One of the most desired features in new homes is a trey ceiling in one or more rooms. Older homes often have large open spaces in the attic that go unused. If you are remodeling a new or older home and want to utilize the attic spaces above a trey ceiling, you can claim large areas for additional rooms or storage.
Instructions
1. Open an access panel or doorway at a convenient location if your attic space does not have an adequate size scuttle hole or doorway to accommodate 4-foot-wide plywood. Once that is established, use either 1-by-12-inch boards or 1/2-inch plywood cut into 16-inch strips. These are essentially scrap boards to be used as walk boards placed on top of the existing ceiling joists. They will not be used as flooring. Their purpose is to allow a safe walking platform while establishing the floor structure so as not to fall through the ceiling. Care must be used as you walk. Use a work light if one is not already wired into the attic. Work lighting is essential for safety.
2. Determine the length required to span above the trey so that one side (or both sides) attaches to the sloping rafters or weight-bearing walls below. Your new floor above the trey will not depend on the lumber in the trey for floor support. Treys that are near an outside wall will require the new floor joist to attach to the rafter with a matching roof slope cut. In this example, assume that the span is 12 feet from one side to the wall below.
3. Use floor joists that are at least 1 1/2-by-7 1/4-inch pine. One will be nailed alongside each of the upper ceiling joists in the trey using `6 penny cement coated nails. Use the level to determine the height of any vertical support member you may need at the other end, which is above the bearing wall. If the new floor joist does not reach the opposite rafter or wall, a short knee wall may be needed perpendicular to the new joists. Make sure the new joists are level throughout the structure. Proper spacing between the joists should be either 24 inches or 16 inches.
4. Verify that there is a uniform space below the joists equal to the height of the trey. The trey is now hidden from view. Make sure all joists are adequately nailed and level. Add any additional vertical supports necessary to distribute the weight load onto bearing walls below.
5. Use the tape measure and mark a line on the first joist 48 1/4 inches from the slope ceiling or wall. Repeat this at the other end of the room. Use the chalk line and snap a visible line over each floor joist. Place a tube of adhesive in the caulk gun and apply a bead of adhesive to each joist in the current plywood section. Lay a sheet of plywood on top of the joists and bring it to the chalk line. Make sure the plywood splits the last joist halfway so that the next sheet will have contact to the joist. Spot nail it in place using 8 penny cement-coated nails. Use the pencil and mark the locations of each floor joist below so you will know where to apply the screws in the next step. Repeat for each piece of plywood until the entire floor area is covered.
6. Use the power drill, Phillips bit and screws to complete the attachment of the plywood to each joist. At this point you should have a new level floor area above the trey ceiling.
Tags: floor joist, above trey, Make sure, trey ceiling, above trey ceiling