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Question:by enclosing the house i hope to heighten the ceiling all the way to the roof members by doing away with the ceiling joists. understand i no longer have to bear the weight of the roof itself, i shouldnt have to worry about shear loads and as i see it i only force i have to deal with is the compressive load of the old roof bearing on the walls making them tend to press outwards, if i can remedy this with a few well placed braces, is there any other force im forgetting?! please check my thinking as i dont wont to worry about the walls falling either outward on inward on me as i sleep, thank you.
Answers:
In Engineering there is what is known as minimum L over D ratio. At some point of height a structural member such as a wall becomes unstable and can bend first, then buckle and collapse.
I would never remove any ceiling joists as they are contributing members to stability in a house.
The houses built today without ceiling joists have "triangular" stability built right into the roof support memebers, thus the protecting against a collapse of the structure.
In your older home, you have no such stability built into the roof structure so collapse is possible.
I do not have enough information to give the answer you seek. My opinion would be to hire an engineer. You can add collar ties to the rafters, T-brace load bearing walls, even buttress the walls on the outside. Only an on site inspection would give the best, and simplest solution.
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