No need to ask the same question in multiple threads.

Have you done any searching for an answer? There are multiple ways, but you probably will not save money.

Insulate the top of the roof deck. But, as Green Building Advisor notes, insulating above is not the cheapest way to go.

So, if price-cutting is your main goal, stick to conventional methods.

Dear HU-227959171, you don't have to be snotty about it! FYI I posted under a person's thread then realized the thread was old & being new I didn't know if I'd receive notification of replies since I didn't create the thread/question. If you're a houzz admin person perhaps that should be more clear for newbies and work on your personality! Really Fn rude!!!

If saving money is the goal then no exposed beams and also most vaulted ceilings are both more expensive to do and the cost of heating and cooling go up too. Are you an expert at drafting house plans ? This generally is not how to design a house and if you must then IMO keep it simple no vault at all maybe just nice 9' ceilings .

Agree that exposed structure is not money-saving. Painted drywall and fluffy insulation is really cheap compared to the various methods of insulating above the decking, along with finishing of the exposed wood.

Your goals and ideas are completely incompatible. End of story. Come up with more money, or change your goals to fit within your budget.

Kay, the "regulars" here might wonder why there are fewer and fewer posts in the forums. Soon, they'll just have to direct their nastiness towards each other. The "Pros" seem to have a lot of spare time.

Kay, the problem is getting the minimum amount of insulation in the ceiling required by code. The process uses a lot of expensive materials and much more labor than conventional roofing systems. If you want to see pictures google the question and look at images.

Trusses are installed and the top decked. Then the correct amount of High density EPS Foam (25 psi) is adhered in layers with staggers seams to give the thickness required to meat insulation code. The Foam is available up to 8" thick but a minimum of 2 layers are required to stagger the seams, (a must). To layers of 5" foam will give you an R value of 40, but the R value depends on where you live.

Next 1 1/2" sleepers need to be screwed down over the top of the foam and into the original rafters with 14" construction screws, and then another layer of decking needs to be nailed or screwed into the sleepers. This is to give an air gap for ventilation to remove water vapor and cooling so the 2nd deck doesn't rot. This is critical and the most important part of insulating above the roof. A screw up will destroy it all A special venting system on the end of the roof is needed to pass air from the bottom up through the air gap and out a ridge vent. Finally you can roof your house with your desired material.

• Price of the two layers of decking $1.25 per sq. foot.
• Price of the sleepers $.50 per linear foot.
• Price of the 14" construction screws. $2 ea.
• Price of the foam $5 to $6 per sq. ft.

You are adding $4 to $4.50 more per square foot using foam to insulate the roof top over batt insulation. In additional square footage will be much more on top of a pitched roof then insulating in the attic which is flat. Including the high buck screws and another layer of OBS decking and the extra labor to do all this the idea becomes very expensive.

The cheapest option is to go with the conventional roofing system. Your next option is to go with scissor trusses for a vaulted ceiling, or add fake trusses to the vaulted ceiling.

I did not catch the multiple posts but be sure you do not do that the next time now you have posts all over you need to read ,

Some inspirational pictures would help to clarify what you mean by "exposed trusses" and in what terms are they "money saving" (having them exposed, or type of truss, or . . . ).

- There are prefab trusses which are designed to be minimally sized with just adequate grade of wood, hidden in the attic. The goal is cheapest functional roof structure. These would not be appropriate to be exposed.

- There are substantial prefab units which can be structural (e.g. timber frame), which would require a well-thought out roof plane "substructure" to go along with them.

- There are faux trusses, meaning not structural, but placed under an independent roof structure. These can be the same substantial timber frame units, or built to look like those, or built to look like just simple beams or rafters.

The method of insulating will be based on your roof plane design and your Climate Zone. You have both thermal comfort and condensation to mitigate. With vaulted or cathedral ceilings, it can be tricky to reconcile that necessary function with aesthetics.

For my own curiosity - if building a single story home, what is the least expensive roofline to build? Shed roof? Ranch?

I love the exposed trusses, but it does seem like extra work to insulate them.

The least expensive roof to build is a standard 1970's single standard gabled ranch type with a slope that isn't too low, or too high. 4/12 is common. You want to be able to walk on it easily. None of those "exposed truss" things can be walked on without a substantial safety harness.

"Exposed trusses" are usually cosmetic, because of the insulation problem created by having material that bridges from the exterior to the interior. That invites the exterior climate into the interior of the home, and shouldn't even be allowed in today's energy conscious code. You have to move to high tech high cost performance construction like using a SIPS for the roof, in order to have actual structural trusses be exposed to the interior.

And then, you have to have a very detailed MEP plan, because most of that usually goes in the attic, and now there is no attic to use to hide it. You have to plan some type of perimeter soffit, use exposed ducts and conduit, or have extra thick walls to run it all in.

Shed roofs are the cheapest and easiest for a small footprint. Once the depth increases, splitting that roof with a gable allows slightly smaller structural members, while helping manage rain and snow, and originally, heat. Gables have been commonplace in the vernacular for several hundred years because of this.

as the owner of an exposed steel truss home...

on top of the insulation / constructions costs....

it's even more expensive. Then your wiring needs to be 1) done really well, 2) would need to be in conduit or MC cable (way more expensive than romex)

and then your HVAC needs to be spiral duct and not the flexible insulated duct that is often covered in brown plastic that would droop and look terrible.

There's a phrase that is "simple ain't easy" - I'd amend to "simple also ain't cheap."

As a suggestion. I would use a scissor truss. Actually I did use a scissor truss in our new home. 5/12 pitch. Metal roof. 30" of blown cellulose - 60 plus. Should amoratize the up front capital costs within 2 years. Then you can construct a faux roof support system inside the sheetrocked cieling.

I don't believe that additional costs are accured with a vaulted cieling. Several ways to create a better heat curtain on outside walls. Using a cieling fan pulling air up which will force the warmer air down the walls. Natural convection for fresh air intake can be achieved various ways.

As written. Depending on the climate zone and different temperature/humidity variances you live in will dictate different solutions. Yes trying to insulated, particularly seal,air leaks is very time consuming and labor intensive. You could probably get pre-built trusses made to make the inside dimensions of your home. Probably get a better looking finish product if you have the hand made. Lot of very crooked lumber in trusses. Being able to hand select the lumber used to build faux truss would save time n look better. Carpenters will appreciate it

Learn to enjoy the experience and always research your planning

I do not find conventional roof trusses made of dimensional lumber exposed in a finished space attractive.

Good thing tthis Isn't your house

No one finds knotty ugly barky lumber and joining plates attractive in a finished home. Not even in a rustic cabin. Everyone who thinks of doing this has a mental picture of a timber frame home with SIPS, and uses the words "truss" to describe that, incorrectly. And they never ever want to pay the costs associated with doing the job correctly.

For the record, we insulatedthe exterior of a low slope roof using recycled commercial polyiso foam. Standard practice is to replace the insulation when re-roofing a commercial building. Some of it is in great shape (and some is not!). It came in 4x4 squares 4" thick, we piled on three layers to give 12" of foam, staggering the pieces and taping them to block air flow, anchored with long screws and washers. Even derated for age this gave us a roof probably better than r-60. Then a rubber roof on top. This ended up costing a fraction of what any new insulation would have cost, the roof geometery made traditional insulation impossible without, for example, tearing off the interior ceiling drywall. IIRC the insulation material for the entire house cost $600, so about 40 cents a sqft. Installation (not counting roofing, but including a new taller fascia) was about double that. So it needn't be expensive.

FAUX BEAMS FOR CEILING

FAUX TRUSSES