Free-spanning trusses

[Tobyone]

Hello,

I live in a house with a hipped roof that was built in 1975. On the construction documents from when the house was built, it states "self-supporting truss rafter. dimension rafters 45x145mm, bottom chord 45x145mm" and there is also a field where one should fill in how load-bearing interior walls are constructed, but it is not filled in.

Does this mean that I can remove interior walls without any problem? The house is 7.5m wide and 16.6m long inside. Already, there are 4 meters at one end of the house where there are no interior walls.

Is there a risk that interior walls that were not originally load-bearing can become "load-bearing" over time if the trusses have settled?

Best regards, Tobias

 

[MagHam]

Even if a structure has its main load-bearing elements (trusses, walls, floor joists, etc.) it is more or less accepted that after settlements and deflections, other building components not designed to bear loads are also burdened.

Is there a wise saying that; in the end, all parts are load-bearing, more or less.

 

[Tobyone]

Yes, it seems reasonable that non-load-bearing interior walls support sagging trusses, but can they support so much that the interior walls that are torn down need to be replaced with some form of load-bearing beams?
Or is it just a matter of tearing down and hoping the roof stays up?

Do you need to bring in a structural engineer to calculate it before tearing down the interior walls?

 

[corre]

There may be drooping from the ceiling that looks unpleasant. Not much, but 15-20mm is definitely noticeable.
Is there an attic above? Do you have space for a crossbeam in the attic?