Replies

1. 
   stinger | Sep 23, 2005 09:55pm | #1

   If you mean can you screw up some ply and use the overhead space to store stuff like skis, my guess is yes.  Those truss bottom chords can carry a little weight, but not much.

   Don't be putting all your leftover flooring tile up there, though.

1. 
   ekylep | Sep 23, 2005 10:02pm | #2

   I wanted to hang the sheets from eyebolts with steel cable from the bottom of the truss. The bottom of the truss is the garage ceiling and the homeowner wants shelves to hang about 2' from the ceiling.

1. 
   BossHog | Sep 23, 2005 10:14pm | #6

   If you're doing this for hire in someone else's house, I'd recommend against it. You never know what a homeowner is gonna do. And you're taking on a lot of liability.
   DW and I were lying naked in bed last night. I moved closer and said "I am going to make you the happiest woman in the world." DW says "I'll miss you."

2. 
   BossHog | Sep 23, 2005 10:04pm | #3

   Trusses are typically designed for about 10PSF on the bottom chord. That's to allow for drywall, insulation, and misc. loads.

   So unless your trusses were designed for extra loads, the answer would technically be "no". The only way to tell what they were designed for would be to talk to the company that manufactured them.

   But - As long as you're careful and only use SMALL shelves, you're probably O.K. Just don't get carried away.

   How do you write a zero in Roman numerals?
1. 
   ekylep | Sep 23, 2005 10:07pm | #4

   Thanks alot for the info

3. 
   AndrewG | Sep 23, 2005 10:13pm | #5

   The biggest problem comes from putting any loads on the individual 2x4 chords - they'll snap like the toothpicks that they are. Loads need to be applied to a truss ONLY  either as uniformly-distributed loads (like snow), or applied at the "panel points" where diagonal members intersect the top or bottom chords (the way girder trusses carry smaller trusses). How much load depends on (1) the individual truss design and (2) whether the load is compression or tension (in other words, hanging a load from the bottom of a truss could easily pull the 2x4 bottom chord away from the diagonals and verticals if it's held by only a stamped-plate connector). I believe that your best bet is to (a) suspend the load from the truss verticals (perhaps by sistering a 2x4 to the side of the vert's and extending these down to your platform) thereby engaging the top chord and bottom chord in distributing the load, and (b) hang as many supports as posible to distribute the load over as wide an area as possible (trusses regularly handle 25-40 lbs per square foot snow load - which is about 23,000 lbs over a 2-car garage ! - so a lot can be handled , but only if it's distributed uniformly over the trusses. Having walked in a zillion attics, I'd say that a hundred lbs or two shouldn't be any problem. But add weight VERY SLOWLY and try to keep it minimal unless you can engage an engineer to help determine what is safe.

   HTH,

   Andrew

   
   

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   Edited 9/26/2005 9:00 am ET by AndrewG