Raising the roof

[Dr Stan]

I'm kicking myself as I knew when I built my 24 X 48 shop it should have 12ft walls, but instead made them 8ft. Trying to save a buck.

When I first built my shop with the 8ft walls I installed the trusses without a ceiling so I could use them for storage. However I insulated the underside of the roof with fiberglass batting and in turn covered them with ceiling tile. Being the safety nazi I am I was concerned with welding sparks reaching the kraft paper and igniting. I'm removing said tiles and they will not go back up. I'm still somewhat concerned with welding sparks reaching the ceiling, but realize the chance is quite low.

Is there something one could recommend to protect the underside of the insulation? I researched Tyvek and discovered it has a class 1 fire rating just like typical clothing. They also have a fire retardant version which I assume is much more expensive.

Am I over thinking this? Should I install a ceiling (I'd really rather not) and store the material on the added 4ft height of the walls? Should I cover the underside of the insulation with light weight fire resistant canvas? Just cover the area above my welding table?

I'm also seriously considering buying/building a large hood with forced ventilation to install above my welding bench. Would this effectively eliminate my welding spark/fire issue?

Or am I still over thinking/being a super safety nazi?

Thanks in advance.

[TomG]

Hi Stan,

The ceiling should be drywalled. The stuff is cheap and fire resistant, although not a one man job to put up, especially on a 12 foot ceiling.

Tom

[Vinny]

I have 10' ceilings and I put the drywall up myself with the exception of a couple of pieces where I didn't bend the right way to get on top of the pallet rack to screw it in. My kid helped there. The trick? $135 (shipped) drywall lift on ebay.

[wawoodman]

(06-05-2017, 05:14 PM)Vinny Wrote: I have 10' ceilings and I put the drywall up myself with the exception of a couple of pieces where I didn't bend the right way to get on top of the pallet rack to screw it in.  My kid helped there.  The trick?  $135 (shipped) drywall lift on ebay.

Amen to that! Or, if you've got a helper or two, you can rent them pretty cheap. If you're working alone, and plan on letting the time drag out, buy one, like Vinny said!

[Dr Stan]

(06-05-2017, 07:28 AM)TomG Wrote: Hi Stan,

The ceiling should be drywalled. The stuff is cheap and fire resistant, although not a one man job to put up, especially on a 12 foot ceiling.

Tom

I bought a drywall lift along with a 15ft extension just for this possibility. Figure I can sell it for at least 75% of its cost. Rental was just not cost effective.

Guess drywall it will be.

[Vinny]

I figured I'd sell it too, then decided to keep it. It doesn't really take up any usable space when stored. I started by renting when I did the upstairs of the shop. That took all day with the stairway. I figured it'd take a couple of days at least to do the shop. Renting wasn't cost effective for me either.

[Dr Stan]

Been kicking around some more ideas on how to tie the roof extension to the existing wall.  I'll probably use 1/2" 1018 rods and coupling nuts to tie it to the anchor bolts along with the construction adhesive.

[f350ca]

I've seen wall extensions kick out over time. You might want to consider removing the top plate of the existing wall so that you can overlap the studs giving the wall some sideways stability.

[Dr Stan]

(06-06-2017, 12:30 PM)f350ca Wrote: I've seen wall extensions kick out over time. You might want to consider removing the top plate of the existing wall so that you can overlap the studs giving the wall some sideways stability.

I've accepted the advise of several posters here and at the Garage Journal and will install 12 ft long studs eliminating the hinge.  I guess I'll also play nice and talk to Planning & Zoning later this week.  I need to have the utility company disconnect the power either at the weather head or the pole.

[Dr Stan]

Just returned from Planning & Zoning.  Started the application process for a building permit & an electrical permit.  Total fees comes to $61.00 and absolutely no hassle from P&Z.  Nice and very helpful guy as a matter of fact.

Also its not necessary to file a legal notice in the paper as I'm not modifying the foot print.  When I built my shop the newspaper charged over $500 for the notice and I didn't even get a kiss.