I was looking at my 2 post lift on Monday night and it seems if I could raise the ceiling in the garage about a foot I will have full use of the lifting height, at least on the low setting. The lift is up between the trusses and it seems like it would be so easy to raise the ceiling. I would only want to do it over the lift which includes 4-5 trusses. I only want to raise the center section of the truss, the sides can remain untouched. I searched and searched on the net and found no place where anyone would say how to do it. I am sure it is do to liability. Same answered is posted almost anywhere the question is posed, talk to an engineer or architect and get them to engineer some drawings. Not really interested in engineered drawings just an intelligent opinion and someone to answer some questions.

The trusses are a basic fink truss and I only want to raise the lower cord in the center by a foot or a little more. The shape would end up being similar to a double inverted truss but with the center cord just raised, not removed. I would just go ahead a convert my trusses to double inverted trusses but the pictures I have seen seem to show that they need to be support at 4 places, not two, which will not work.

I am thinking about adding a "new" lower cord in the center about a foot higher than the existin lower cord. Then I would cover the newly created triangle with OSB to disperse all the loads then removing the "old" lower cord. I think that would be more than good. This would work best if it is tension forces in that area, not compressor forces, which in my head it seems that it would be, but my head is a mess sometimes.


Yes, in retrospect, I should have gotten 5-6 scissor trusses to use over the lift are when I built the garage but I wasn't thinking and now I am hoping to correct my mistake. And before anyone says it my shop is in town and I had height restrictions, the 10.5' celing is as high as I could go.

Any assiatnce or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

I have pictures of the fink truss and my proposed modification but cant get them to display. I suck at the internet.

buy trusses is my suggestion...i had mine cut and now my barn is sagging / walls are bowing...

Some considerations for you:
No matter how well you build this, unless you have a letter from an engineer and engineered plans/specs (even then, I doubt anyone will advise you to modify the trusses on site), your insurance company will have grounds to deny any damage/structural claim made down the road, even if some sort of natural disaster wiped out the whole neighborhood.

If you plan on selling your home ever, a decent inspector will see this modification and red flag it to the buyers.

Your best bet to get this done without pictures is probably getting 1/2 trusses and having them joined on site during install; this of course must be signed off by an engineer, truss manuf., and your city building official and inspected.

Edit: If you do this without all the engineering, you would want to sister these trusses on both sides, put up temp load bearing posts, and then modify your bottom chords and webs to form a new truss.

Its not worth it.. I deal with truss plants all day and i have seen some sketchy stuff they have had to "fix" from a PO..

I bet you'd be surprised how inexpensive it really is

Contact the truss mfg and they can give you information on how to modify their trusses.

Edit: If you do this without all the engineering, you would want to sister these trusses on both sides, put up temp load bearing posts, and then modify your bottom chords and webs to form a new truss.

I will try to get the pictures posted. What I have in mind can be 100% complete before I remove any part of the existing truss. It is only one 2x4 and that 2x4 will be relocated about 1' up in the same orientation as the one that was removed.

Its not worth it.. I deal with truss plants all day and i have seen some sketchy stuff they have had to "fix" from a PO..

I bet you'd be surprised how inexpensive it really is

How inexpensive what is?? Having an engineer do up the drawings.

Contact the truss mfg and they can give you information on how to modify their trusses.


The trusses were part of a building package. I guess I can contact Carter Lumber to see who makes the trusses in their packages.

I'm no enginner -- but when moving, cutting, modifying trusses for skylights and such -- you end up doubling and tripling up the adjacent trusses.

So if you can't get anywhere 'officially' you could always go that route - but then when it all collapses and crushes your project we will laugh and point.

Its not worth it.. I deal with truss plants all day and i have seen some sketchy stuff they have had to "fix" from a PO..



This sounds so easy. Just make sure to make is stronger than what you have up already. You could sandwich with like size boards or use plywood to box in triangles and nodes.


In my father's barn we sandwiched all the trusses with plywood and then attached 3 runner I-beams and a spanning I-beam for a hoist system. This is slick as shit for picking up anything ~1/2 ton in the shop. I thought about drawing it up but in the end to much work and was easier to just overkill the work.

You could probably get a different style truss and get it up into the bay and then remove the old truss. If your lift covers 16 ft, you would only need 8 or 9 trusses.

Last job I did, the trusses for the garage were about $1000 for a standard 24x24 garage with a 4/12 pitch - included grider trusses, all the hip parts and the outriggers for the soffits. I bet you could get trusses in the range of $60 each. You could use catheral trusses or scissor trusses.

I had a garage that the ceiling height was too short for an overhead door to clear my Super Duty. We cut the bottom of the truss out and moved them up 18" to make room for the overhead door and opener. We took new lumber and installed before we made any cuts though. Never had a chance to bow or sway that way. Been 4 years ago and still looks perfect.