Q: I’ve been doing some spring cleaning and organizing. I want to place a number of things in storage, and wonder if I can use our trussed attic space for storing rarely used items.
A: Understand that trusses are designed to hold the roof up above them, and the drywall ceiling installed on the underside. They are designed to carry more than just the roof above and ceiling below, given the possibility of hurricanes and tropical storms which put pressure on them.
That said, their capacity to carry weight has limits. A half sheet of plywood down the middle with some light boxes of seasonal ornaments, and your winter coats in case you do some traveling, should be OK. Placing hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds of ‘stuff’ in the attic may cause your trusses to fail and cause significant damage to your home.
