Garage Attic Questions :~)

[TSO]

This was posted before, but got "move', maybe because of the confusing title :)

We have a "Texas basement" (for those of you who don't know, a Texas basement is a larger space over an attached garage with access from the second floor) that I would like to convert. It is often finished into a room, called a "bonus room" by builders. I would like to finish mine myself, if possible. Here are some questions, though -

1. Flooring - the large space is over a 2 car garage, and so about 20 x 20. The span of the joists is 20 feet. They are 2x12 southern pine, spaced 19 inches apart. Is this adequate for normal living? The sub-floor is already in, and the room is used for storage. I could put in a girder on steel posts that would cross the garage at the 10 foot mark, supporting all the joists in the middle, but would rather not:~)

2.Rafters - the room has cathedral ceilings, with a 40 inch knee wall (?) all around before angling up at a greater than 45 degree angle. There are no trusses, just 2x6 ceiling joists that join a main beam at the top. THere are some crosspieces that tie in the angled ceiling joists that cross about 3 feet under the top beam. On all four sides, there are randomly placed 2x6 nailed at 90 degrees to the joists and intersecting the floor at 45 degrees. There are about 8 or 9 of these, and I know they are there to add strength and support to the roof. Can they be removed, or compensated for in some way?

3. I will be hiring a professional to take a look, but before I go to the expense, I wanted to get feasability opinions from those experts on this board.
THanks!

[Ed Imeduc]

Dont have the books here with me. But I dont use a 2x12
for joist over 16' at 16" on center and double block them. For a bridge bracing.

ED ;)

[michiganguy]

Those randomly spaced boards you refer to were probably just used to hold

the rafters in place until the roof decking went on. It's a little hard to say

without looking, so have your contractor verify.

[michiganguy]

the cross pieces you refer to are probably ''collar ties'' which shouldn't be

removed. If this space was properly designed as a future bonus room, there

should be enough space under those to use them for a ceiling.

The most common complaint about bonus rooms is they are hard to heat, so

don't scrimp on the insul. and find out if your furnace was originally sized

to accommodate the extra space or just what was finished when the furnace

was installed.

[TSO]

Thanks, guys, all good news!
I dug out the actual architectural drawings for the house yesterday, and discovered something new - in the garage space ceiling (attic floor), the architect specified 19.2 centers for the joists, but had the builder double them every other joist (with the exception of one, nearest the wall. the last three are single). Did they do this to make it live-load ready?

Also, since they used a total of 17 2x12 joists for a 20 foot width (21' span), why didn't they just go ahead an put them on 16' centers? Does doubling them add some property to their strength, or maybe just make them easier to install?

Anyway, over the 20 foot span, I now "average" a joist every 14 inches. Will I need to bolster this to make it live load ready?

THANKS!

[twelvepole]

Take your plans to the local building inspector to see if the project you plan will meet current Building Codes. Codes tend to vary from area to area.