Truss question

[Scott T Smith]

Something that I have not seen mentioned is the opportunity to beef up your existing trusses. It would be simple and quick to do, and the span that you have is relatively small.

Your objective would be to convert your existing trusses to the "W" design that Mark Bolton referenced in one of his earlier responses. To do that, simply nail a 2 x 4 on each side of the truss at each connection on the top chord, running them down to approximately 1/3 of the distance from the outer wall location and the center of the truss. Voila, you now have a "W" truss. Remember to use a pair of 2 x 4's at each location so that the load is shared between them. Then, to make sure that the splice in the bottom chord will work in tension, simply nail a couple of 30" long boards from the same size lumber that your existing bottom chord uses (I would presume either 2 x 4 or 2 x 6) onto each side of the bottom chord at the splice plate - effectively bridging the center splice. One board should be nailed to each side of the bottom chord, in essence you want to sandwich the bottom chord in-between the new boards (this technique is called "fishplating" in the welding industry).

If you want to be ultra conservative, use some type of adhesive in addition to the nails.

Cheap, simple and effective, and there is no question in my mind that this simple modification would allow the truss to exceed the design specs required.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Something that I have not seen mentioned is the opportunity to beef up your existing trusses. It would be simple and quick to do, and the span that you have is relatively small.

Your objective would be to convert your existing trusses to the "W" design that Mark Bolton referenced in one of his earlier responses. To do that, simply nail a 2 x 4 on each side of the truss at each connection on the top chord, running them down to approximately 1/3 of the distance from the outer wall location and the center of the truss. Voila, you now have a "W" truss. Remember to use a pair of 2 x 4's at each location so that the load is shared between them. Then, to make sure that the splice in the bottom chord will work in tension, simply nail a couple of 30" long boards from the same size lumber that your existing bottom chord uses (I would presume either 2 x 4 or 2 x 6) onto each side of the bottom chord at the splice plate - effectively bridging the center splice. One board should be nailed to each side of the bottom chord, in essence you want to sandwich the bottom chord in-between the new boards (this technique is called "fishplating" in the welding industry).

If you want to be ultra conservative, use some type of adhesive in addition to the nails.

Cheap, simple and effective, and there is no question in my mind that this simple modification would allow the truss to exceed the design specs required.

This thought did actually cross my mind... Unfortunately I've drywalled and insulated the ceiling... And the thought of ripping it all out to do this makes me queezy...

This (either adding a beam or doing as you say) is something I absolutely should have done before finishing the interior. Oh well, tough luck.

I'm actually out at the shop today and I did some measurements. In order to use the sliding table to full capacity, the span I'd actually need is closer to 8'.

Currently, I can cross cut panels that are about 4.5 feet long with the wall there (meaning, this is the distance between the blade and the wall in question- the wall is to the left of the blade). I rarely ever need panels longer than that. I'm sure there will be situations in the future when I will, but in that case I'll just pull out the saw horses and a straight edge. It's just not worth the hassle or expense given how rarely I'll need it.

On the positive side, that wall has given me a place to install a lumber rack. If I knock it out, I'll lose valuable storage.

Thanks again guys for the feedback... There definitely are solutions to my problem ("problem" is a bit of an overstatement of course), but when I weigh the costs and benefits, I don't think any of them make sense at this time.