Removing Attic Braces

Sagging rafters are a sign that a house is in serious trouble.

Removing attic braces.

I have this above my own garage. Every so often i ll crawl into an attic without any attic bracing. An important notation is that the purlin bracing should be off of walls or beams as needed. I want to run 4 horizontal 2x4s and add a plywood sheet to use as storage in my attic.

Install the rest of the braces on that side of the attic then install the braces on the other side of the attic using the same method. Let s start our discussion by looking at the proper way to brace an attic. Prevent this unfortunate series of events by bracing your rafters to make them sturdy and resistant to snow loads and wind. If the roof slope is steeper than 9 inches in 12 inches of run it doesn t take much width to end up with a nice room 12 feet wide with an 8 foot ceiling.

Purlins as shown in sample photos below are installed for rafter support. Usually these are older home built in the 30 s through the 50 s however i ve seen inadequate attic bracing on homes of all ages. Attic trusses have a rectangular shape inside each truss. Look at this photo of the space created by attic trusses at my home.

When sagging gets too severe it can lead to roof collapse and once the roof goes the house won t last for long. I laid on my back to take the shot in that picture the roof slopes downward to the right. These give the sheathing something flat to lay against. The braces struts or kickers should be within every 4 and should not be at a greater than a 45 degree angle towards the roof slope lower side.

Bracing for the roof frame can. They don t look as if they were meant to be permanent so i wanted to know if from a structural standpoint they are really needed. Tape measure chalk line 2 by 4 inch boards. You can see perpendicular cross braces above the trusses between the trusses and the roof sheathing.

I added a picture of the roof directly above the brace i am asking about. The studs would run through the middle of the frame.