without the ceiling shear plane will help clutter it up. Might even add some redundant members if they don't mess up the stress distribution.
I'm not trying for the heaviness of post and beam - more like lattice or lace.
You know, arty-like!
Forrest
Post a pic when you build it. I'd like to see it. Like I said it does sound like a cool idea.
I would be concerned that the building dept. may not like that you don't have any GWB covering your roof structure. Here we have to cover everything with a fire-resistant material, unless it's unfinished space.
Jon Blakemore
RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
Hmmm - I'd better check that!
Thanks -
Forrest
You may want to check out something like a stabilzer for bracing.
http://www.mii.com/page/open.asp?pid=6363
They would be available from the truss supplier if they use Mitek. Otherwise, simpson makes something similair (TSB2).
Just to add my 2 cents about painting before inspection -- the inspector has to make sure the grade and species of the truss members matches that of the paperwork. That would be difficult to do if the grade stamps are covered up.
I was wondering how it'd look if you painted the trusses white or even red and the underside of the SIP's sky blue! Like old porch ceilings used to be painted light blue. Make it seem like the roof was the sky with some trees or whatever. Be interesting too if you could put a vertical board on the wall from where the truss's bottom chords land on the wall plate down to the floor--look even more "treelike."
I did a similar thing in my own commercial building. Upstairs on the "pretty" side of the building I left the flat trusses exposed. After running all the elec. conduit and the roof drain pipe, etc. I sprayed everything a medium blue gray. The cieling goes away but one is left with a more spacious feeling in the room. The only thing I wish I'd done differently is the actual truss. There are trusses being made that have what seems to be metal tube in place for the web. Top and bottom chords are wood. These have a much more finished look to them, yet are still very structural/matter-of-fact looking. And they don't have gang-nails, something I don't particularly like seeing on my painted all wood trusses.