House Without Attic Rafting Bracing

Prevent this unfortunate series of events by bracing your rafters to make them sturdy and resistant to snow loads and wind.

House without attic rafting bracing.

It has no attic bracing and there is visible sag in all of the rafters. With full home additions costing 75 000 minimum and usually far higher many homeowners search for creative ways to increase living space without overly decreasing their bank account. Over a long span room area not having anything to brace the roof off of a floating beam can be added above the ceiling joists to brace off of. In fact as soon as there was any shift in the roof it would come tumbling down.

Brace other rafters as they are installed down the roof by nailing temporary 2 by 4 supports to rafter edges and to roof joists if rafters are being installed separately. Sagging rafters are a sign that a house is in serious trouble. Gable bracing gable ends need multiple braces to hold them in place. In this picture a broken rafter is visible due to no attic bracing.

At the time this home was built in the 50 s the type of attic bracing that was installed was at the discretion of the builders. In fact as soon as there was any shift in the roof it would come tumbling down. Use 1 by 4 inch boards called purlins as temporary braces for rafter trusses. Without a roof rafter brace in place you would not be able to support a heavier roof for a long period of time.

Since they are balanced precariously by themselves a 2 4 vertical t brace and a 2 4 diagonal brace are needed before the truss set begins. When sagging gets too severe it can lead to roof collapse and once the roof goes the house won t last for long. How to brace rafters in an attic. When ever beams are added and are bearing on a wall solid 2 x 4 s should be filled in under the beam in the wall frame to match the width of that beam.

Here is a section of the attic with no collar ties or attic bracing. Nail these temporarily to the outside edges of the rafter sides starting with the third truss. But if the purlins appear to be the same age as the rafters and professionally installed it s just because that. Because this is an old fashioned construction style sometimes homebuyers that see purlins in the attic think that the bracing has been added as a repair because the rafters were sagging or due to some other structural problem.

One way is by working within the home s existing footprint and converting the attic into living space. When trusses aren t on a 24 layout you can easily adjust a wood strip unlike metal braces.