Load bearing wall support solution in question 1

[khunck]

Contractor took down a load bearing wall in a 1955 ranch home and installed this in the attic to bear the load. Has anyone seen this type of installation or thoughts on its level of support? The wood is attaching to the ceiling beams if it's not clear. Wall has been down for a few months with no issues but wanted other's thoughts. thanks!

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[MIStructE_IRE]

Wasn’t this posted last week?

While I don’t have much information to go on..It doesn’t look good..

Have you a sketch/section through it?

 

[khunck]

It was. I misspoke using the word "truss" and took down the post. Appreciate it.

 

[jayrod12]

This was definitely posted before.

And I believe many of the answers to that post were similar to what you'll get this time, can't say just based on a photograph. We don't know what the roof framing is originally, nor do we have enough specifics to make a real educated guess.

It doesn't look common, and therefore it would be deemed questionable in my mind. Get a local structural engineer to look at it. And if it is found to be deficient, feel free to go after the contractor that did it for the remedial costs.

 

[LuK13]

I did not see the previous post or replies so some of this may have already been said.

I see ceiling joist hung from roof rafters from time to time, and some installs work better than others. A number of times I got involved because there were cracks or deflections along the ceiling and prior explanations just didn't make sense.

The three 2xs along the tops of the ceiling joists I would call a strong back. I typically see a strong back when every other, or every third ceiling joist is hung, and the strongback is an attempt to carry the intermediate joists. Usually the strongback is only face nailed or toe nailed into the tops of the ceiling joists. With the nails loaded in tension, the nails withdraw and the intermediate ceilng joists deflect downward leading to cracked ceilings.

However, from this photo it appears that the vertical members could have been nailed to both the ceiling joist and rafter with the nails loaded in shear, and it appears that vertical members are present at every joist/rafter. The intended purpose of the strongback isn't clear to me, but it's only one photo.

Other things to consider is how well does the ceiling finish handle deflection? Sheet rock doesn't like a lot of deflection. The rafters could have enough strength to support the midspan of the ceiling, but maybe a decent snow load would cause some excessive deflection and cracking of the ceiling? Again, its only one photo, so I don't even know if this area sees snow or what the ceiling below is. You could do the analysis to check the capacity of the rafters, the connections, and work out a predicted deflection of the ceiling.

 

[khunck]

Thanks LuK13 - I appreciate your thoughts!

 

[ThorenO2]

One more for never seen. Most would agree the first order of business should be to get a licensed structural engineer to visit the site and do a proper assessment.