What type of roof framing does this house have?

Those are trusses. You can’t cut any of those members.

Never seen 2x4 flat on their face before to support an OSB sheathed roof.

No way you're getting living space up there without ripping off the roof.

Go down if you haven't already. Finish the basement.

Even if you could create a space in the attic, you need to run HVAC up there, likely resize your furnace/AC, lots of very expensive duct work etc. etc. etc. Not to mention some sort of access that is up to code - i.e. a properly sloped, wide staircase.

dottawat wrote: ↑ Those are trusses. You can’t cut any of those members.

Do you know what type of truss design they are? And yes i know i cannot cut any of those.

I am trying to get input from people who may have certain knowledge on whether it is possible or not before i pay a couple of thousands on an structural engineer just to have him tell me i have to rip out the roof.

Thanks,

torontotim wrote: ↑ Never seen 2x4 flat on their face before to support an OSB sheathed roof.

No way you're getting living space up there without ripping off the roof.

Go down if you haven't already. Finish the basement.

Even if you could create a space in the attic, you need to run HVAC up there, likely resize your furnace/AC, lots of very expensive duct work etc. etc. etc. Not to mention some sort of access that is up to code - i.e. a properly sloped, wide staircase.

Basement is already finished. Yeah it's a strange roof framing i haven't seen much before, nor can i find anything that looks like it online. It's part of a townhouse row of 4 houses...
As for AC/heating, i would simply put a wall unit/baseboard heater. Yes stairs is 36" wide minimum, and there is a window requirement for fire exit.

My neighbors, which have the same house layouts have livable attics, it depended on whether the original owner took the option or not. Sadly, mine did not.

Thanks,

steph3n wrote: ↑ Do you know what type of truss design they are? And yes i know i cannot cut any of those.

I am trying to get input from people who may have certain knowledge on whether it is possible or not before i pay a couple of thousands on an structural engineer just to have him tell me i have to rip out the roof.

Thanks,

Sorry - I wasn't trying to be dismissive. I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'type of trusses'. Truss roofs are designed for the house that they are installed on.

There are some specialized 'types' of trusses, such as scissor trusses (think cathedral ceilings) or attic trusses (which is what would like). Yours appear to be run of the mill trusses, e.g. custom designed for the building.

I suspect an engineer will tell you the roof needs to go.

One hint is the size of the rafters (especially in your pic 2 where they change orientation). It does look like it’s in place to fasten the OSB rather than transfer load.

dottawat wrote: ↑ Sorry - I wasn't trying to be dismissive. I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'type of trusses'. Truss roofs are designed for the house that they are installed on.

There are some specialized 'types' of trusses, such as scissor trusses (think cathedral ceilings) or attic trusses (which is what would like). Yours appear to be run of the mill trusses, e.g. custom designed for the building.

I suspect an engineer will tell you the roof needs to go.

No offense taken, what i meant is if there are certain common designs of trusses that are widely used. Correct, the design i wish i had is the Attic truss which is one of the models in the picture below. I could not find from the picture if there's a one from the picture that fits what i have.

I guess i'd have to check also the bottom chord to see what they used, if it's 2x4 I don't think there's much chance to do anything.

Pick one of the two following responses...

"Yikes" / "Very interesting"

to put it in simple terms, the attic / roof construction you have is far removed from either being considered a 'rafter roof' or a 'truss roof'

you appear to have some kind of hybrid roof framing system, that of what I would call "Boards supported by simple truss structures".

the trusses you have mainly appear to run longitudinally, which is ninety degrees removed from the orientation of a typical roof truss. The 2 by boards laid flat need the support of the multiple truss supports to keep from sagging or collapsing.

In any event, the answer is quite simple, absolutely nothing can be done in that space whatsoever, unless you want to complete restructure the entire roof.