Moving Attic’s Collar Ties Higher

[Ryan Yeaglin]

There are contractors and then handymen. One specializes in one thing, the other does many things. If I were to hire out for work to be done, I would look at the companies duration of being in business, reviews of their work, that they are licensed and insured.

[Dexter McLaughlin]

Again, we need an idea of local conditions. do you get snow loads? Do you have to clear snow off the roof. Any huricanes, tornadoes. is roof clay tile or slate. That roof, as is, will not support 200 pounds per square foot of snow so it would not be standing in parts of California. Metal ties at the ridge will reduce the need for collar ties. Or install a big ridge beam to reduce the span.
Bill D

https://www.mercurynews.com/2011/03/...nd-the-houses/

https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/another-roof-collapses-near-lake-tahoe/

Not a lot of snow here. I did a Google Search and we get 3.9 days of snow annually and 7.6 inches annually.

No to hurricanes, tornadoes.

i was thinking about installing metal ties near the ridge if it could allow me to remove them.

[Tom Bender]

An engineer will not advise raising the ties unless you replace the structural strength. That bit of vertical framing will not do it. It might help if it is done right and is above a supporting wall. I suggest taking a plan to your engineer. You might suggest sistering the rafters then raise the ties. First go outside and see if the roof sags anywhere.

[Peter Kelly]

I really appreciate the opinions and advice offered so far, and I hate to question any of you, but it is possible you are mistaken about the necessity of these? I’ve visited 5 of my neighboring homes (with permission, lol) and none of them have these. The houses of this neighborhood were all built by the same company with identical plans. I’m not saying it’s impossible that all the neighboring houses simply made hazardous decisions to remove them without regard for physics, but I’m wondering if I took some more precise photos, or provided photos of the other attics, would that help at all?

Did any of your neighbors obtain building permits prior to construction? If anyone did, their builder may have had an architectural engineer draw up and stamp a set of plans prior to submitting to your municipality's inspector. Probably worth asking around, someone might have some drawings you could look at.

[Dexter McLaughlin]

https://youtu.be/4fEpIcTKOeo

i took a video to show a better idea of the ties. They are flimsy boards 6“ x 1” thick. They appear to be barely hanging onto the roof and I took a video to demonstrate. If anything the vertical framing appears to be rock solid and supporting a load. I hope this video helps some.

https://youtu.be/8mqSivBp7bY

[Dexter McLaughlin]

Put up some dimensions. Rafter size, spacing, rafter span, are the floor joists parallel or perpendicular? Everything. Is the knee wall staying? Could you put in a purlin with a kicker? Houses have accepted framing standards. I don't think rafter or collar ties are engineering dilemmas.

Rafter size: 2”x4” - 2 feet apart
Size of the ties in question: 1” x 6”
Floor joists are perpendicular from what I can tell
The knee wall can stay for sure, not sure about a purlin and kicker

I took a few videos of the ties to show they appear very flimsy and don’t look like they are supporting the roof structure if that is truly their intention

https://youtu.be/4fEpIcTKOeo
https://youtu.be/8mqSivBp7bY

[Dexter McLaughlin]

Did any of your neighbors obtain building permits prior to construction? If anyone did, their builder may have had an architectural engineer draw up and stamp a set of plans prior to submitting to your municipality's inspector. Probably worth asking around, someone might have some drawings you could look at.

Do you mean prior to construction of the houses? The houses were built by a textile company in the 1930s. Don’t know that any of the original owners are still here