Vaulted Ceiling Structural Design

Vaulted ceilings can provide an ideal means of introducing natural light from above.

Vaulted ceiling structural design. Of the four basic roof shapes shed flat gable and hip only the flat roof is. A vaulted roof structure opens the space below for stylistic reasons or for the addition of an attic or loft area. In many cases a vaulted ceiling makes the room feel more open bringing air and light into a room.

A scissors truss provides for a vaulted ceiling in the same time frame as standard trusses. As with other architectural design elements vaulted ceilings go in and out of vogue. Installing rooflights or structural glazing in a vaulted ceiling are two ways of achieving this.

But as floor plans trend smaller ceilings tend to rise to give the illusion of a larger living space. A clever loft conversion. The final option for opening up the ceiling space would be to hang all the rafters on a structural ridge beam supported at each end by a wall as shown in the drawing below left.

Obviously your final design should be reviewed by an architect or an engineer. A typical vaulted ceiling truss called a scissor truss has bottom chords that slope upward at a slightly shallower angle than its top chords. The back half of the house has cathedral ceilings no ceiling joists.

I d like to remove ten ceiling joists in a second floor 13 ft. It should be approached with care and help from a residential structural engineer. If i am creating a problem can you offer a solution.

In a common truss design sloping top chords function just like rafters in conventional framing and horizontal bottom chords fill the role of ceiling joists. A scissors truss creates a vaulted ceiling in the same framing time as standard roof trusses that produces a bland flat ceiling. Scheme designed by pow architects image credit.