Roof Beam replacement.

[BlueKnife]

I would not remove the bottom cord, or any other part of the truss, no matter what else is done in there.

Why?

 

[EddieWalker]

Every time you modify something, or remove part of a structure, you cause damage to what's remaining. It takes a lot more figuring out of things to know what you will end up with after the modification, then it does to do the modification. None of us know what is going on with that truss enough to suggest making any changes to it. Assuming that there is a ridge beam that can support rafters if the truss is modified isn't something I'm on board with, or willing to encourage.

Fix what's broken, make it stronger then before, and add more to it, but never do anything that makes it weaker.

 

[2manyrocks]

This thing has already broken once and several people have already had expressed different opinions on how to make the repair and whether the truss should have been designed and built this way. That's not a good situation to step into for someone trying to make a repair.

I'm just hoping it is now stable enough that a snow load this winter won't break it.

 

[BlueKnife]

Every time you modify something, or remove part of a structure, you cause damage to what's remaining. It takes a lot more figuring out of things to know what you will end up with after the modification, then it does to do the modification. None of us know what is going on with that truss enough to suggest making any changes to it. Assuming that there is a ridge beam that can support rafters if the truss is modified isn't something I'm on board with, or willing to encourage.

Fix what's broken, make it stronger then before, and add more to it, but never do anything that makes it weaker.

But we do know what's going on with it, or at least those of us who are intimately familiar with that style and dimensions of construction do. 30-40 ft. wide post frame buildings are ubiquitous in the OP's area. I live in one, in fact, as do many of my neighbors. I also build them, regularly, using the same methods I've been describing. The design and methods to build them are very well known and understanding the forces involved is not complicated once you've worked on, repaired and built enough of them.

 

[Streetcar]

Why?

The bottom chord is holding your walls in. Remove it and you just have your connections holding the walls in

 

[EddieWalker]

But we do know what's going on with it, or at least those of us who are intimately familiar with that style and dimensions of construction do. 30-40 ft. wide post frame buildings are ubiquitous in the OP's area. I live in one, in fact, as do many of my neighbors. I also build them, regularly, using the same methods I've been describing. The design and methods to build them are very well known and understanding the forces involved is not complicated once you've worked on, repaired and built enough of them.

I'm a contractor and I get a lot of work fixing what others have done wrong. Usually it's removing something that they where positive didn't need to be there. Only thing worse then somebody modifying something, is telling others to modify it without actually have hands and eyes on it.

 

[BlueKnife]

The bottom chord is holding your walls in. Remove it and you just have your connections holding the walls in

Not with a post holding up the center it isn't.

 

[Streetcar]

But we do know what's going on with it, or at least those of us who are intimately familiar with that style and dimensions of construction do. 30-40 ft. wide post frame buildings are ubiquitous in the OP's area. I live in one, in fact, as do many of my neighbors. I also build them, regularly, using the same methods I've been describing. The design and methods to build them are very well known and understanding the forces involved is not complicated once you've worked on, repaired and built enough of them.

If you take out the bottom chord, you are dramatically changing the stress on the members and their connections. the original failure was at connection and your recommendation is increasing stress in those connections

Not with a post holding up the center it isn't.

have you ever heard of the collapse of the balcony at the Kansas City Hyatt. Similar setup killed over 100 people when balcony collapsed

 

[BlueKnife]

I'm a contractor and I get a lot of work fixing what others have done wrong.

Same here. I deal with other people's poor workmanship quite regularly. In that, it sound like we're similar. One, (perhaps significant, perhaps not) difference though, is that I'm a contractor in the region where the OP is located, who specializes in the type, style of construction and general size of building that we're discussing.

have you ever heard of the collapse of the balcony at the Kansas City Hyatt. Similar setup killed over 100 people when balcony collapsed

I hadn't heard of that. I'll look it up. How many balconies of the exact same dimensions had the person who removed the supports built or modified before? Were there hundreds of balconies of the same size and construction style, dealing with the same loads in the area to compare it to?

 

[ning]

I wouldn't remove the bottom chord, because even with the left side of the (bottom) chord broken, there was still some tension functionality served with the rest of the truss - particularly once the bottom was braced:

Yes, putting in a ridge-to-floor support probably obviates the chord. Probably.
The only thing I'd consider is putting in a few extra studs in that wall right under the king post and remove the tree trunk replacement and regain that few inches.

Otherwise I wouldn't take it any further than he's already got it... but I do look forward to the next 10 pages of this thread now that the op's done