Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 2/17/2009

Question
Hello Bruce.
I am in the process of renovating our main bathroom.  This started out as a project to replace the bathroom window and has grown to the stage I am at now which is completely gutted and down to the studs except for the ceiling!  My wife would like to have a vaulted ceiling so that she can acquire a chandalier she has her eyes on! Given that it's just past Valentine's Day, I thought I would grant her wish and find out how large a job this would be!  Our bathroom is 66" wide by 108" long.  The door is at the opposite end to the window on the narrowest side.  The roof on the house is a low pitch so I have an attic.  The roof is shiplap with shingles on top.  There is no electrical outlet in the ceiling right but there is a fixture above the mirror which is above the vanity.  Am I looking at considerable engineering skills to make my wife happy?  I am British Columbia, Canada.

Answer
Hi Malcolm, whether or not you need engineer involvement depends a lot on how the roof system is presently framed.  If the roof system consists of pre-engineered wood trusses (with a two by four top chord and two by four bottoms chord and intermediate webs of wood connecting the top chord to the bottom chord) then yes you will need to have someone look at it that can instruct you as to the best method of reinforcing the trusses so that you can cut out the bottom chord as needed to give you the vaulted ceiling look.  If your roof is hand framed rafters and ceiling joists are merely holding up the ceiling drywall then you should be able to remove the ceiling joists without repercussions. I hope this information helps, feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com