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matthewgeorge78

truss question for vaulted ceilings

6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago

we want to do vaulted ceilings in our living room area. the person drafting up our plans suggestion using scissor trusses in that area of the house



but the problem is, we dont want to lose the interior height. so if we have a 6-12 roof, the interior pitch is only a 3-12. another option I found is to use parallel chord trusses so the interior pitch would be the same as the exterior pitch.




does anyone know if there are other options for vaulted ceilings out there?

how about cost comparisons between the 2 styles?

I have a 30 foot width on my roof, so the peak would be in the middle of the room, 15 feet across. if i have 9 foot walls, and have a 6-12 pitch roof, then a scissor truss will give me 45 inches of vault (3 pitch interior) so the height of my ceiling at the peak would be 12'-9", will the parallel chord truss give me a higher vault? or what else can i use?

Comments (14)

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    Get a pencil an paper and draw this out for yourself. I think you will be able to answer some of your own questions.

    Explain to your draftsman what you want and see what they say.


  • PRO
    6 years ago

    Sure, either stick or post and beam framing.

  • 6 years ago

    Do you have a builder yet?


    I would call a truss company, preferably the one your builder uses, and ask their engineer what your options could be with trusses. Then ask your builder what your options are with stick framing. I've done both before and had a recent thread on here about trusses and my concern about using them on our current new build. My concern was unwarranted, though. The truss company that my builder uses met us onsite after his initial configurations and we were able to tweak our truss design enough to get plenty of height in our living room and master bedroom. Our living room is 20 ft wide but the house is 32 ft wide so our truss is a combination truss. Had we not been able to get the height we needed, we would've insisted on stick framing, which we did on our first new build 15 years ago.


    Since it seems you are still in the drafting stage, there are multiple things you could do to get more height if you really need it. One can increase the pitch of your roof, raise the base ceiling height, etc.

  • 6 years ago

    following

  • 6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Thanks everyone. I'm wondering if anyone has information on cost. I'm wondering if it would be cheaper to stick frame a 6-12 pitch roof, parallel chord truss a 6-12, or change the entire pitch if my roof to an 8-12 and scissor truss it to get more height.

  • 6 years ago

    PPF, thanks for the image. I wasn't sure if the bottom of a parallel chord truss would sit on the top of the wall or if it was the top of the truss that sat on top of the wall

  • 6 years ago

    There is likely very little difference in cost between a 6:12 parallel chord truss and an 8:12 scissor truss. Builders like to use trusses because it saves on labor time and costs to install trusses. It requires a little more planning on the front end, though, but the truss company's engineer takes the plan and designs it. Our trusses came last Wednesday afternoon and 90% of our entire roof framing was in place by Friday afternoon because the trusses went up so quickly. We have some areas that had to be stick framed or else it would've all been done by then. Today they are finishing the stick framing and we should be "dried in" by Thursday, weather prevailing.

  • 6 years ago

    Framing with rafters will require a ridge beam that spans the room and supports half of the roof load. It will probably be multiple LVL members.
    Sometimes, if you want the advantages of a more expensive structural system, you must pay the difference
    Where I live, roof trusses are rare because they reduce attic space. I can’t tell you how many attics I’ve converted to living space.

  • 4 years ago

    No C get tv on by but c get vdvr

  • 4 years ago

    Welp. That was my two year old. Sorry! I don’t see a delete option on the comment.

  • last year

    Currently drafting house plans and I'm interested in exposed trusses (money saving 🤞) ... Curious how people insulate the roof if the trusses are exposed. I'm a visual person so if you have pics great! Video even better . What's your R value in the ceiling?

  • PRO
    last year

    "Exposed trusses" are generally SIPS on top, or FAKE trusses. Otherwise it's a ridiculous thermal bridge from external to internal. Meaning you will have condensation and dripping on it, or maybe even frost. Any of that is not an inexpensive approach to building. $$$$$.

  • last year

    Stick framing would require a ridge beam supported by posts to the ground which introduces other issues.