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We are building in a new neighborhood. The space above the garage has a pitched roof. Before they put the drywall up on the ceiling we noticed there is a lot of space up there that would be ideal for storage. We asked the builder if during construction of our home we could have them put a pull down attic ladder in and plywood on the floor up there so we could use it for storage. First the sales person told us it was possible but would likely be a $1200 cost. We were willing to pay that so had her put in the request. The request came back denied with the reason being the "trusses are not strong enough to carry that additional weight." That left us scratching our heads since its carrying the weight of a roof. Not knowing enough about construction ourselves to make that call we let it go. We do wonder though if really the reason was more likely they just didn't want to do it. If that is the case fine, we are happy to have it done after we close but it will be more difficult of course getting the plywood up through a small opening.
All that said....is there anyone who might be able to tell me if the trusses not being strong enough is a valid excuse? Likely? Or more likely a brush off. Before we call out someone and pay to have the ceiling opened etc. thanks!
It's very likely that they're right. The answer does make sense.
It's engineered to carry the roof, plus expected snow loads, etc. It is not engineered to be the floor of a room that adds additional loads. If you wanted that to be storage or living space they probably would have had to put in heavier joists, and/or spaced them closer together.
If you used it to store things like the Christmas decorations, which are insignificant in terms of weight... it would probably be OK.... but what if you wanted to store books... or gold bars?
For you do do it, is one thing... if they do it, they have lawyers who assume that if you put a floor in it, someone might put a waterbed up there.
Trusses are specifically engineered for their intended purpose. The roof loading carried by the upper part of the truss is separate from the floor load capacity on the bottom framing members. There's always a safety factor built in, and you most likely wouldn't have an issue with plywood flooring and some LIGHT storage. For more significant loads, you might need to add support structure below and/or reinforce the joists. That involves engineering calculations.
If you do decide to do something after the fact, be aware that you will now have absolved the builder of any responsibility for the entire roof structure. Especially since they're on record as saying no.
The trusses are designed to support the roof and the rafters are engineered to support the roof.
If you wanted storage up there you should have asked earlier. Then you could have had scissor trusses plus additional floor joists added to support weight on the floor of your new attic. Floor joists are much more stout than the framing for a truss.
The truss is engineered to work as a unit to support the roof as a unit, not support small spots of heavy weight on just part of the truss.
The steep pitch roofs with huge amounts of wasted interior space are common here in new construction, and a pet peeve of mine. That said, the engineering of a trussed roof is EXACTLY what is needed for proper support with very little wiggle room. No way would I attempt to open up to such a space and utilize it without a complete assessment and re-do from a structural engineer.
The wind loads alone on those roofs are significant enough that failure and blow-off in tornadoes or microbursts are a consideration. It simply is not worth the risk.
They could have easily used trusses designed to create storage space
(second image below)
The second image is a traditional design and will have much wider joist and would require support in the center for wider span. We have trusses spanning 36 foot over a garage and they are only 2*4's. You lose any storage space but the benefit is no poles that would have been required for the beam to support the center. We have access to the space and use it for some very light storage and I mean very light but nothing beyond that , they aren't designed for it.
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