Thread 2944866

I want a home office and my choices are finding a space to finish or building an addition on the back of the house.

The attic is 7 feet at the peak, and 8ish feet apart where the beams hit the joists. The joists are 2x4, spaced 24 inches.

Is it possible to:
> Make the triangle beams into verticals so the ceiling of the room isn't a tiny narrow peak
> Shore up the joists to support the weight of flooring and furniture

And assuming it's possible, is it even worth what the cost and time would be?

It's possible and not uncommon. You need an engineer to draw up plans for where to reinforce or the roof will collapse, and to make it legal, depending on where you are. Might need tradies to put in the new beams also, depends. The flooring and insulation etc you should be able to do yourself.

>>2944866 (OP)
The floors will need to be 2x6s minimum. Possibly more depending on the span they are covering. You will have to sister on the new joists. As >>2944866 (OP) said you will need someone to look over your existing shit and re-engineer it before you start knocking out supports. Those are prefab trusses and you can't just go around changing their shape without someone who knows better telling you how stupid that will be. You will also have to change the insulation setup or you will fucking cook/freeze up there. Will you be able to add a window? How will you tie it into the existing heating/cooling? What is the access situation?

>And assuming it's possible, is it even worth what the cost and time would be?
Absolutely not. Your cheapest non-shit option is to build a shed in your back yard. Most places allow you to do that without permits as long as it is under a certain size. You could even do a prefab one. Running power to it shouldn't be a big deal. You can get a window unit (they make ones that heat and cool) and insulate it. In my area you can build a 10x12 space unpermitted. Hell, you can even put a deck next to it unpermitted of any size. YMMV.

The real way to do it is to add onto the house. That will actually increase your resale value while most of these half-assed solutions won't. It is the most costly though. And, if you cheap out, it will be a shitty thing you will have to live with till you move and can lower your resale value. The cheapest thing you can add to a house is square feet so don't be a fucking boomer about it.

>>2944866 (OP)
It would be easier to add a room on the back of your house at ground level than to properly figure out how to do it in that type of truss system

>Dig to frost line
>Pour 18" wide 6" deep footings, stack cinder blocks or wood forms for concrete
>Plastic + Insulation+ 2 layers of 3/4" plywood for your floor
>Frame room against house with single slope roof
>Add insulation
>Drywall
>Trim
GG ez

Your framing, insulation and finishing costs are about the same and you won't fuck up your house that way. You're also not restricted by anything but your budget then
You could also just do a shed in your back yard for the easiest solution