Building a room in a loft

[Murmansk]

A friend of mine has a flat in the top floor of a large Victorian house. Th ere's a big loft above the flat that's accessed by a loft hatch in the hall , which is in the centre of the flat and under the point where the roof it at its maximum height.

The loft is horribly mucky with 120 years worth of dust and grit on the flo or.

My friend wants to create a "walk in wardrobe" in the loft ie put in a dece nt wooden loft ladder and build a "room" centred on the loft hatch and eff ectively sealed from the dirty loft and entered via the loft hatch.

I envisage putting some kind of floor down and making a cube shaped wooden framework to which plasterboard could be attached, we'd then probably get i t skimmed paint it. There'd be a light and a hatch in the wall to give acce ss to the rest of the loft should it be needed.

The sides of the cube would be about three metres and the height whatever w e can fit in under the roof.

Any thoughts, suggestions or ideas welcome - particularly on constructing t he walls of the room.

[JimK]

Leasehold or freehold?

Jim K

[Murmansk]

Freehold

[tabbypurr]

There's a big loft above the flat that's accessed by a loft hatch in the ha ll, which is in the centre of the flat and under the point where the roof i t at its maximum height.

cent wooden loft ladder and build a "room" centred on the loft hatch and e ffectively sealed from the dirty loft and entered via the loft hatch.

n framework to which plasterboard could be attached, we'd then probably get it skimmed paint it. There'd be a light and a hatch in the wall to give ac cess to the rest of the loft should it be needed.

we can fit in under the roof.

the walls of the room.

NT

[JimK]

/Freehold/q

Of the whole building or the flat?

Jim K

[pcb1962]

Unlikely

[stuart noble]

A good opportunity to get some insulation between the rafters. Victorian conversions are often lacking in this respect

[Robin]

Scotland?

[Tim Watts]

Scotland?

[stuart noble]

Shared freehold probably

[Tim Watts]

The main question is "who owns the roofspace" and "what permissions are needed to modify building structure and layout"?

[JimK]

/The main question is "who owns the roofspace" and "what permissions are needed to modify building structure and layout"? /Q

Aye, or och aye....

Jim K

[harry]

There's a big loft above the flat that's accessed by a loft hatch in the ha ll, which is in the centre of the flat and under the point where the roof i t at its maximum height.

cent wooden loft ladder and build a "room" centred on the loft hatch and e ffectively sealed from the dirty loft and entered via the loft hatch.

n framework to which plasterboard could be attached, we'd then probably get it skimmed paint it. There'd be a light and a hatch in the wall to give ac cess to the rest of the loft should it be needed.

we can fit in under the roof.

the walls of the room.

The ceiling is unlikely to be strong enough to become a floor (depending if there are any partition walls beneath to support it) One way to strengthen it up is to put in hangers from the purlins to an add itional "cross rafters" secured to the existing "ceiling joists.".

Dunno what the position is regarding other inhabitants.

[newshound]

If it has got a loft hatch (and especially if there was once a cold water tank in there) it's reasonable to assume that the joists will take the weight of a single person. If it's really going to be a walk in wardrobe, not a store for heavy stuff, I don't think you are likely to have a problem with loading. Timber was cheap in Victorian times and I would expect the ceiling joists to be quite meaty. That's not to say it is not worth thinking about whether there are supporting walls etc because the ceiling may develop cracks if there are excessive deflections under load.

[Chris French]

Our cold water tanks are on a platform supported between the chimney stack and the outer wall of the house. Just as well there is about 1000L up there.

Nothing particularly meaty about our ceiling joists - sure they support the weight of a person - but that's not saying much..

Ours all have cracks (and/or Artex ) and tend to sag bit etc. - just becuase they have been up ther for a long time I think

[GB]

Leaving aside all the complicated stuff about whether you are allowed to do it and whether the joists are strong enough, I have a question.

Instead of building a room that you have to climb up to, why not build cupboards that move up and down? That way, the user stays downstairs, presses a button (say), and his wardrobes descend to him.

The gap between joists is rather small, so you might need to take part of one out and strengthen the neighbours accordingly.

[ARW]

A lift?

[Bob Eager]

I'm reminded of Stirling Moss's kitchen and dining room...

stirling-moss/

[Adam Funk]

Dumbwaiters!

[Chris J Dixon]

Not without its risks though:

"Sir Stirling Moss recovering in hospital after fall down lift shaft

Having survived several crashes, including the one that forced his premature retirement from motor sport in 1962, Sir Stirling Moss's powers of recovery are undergoing another stern test following a potentially lethal accident at his home.

Moss, 80, suffered two broken ankles, four broken bones in his foot, skin abrasions and four chipped vertebrae when he fell down three floors of a lift shaft in his town house in Mayfair.

A statement from the Moss family said: "The door to the lift, that should have remained locked if the lift was not on the floor that it was called from, opened in error. He stepped into the narrow open shaft in the expectation that the lift would be present for him to walk into, as it should have been.""

Chris