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So I'm looking for a solution to leveling out the ceiling in this space. The outer walls are sitting on a foundation that isn't quite level, I'm seeing about 1/2" in elevation changes from one side to the other of the room and even a drop from front to back. To compound the issue, the trusses were built using green rough sawn 2x4's from a local mill, so as they dried, they've warped and twisted a bit.

I originally was thinking I could just cut the nails on some of the truss ties and jack up and manipulate the bottom cord to where I need it to be, one truss at a time. The more I thought about that the less I was liking that idea. I'd be fighting stresses from the supporting trusses around it, and pushing and twisting a lot of things and potentially could mess with all the seals on the roof fasteners, creating leaks and such.

My next thought was to just do furring strips across the trusses starting with outside and doing shorter ones every 2' or so. This was leaving the screw spacing for the ceiling a bit far apart and may cause some warping in the osb over time. The other issue is that not all are sagged consistently, some are a steady curve then others twist and the cord board drops and inch closer to the wall end.

They are all consistent where they land in the middle of the ceiling though, right at about 2 1/2" lower than the walls. The walls are on a raised concrete wall, around the entire perimeter of the garage, so even with the sag, the ceilings are almost 8' in the center.

What I think might work is to scab in 2x4s from the end of the truss to the middle of the room, on each end of the truss. I'd notch out the wall end to the amount of sag I need to remove and attach the inner part level with the bottom of the truss. Trusses are on 2' centers.

Something like this is what I'm thinking.
IMG_4693.jpeg

I'd support the notched side from the bottom with either a 1x4, joist hangers (if I can find them that short), or the wall OSB panel.

Anyone have any thoughts about this or any other ideas to consider?
 
Rennie Heuer said:
I think sistering a level 2x to each of the bottom cords is a good idea. You're adding sheetrock I presume? Any idea what the loads the trusses are rated for? 32' of 2x and sheetrock are going to add a few pounds.
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It's probably going to be 7/16 OSB, caulked and painted at first. It's going to be a humid space, even with the mini-split and maybe a dehumidifier, so didn't want to go with drywall. The OSB isn't too heavy, but not sure the texture will be something that looks good without some sanding and filling, so it may get covered.

We have stacks and stacks of old barn tin, which would probably be a good option, but also lots of places for spiders to hide, which would not be preferred by SWMBO. ;)

Edit: No idea on the trusses, they are hand built, 2' on center, 22' long. Probably overkill for the tin roof it's been holding up, but yeah, ceiling will add some weight, but only doing the 12' width of this space, not the entire garage. I'll be walling off the end of the last truss to block the space above the studio off from the rest of the garage, unless I just decide to put up barn tin in the garage too. I still use some the space up there for storage.
 
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Darren Wright said:
Edit: No idea on the trusses, they are hand built, 2' on center, 22' long. Probably overkill for the tin roof it's been holding up, but yeah, ceiling will add some weight, but only doing the 12' width of this space, not the entire garage. I'll be walling off the end of the last truss to block the space above the studio off from the rest of the garage, unless I just decide to put up barn tin in the garage too. I still use some the space up there for storage.
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In that case, build your dividing wall of equal height to your exterior wall and run 2x8 the 12' from one to the other, ignoring the trusses. With appropriate blocking (if you can avoid interference from the truss cords) they should be able to support the ceiling. Tie your divider wall to the trusses for stability. (Disclaimer - I'm not a builder, I just play one on the internet. :rofl: )
 
I think sistering level 2x4s to the sides of the bottom chord is a good and easily workable plan, too. Find the lowest truss for a reference point and level everything from that. If the additional weight of ceiling material is a concern, add a beam between the partition and exterior walls at the center of the trusses. I don't know how much of a concern snow loads are in your area, but that could be something to consider, as well.
 
Walls are plumb, but foundation has some ups and downs, but they were poured that way, no cracks or shifting of the concrete.

I setup a laser on top of my 6’ ladder and measured from the bottom of the trusses to the laser line. I measured at the front wall, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and at the back wall of each truss. The front wall is almost 2” higher than the back wall.
IMG_4696.jpeg

As I mentioned before these were green lumber, the shrinkage may have caused it, there may be some nail sheer.
IMG_4699.jpeg
 
Longitudinal shrinkage probably not a big player. Side nailing vs gussets could give you the nail shear and maybe insufficient overlap on the bottom chord/tie beam could contribute, even though it's in tension. The king post's job is to help prevent sagging. Sorry for the distraction. None of this helps with your ceiling issue, I was just curious.
 
Dave Hawksford said:
Darren , wondering why not use a set of French glass doors.
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Well, same reason she nixed the side window, she wants the cabinet and shelf storage space and doesn't want to use up wall space with extra openings and walk ways. We may add a window back in that side wall, we'll get the new windows in and the new door installed to see how she likes the light they provide. I may even add another smaller windows, up high, in the back wall for a cross breeze.

I really need her to sit down and lay out where she plans to have her wheel, supplies, work tables, and such. I got electrical outlet boxes nailed on, but may have gone overboard (is there such a thing?). I need to have her look at it and we'll dial those back or move some as needed. I may have to make her scale print-out of the room along with some scaled cut-outs for her to mess around with, she has a hard time visualizing how things fit in a space.

I need to work on electrical for lighting and make decisions on placement of recessed lights and possibly surface mounted ones. I'll be doing the switchable 2700k - 6000k led lights so that she can pick the color that works for her. I've got the 5000k in my shop, but my office and craft room have the recessed lights set to 3000k.
 
Side note, just out of HS I worked for a year at a Pier One furniture store. My manager found I had a knack for assembling things, so I spent a lot of time assembling the shelving they used, which she called "Lundia" shelves. The word stuck with me and I found the name was the manufacturer of the shelving.

The shelving was very configurable, and I know for a fact they can hold a lot of weight. I thought it might work well in her studio for supplies and drying racks. I was a bit sticker shocked at the price of some of it though.

Doing some googling, it looks like a lot of potters are using the IKEA Ivar shelving, which is very similar. There are pins about every inch or so for raising/lowering shelves, there are also additional bins, shelves, doors, and other accessories to purchase to make them more configurable. They are unfinished pine, so making custom accessories shouldn't be a problem.
www.ikea.com

IVAR System

Shop our IVAR storage system and customize your space. The system is designed so you can combine different pieces to suit your space.
www.ikea.com www.ikea.com

I probably could mill out some these, but got enough projects for my near future, so these may be what we go with to start with, at least some basic shelves.
 
Updated the layout to what we actually decided on, which is the two window in front, and the kiln/drying room as 6' x 10' (2' narrower than option c). It gives me a little more room around the UTV. ;)

SketchUp

Draw, orbit, push-pull: make anything you can imagine in SketchUp, anytime you imagine it.
app.sketchup.com app.sketchup.com

I also did a grid of layout lines and exported the floor plan and the various objects, to scale, for her to print, cut-out, and play around with layouts. I marked up a copy with doors/door swing, areas a sink could go, places nothing can go, such as in front of the electrical panel and around the kiln. That should help us decide if the outlets and lighting are somewhat in the right spots.
Screenshot 2025-09-03 at 1.04.13 PM.png
 
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