Expert: Bruce E. Johnson - 3/30/2009

Question
QUESTION: i have an 840 square foot home with one floor.  we need one extra room and were wondering if it is possible to replace our existing trusses with trusses that are made to have a room in them without tearing out the roof.  I'm not sure of the type of trusses that we have now but they are about six and a half feet high in the center.

this is our preferred method but if it is impossible how much money generally speaking would it cost to have another floor framed and roofed but left bare otherwise so i could finish it myself to save money.  



ANSWER: Hi clinton, Yes it is possible to replace existing trusses with trusses that have built in floor joists in them and voids that can be used for storage or whatever.  However, in order to replace those trusses you need to get at them and this may require tearing off the old roof and trusses or completely gutting the interior ceiling of the house and trying to somehow get the trusses up from the inside which seems doubtful.  Contact a local truss manufacturer and show them what you have in mind, how big the building is etc.  They will be able to design and build something to suit your needs.  Once the trusses are built and delivered, then you tear off the old roof, set the new trusses and put the sheathing and new roofing on them.  For a house this size the trusses will probably run 1500-2500 dollars, tearing off the old roof probably a thousand dollars, new sheathing and roofing, another three thousand if you do the work yourself..You will need to pull a permit probably so the total cost will be around 5-8000 dollars or more depending on how much of the work you do yourself. Hand framing another floor with a new roof will probably cost just a bit more..See what the truss company says and get pricing from them.. But be prepared, know exactly how wide your house is and how long it is and have a drawing showing what you want to accomplish.  I hope this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thank you for the info this was helpful and less money than i had expected.  Could you give me a guess on the price of adding an entirely new floor to the existing home 840 square feet.  this would be just framed and roofed with a staircase put in from the bottom floor. I could do all of the finish work myself.


Answer
hi again clinton, I would venture to guess that you are looking at 12-15000 dollars.  But you need to do some local research, get a few bids and see what the real costs are going to be.. I hope this information helps feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com