Roof framing quarshun

[Jack]

Suppose you had a roof that was a simple gable roof spanning 20 feet or so. The rafters are 2x8, the ridge board is 2x10 and the collar ties/ceiling joists are 2x6.

Now suppose there was a wall that went perp to the collar ties/ceiling joists and you wanted to get rid of that wall. Obviously, the collar ties/ceiling joists would sag.

I am thinking that the quickest, easiest, cheapest and fastest way to beef up the collar ties/ceiling joists would be to fasten a 2x4, or some such animal, connecting the collar ties/ceiling joists to the ridge board.

After all, it is only the weight of the collar ties/ceiling joists and the sheetrock. Lets say that the rafters are on 24" centers and ceiling joists are on 16" centers. I can't recall exactly, but that is probably the worse case scenario. Best would be if both were 16" centers and well nailed all around.

It beats the hell out of squirreling a long strongback up through an access hole in the hallway.

[Bart]

You should first learn the difference between a ceiling joists & collar tie. They are not the same thing, or even close to being the same thing.

You should also have ceiling joists @ every rafter, not one @ 24" O.C. and the other @ 16" O.C. This wouldn't pass inspection. How would you keep the ceiling joist stable if not connected to the rafters?

[TigerLuck]

I can tell you haven't done or seen a whole lot of roof framing. It is quite common for rafters to be on 24" centers and collar ties/ceiling joists to be on 16" centers. The collar ties/ceiling joists tie the opposite walls together whether they are nailed to rafters or not.

So aside from trying to play vocabulary police and exhibiting a lack of familiarity with roof framing, do have any thoughts on the quarshun?

[Colbyt]

I'm not playing vocabulary policeman but collar ties are nailed across the rafters in the upper one third of the rafter run and generally are not on every set of rafters though they may be. Not all houses have them. Removing them if you have them is not a good plan.

Ceiling joists may be on 16CC or 24CC in low budget construction and rest on the top plate of the walls and usually run in the same direction as the rafters. Think of it as a A with an underscore for the complete picture.

BTW, I could not figure out what the OP was talking about. Maybe he would like to post again.Maybe could tell me what a quarshun is while he is at it.

Colbyt

[Bart]

Collar ties are not the same of ceiling joists. It has nothing to do with vocabulary.

Ummmmmm..... take your own advice and look up what each one is.

[Bart]

Oh yeah, as far as the 24 O.C. rafters and 16" O.C ceiling joists, you're wrong.

[JIMMIE]

The joist serves two purposes, first they keep the walls from spreading apart (similar to a collar tie) and second is to give you something to fasten your ceiling. Normally you have one ceiling joist per rafter with the spacing of the joist the same as the rafter. This is not always the case. You could have more joist than rafters. It may be possible to have a rafter without an associated joist but that would be something I have never seen.

Jimmie

[aemeijers]

Pretty much every stick-framed roof I have ever seen was like that. 16 oc joists below, to give the drywall guys something to nail to and make the attic useful for storage, and rafters above spaced based on code and local snow load. For a 5-12 roof, 24" is quite common. Only places I ever saw rafters 16 oc was where they had killer snow loads, high winds, or the wanted a bunch of silly-ass dormers on a 12-12 roof. (IOW, prep attic for future finishing- those drywall guys again.) Those were usually 2x8 or 2x10 rafters, even though they were more closely spaced, to allow airspace between insulation and roof deck. (Not sure what they would do these days, when you need 12-16 inches of insulation in attic- maybe not run the knee walls into the rafters, and create angled bulkhead between kneewall and room ceiling? )

BTW, collar ties are NOT the same as ceiling joists, unless you meant for the attic ceiling, so it could be finished out. Usually one for every other rafter, round these parts. Often only a 1x6, since it only needs strength lengthwise.

-- aem sends....

[tmclone]

What the hell is a "quarshun"?