Advice on Tearing off 2nd Floor Roof Trusses Cleanly?... 1

[architectlink]

Any Advice on Tearing off 2nd Floor Roof Trusses Cleanly...
I used to work for a hospital and am trying to remove a roof and add a second floor to it. Please direct me to any sites you know of that coordinate roof removal.

I am thinking of taking off everything except the bottom two feet of the existing trusses...since we are adding back steel trusses, we can keep everything already tied together and keep the existing plaster ceilings.

I am hopeful that we can get a crane and a bunch of guys who are clean and fast workers...advice requested.

 

[JAE]

When you remove the existing roof - you may create an instability in the structure. Most all structures depend upon the stiffness of the roof deck diaphragm to transfer lateral forces across the building and into the foundation.

If you remove all of the roof at one time, you probably should provide lots of temporary bracing to ensure that the remaining structure is stable.

Also, since you are adding a second floor (and presumably a new roof level) you should definitely verify that the existing walls/columns/footings can accept the additional loading safely. If you don't know how do check/design or verify these things, you should hire a competent structural engineer.

 

[jike]

As JAE pointed out there are many considerations that need to be analyzed before deciding whether this construction approach is even feasible.

I doubt whether the remaining bottom chord will have enough strength or stiffness by itself to support the plaster ceiling without additional supports or strengthening.

Much more information is needed for one to completely understand the challenges of this project. You really do need to hire a local structural engineer, at this stage, to analyze the feasibility of your proposal.