Exposed truss roof: can I remove diagonal braces and replace them with full OSB boards? (PICS INSIDE)

[JohnD]

Also.. gang nail plates ain't the prettiest things; perhaps cladding the trusses with hardwood would be a better look (and a painstaking task)

Dark or plain matt paint and dim lighting will hide the ugly.

I know a place with a great hall, the old dark oak roof timbers were practically unseen as it was high and the windows and lighting were lower.

Only when concealed uplighting was fitted could the magnificent hammer beam construction be appreciated.

In your case, don't illuminate the roof.

 

[bigbob764]

Are you in Scotland?

Yes I am. Does that affect any building codes or similar?

I presume you want to essentially plasterboard the OSB so that you can look up and see the trusses and in between them a nice smooth painted surface - IMO it would look odd if you hid the angled parts of the trusses (that the osb is attached to) behind plasterboard so you want to keep those on show..

If it is insulated above the osb, great; just prime and mesh the osb and plaster it direct, forget the plasterboard or if you have a lot of joints and cracking is a concern you can look to screw thin plasterboard directly to the OSB, or perhaps just thick lining paper to hide the grain and paint the paper

Also.. gang nail plates ain't the prettiest things; perhaps cladding the trusses with hardwood would be a better look (and a painstaking task)

Yes that's the idea. Just something to make the ceiling look less grungy. I did think about cladding the trusses although it'd be very tedious and I'm guessing hardwood would be too expensive. Paint would probably do, or if worst comes to worst I could box them in with strips of plasterboard or plywood.

 

[JohnD]

Yes I am. Does that affect any building codes or similar?

Yes.

In Scotland, it is normal for roofs to have sarking boards.

In England, it is normal for roofs not to have sarking boards.

I've had both.

I don't think there is any doubt that boards are superior, and an extra cost.

 

[JohnD]

I did think about cladding the trusses although it'd be very tedious and I'm guessing hardwood would be too expensive. Paint would probably do, or if worst comes to worst I could box them in with strips of plasterboard or plywood.

Plasterboard has the advantage of fire resistance. A fire in a wooden roof is extremely destructive and fast.

 

[bigbob764]

Thank you everyone for the really helpful replies. I'm going to cost up the project and think about when I can start. Might be a job best left until spring now, but I'll post updates if anyone's interested.

 

[brennan2470]

Thank you everyone for the really helpful replies. I'm going to cost up the project and think about when I can start. Might be a job best left until spring now, but I'll post updates if anyone's interested.

Hi mate. Wondering where you got with this? I am doing something slightly different but had similar questions over removing the bracing (specifically the diagonal braces along the bottom of the trusses (the chords)).

I read the same NHBC standard as you, but noticed it stated bracing needed to be used “at rafter level”. As far as I am concerned, a rafter is the upright that forms the pitch of the truth and NOT the horizontal members (the chords, or if you wanted to give them another name, the joists).

I cannot see anything on the NHBC site about diagonally bracing the chords and am assuming they are only there as either a) temporary bracing that’s never been removed or b) to help with the load being spread when somebody walks around on them. I am building a completely independent mezzanine floor in my garage which won’t touch the chords, and therefore they’ll never be walked on, but I do need to remove the diagonal chord braces in order to fit my larger 8x2 joists in the spans between the truss chords.

Just wondering if you had worked out whether removing the diagonal chord braces was acceptable?

Cheers