what would you believe would be the most economical, strong and safe way to put up a 2nd floor and a loft?
i have looked at lams and post and beam. both are really about the same in pricing here but the lams would cost more in freight. all walls to be added are non load bearing as there is already a steel structure here. the slab is also already in place, except for cracking around the edge of the interior wall all else seems structurally sound.
i have a free span of 30' down the center but can cut this down to 15' by adding a center post.
after installing the main frame i was looking at the open joist floor trusses but cant find any info on how to build these on the job site to get the right depth. the second floor will be a bedroom only and the loft for an office and or overflow. all the main weight will be on the first floor as will the plumbing.
the walls will be stick or channel construction with foam insulation.
this is a round structure 30' across and 30' high. doors and windows will have a bolted angle frame with an additional wood frame inside of them so as to have a way to secure them.
any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
i have finally had the time to rip out the metal grating that was the floor and my new project is officially been started.
We talked about something similar to this when one of our members was going to build a house inside a grain tank.
I would stick frame it I think. Possible bolted where needed to the steel frame.
Gonna have pix?
Have you looked yet at the university engineering extension services? I found plans there for building your own roof trusses, but can't remember if they also had floor truss plans. If I can find the link I'll post it.
im gonna have some pics of where im at on this project soon, as i mentioned i have only just started this after doing much research. but between working on my house, and my farm unfortunately this was put on the back burner until now.
any help and or knowledge will always be much appreciated!
as for regular stick framing i believe it will not be cost efficient and also this area has to many termites to fill my tank with mega wood if you know what i mean, but time will tell for sure.