Help getting headroom space above stairs without making a mess.


GeneDavis
 Share

Recommended Posts

I have tried some things and am making a mess.  There has got to be a clean way.

 

In a house with attached huge garage, AKA a barndominium, there's a second floor "bonus" room accessed by a stairs.  See the pics.  I did the main floor vestibule as a room with walls and 9/0 ceiling same as house, the landing above as a room bounded by railings, gave that landing room an 8/0 ceiling height, and plopped in stairs with no ceiling above, thus the ceiling is over stairs same as huge garage, 16'4".  The section view shows where I want to do a sloped ceiling segment from the 16/4 ceiling up to the one over the landing.  And I want walls to close off the ceiling cut.  Chief gave me no walls.  I can readily do walls with solids if it is easier.

 

What steps to take to get this overhead to bring the stairs into compliance for headroom?  As it is right now, the 80-inch line asks for a small chop.  I want it generous and done in a way that the trusses generate the sloped framing.  A ceiling plane is needed, but also removal of ceiling.

Screenshot 2026-07-18 085536.png

Untitled 2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello Gene,

 

You may want to frame the bottom of truss at the highest point and then use ceiling planes to frame the dropped ceiling portions.

 

You also may want to send a sketch of the truss to your truss mfr to make sure it's possible.  I can seeing squatting issues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You might consider a landing-sized skylight above with a sloped shaft toward the stair.

 

This gets you the headroom clearance and looks intentional.

 

The truss mfg. can design for the roof opening.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What I tried, and it made a mess, was to draw, on floor 2, the level of the top-of-stair landing, a small adjacent "room" extending 24 inches over the stairs, just two walls, specified invisible, and the small "room" this created I called as having no floor (open below) and flat ceiling at 8/0 height above floor.  Here is a pic of the truss that is over the landing.  I want to widen that boost on the left edge.

 

image.thumb.png.da76a953476230aa87c2e6f7124ab4cf.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gene, I think there are two ways to approach this.

 

If the goal is an accurate framing model, I'd modify the truss profile and let the framing reflect the finished condition.

 

If the goal is simply to show the condition with model accuracy...

 

Use an Open Below room over the stair and then model the sloped ceiling with ceiling planes.

 

This approach may be much cleaner than trying to modify the second-floor ceiling directly.

Snip20260718_9.thumb.png.a5cfd934929b61579adc56cb72e85d5a.png

Edited by VHampton
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, @Joe_Carrick, and while I can readily manually edit the truss to the profile I want (or thought I wanted) to get it in 3D.  But then @VHampton stepped into the room, and said the magic words, "model accuracy."  I can and will edit the two trusses to show the trussie what we need done, and can do a CAD detail to show the framers how to block it.  But as an exercise, I'll do the third floor thing to see how the hole looks, although I know that a third floor will make getting the truss envelope needed an impossibility.  Too bad there is no "hole in ceiling" tool.  I tried a tray, but you cannot abut a tray to a wall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Howdy Gene,

 

Can you just make a Floor2 "Open Below" room with invisible walls like this?

 

You can adjust the invisible walls' locations and add a manual sloped ceiling plane, as you wish.

Temp Gene1.jpg

Edited by CharlesVolz
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gene...

I'm going to suggest a better way via a poly-line. 

Convert it to a hole in the ceiling.

While I don't use truss framing, maybe this feature has a way of altering the truss?

Snip20260718_10.thumb.png.2169e7a585b535d396b9e67f08ae336d.pngSnip20260718_11.thumb.png.8268decc6cb102fd58e89e3e6eba946c.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow!  Hey, @CharlesVolz please please tell me what you did there?  I go on floor two where the landing is, and draw invisible walls, make the "room" open below, and the ceiling same height as the landing "room" but mine turns out a mess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share