The things people do. . .
But is there fire rated drywall on the bottom of the pull down stairs?:mrgreen:
Nope. . .
My question is, WHY? Was all that done to allow installation of the pull down?
Homer the truss hacker installs stairs and storage platform, needs the room for those priceless possessions he, Honey-Dew, and the brood just can’t part with. BTW all of this was in the trash on move day.
Homer goes to sell and some idiot nit-picking home inspector calls out absent/altered trusses, structural engineer, blah blah blah
Homer is seething, agents are peeing on themselves, buyer is in a state of utter despair, dream house is going to crumble before the ink is dry.
Enter, Super Solutions Homer, he convinces all involved he knows best, can repair in a few hours, no need for SE, some 2x’s and a handful of screws, Shazam the deal can progress with no further delays, no harm no foul.
Now Jeff comes along starts the whole cycle again…he knows the rest of the story
All readers are advised to not take these statements as facts, always consult a professional prior to believing early morning editorials.
I’m stunned at these alterations. I guess what Barry said is probably true. Makes not a bit of sense.
Jeff…All I needed was picture number one in your series.
It says it all…stairs running perpendicular to trusses…not parallel.
You already know someone got out the sawzall and started some “backyard truss wreckin”!
I saw someone do this to trusses above one of the childrens bedrooms, where they wanted to create an attic loft for the kiddos. I knew as soon as I walked in the room and saw the large 8 X 10 loft complete with ladder that there were going to be some really bad truss alterations.
My goodness.
I had a fellow electrician drill a hole through a truss. I found it, and yanked the wire and fixed the hole. I had to come up with a solid 2x4 and have it extend 2’ pass the hole, and fasten it securely to the truss. IMHO, the truss only had a 1/2" drilled hole, not notched, or broken, and I had to go through fixing it with a lot of material.
How did anyone think this was ok, without seeing a SE? My fix, was based on professional advisement.
tom
My first thought was, “I hope this is a conventionally framed system.” I saw the trusses as soon as I opened the access.
The kicker is, the current owners had purchased the home 5 years earlier with the ladder already installed. Their inspector made no mention of the altered trusses.
Jeff, how many total were cut? we can see 4 in the pics. (not that 4 isn’t too many!)
Sawzalls should be licensed. 
Well, there ya go…it’s been like that for 5 years, what’s the problem? 
I got them all in the picture - 4.
Thats huge Jeff…Theres only one way a previous inspector missed that, he didnt go up there…
I found this today about 1.5 hrs ago. The TJI’s rest on a ledger board bolt to the beam. I am pretty sure its wrong, but can not find it in truss joist manual. The joists are not labeled as to the manufacturer. Any thoughts?
Plus, the joists are 12"o.c. and span to about 19’ 6" which the online pdf of Truss joist says it can only be 18’ 3". Does anyone have other manufacturer’s manuals as a pdf?
Thanks
Structure Links - Engineered Lumber
http://education.nachi.org/show.php?course_id=9
Engineered Lumber Data … http://www.apawood.org/level_b.cfm?content=prd_main
I-Joist Article … http://www.home-inspect.com/itatips/11-02.asp
I-Joist TJI Framers Guide … http://www.trusjoist.com/PDFFiles/2031.pdf
Floor Truss Info … http://www.accubuildtruss.com/pdf_files/floor_truss_fact_sheet.pdf
Wood Truss Industry Links … http://www.woodtruss.com/
Wood Roof Truss Systems … http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/roof_trusses.htm
Wood Roof Truss Problems … http://www.truss-frame.com/index.html
Naw. Just the dingbat opperators.
Larry
HE, HE,… looks like someone tried to “open” up the attic space for a room or storage area then quickly changed their minds when they started to hear cracking and splintering! :mrgreen:
I’ve only found cut trusses once, and the owner said, “What cut trusses”? :roll:
Jeff
Looking at your pics, I’d be afraid to try the pulldown stairs. My big butt would probably pull the whole thing down on top of me. You must be a light weight.