Question about roof timbers

[Mark]

Hi All,

I want to board my loft space but there are some small timbers that I'm not sure what they are for.

The house was built in the 1960's and the loft space is fairly open in the middle (not trusses). It's a standard pitched roof (not hipped).

Near the corners of the central section there are some rough timbers bridging 3 or 4 joists. As I want to board the loft space I am trying to figure out if it is safe to remove these timbers. The timbers are close (6 inches ish) to a substantial cross member so I can't see the reason for them (except one was used as a support for a cold water tank but that's gone now).

Can anyone shed any light on whether it would be safe to remove these timbers?

I'm sure I've left out some important info so please ask :-)

Mark

[Chris Bacon]

Pic pic pic picture!

[Ian Stirling]

Or just take them out, wait for a high wind with lots of snow on the roof, and get a free diagnosis!

[Mark]

I'll try to locate a camera and some webspace to place pics on.

I'm guessing these timbers were used during the construction of the roof and never removed.

Mark.

[Weatherlawyer]

That could e a very good investment.

They sound more like a tank support that was left in after a refurb but you could be right. Either way it sounds safe to remove them.

The rafters will be be 3x2's at 2 foot centres (inside face to inside face.) Which means that you will need to put extra 2x2s in at 4 or 8 foot intervals. But it depends on what you can drag thrugh the hatch. I would suggest relocating the hatch and making it larger. Twin 18" doors perhaps. as you are going to need to reinforce the floor and roof joists.

The ceiling joists might well be 3x4s or 4x2s. Floor joists spanning 2 rooms will need to be 7x2s. It all depends on what span they are going to be.

Check out a link for joists in the faqs.

Once you have a walk of planks up there, use a roller to give a quick couple of coats of the cheapest emulsion to the roofing felt. Then install a couple of 300W halogens. Or smaller wattage if you can get them.

You next want to rewire and/if plumbing, the other necessaries.

If it is to take a fair weight, the ceiling joists need reinforcing. And that means more than the boards as they will be adding to the grief the joist will be getting.

[Mark]

I've got one -- it's just a matter of finding it ;-)

However there are four of them located at four corners (nowhere near each other), one was used as a tank support.

Why? I am only using the loft for storage, not as a living space.

Mark

[Mark]

[John Rumm]

than being added later. They are probably tie beams used to provide latteral bracing to the floor joists. Especially those with a long unsupported span. You could probably replace them by a row of noggings between the joists.

[meow2222]

I would be quite worried if someone followed this advice with my house.

NT

[Weatherlawyer]

How was I supposed to know you were not going to be holding line dancing meetings up there? Or storing memorabilia from WW 2, such as your selection of German tanks.

It's no good you asking advice if you are going to feed us information about your pet projects piecemeal. Bear that in mind the next time you come asking for help, dopey!

[John Rumm]

Will be? Seems to be make some presumptions. They could be any number of sizes and spacings. They are more likely to be 4x2" on a 60s property.

What are these for?

Might be a good idear to ask what sort of loading is going to be imposed before you go down this route.

Again you can't know that unless you know the loadings, the spacings and the span.

Don't think there are any in our FAQ - there is some advice in the approved documents (building regs) on the

site though.

Huh?

Have you been ghost writing for dribble lately? Can we have that again in english?

[Weatherlawyer]

Don't be silly. Read the OP.

Troll snipped.

[Mark]

I've done this. Thanks for the advice.

Mark

[John Rumm]

I read it, and could not see any need for 2x2"s Hence my question.

You said: "The rafters will be be 3x2's at 2 foot centres (inside face to inside face.) Which means that you will need to put extra 2x2s in at

4 or 8 foot intervals. "

Aside from the fact that the rafters are probably not going to be 3x2" and almost certainly won't be at 2' centres, what have the rafters got to do with anything? He wants to board the floor, not the underside of the roof.

Not trolling, just highlighting that what your were suggesting was ill thought out at best, and more likely a load of b*llox.

[Weatherlawyer]

almost certainly

wants to board the

I assumed he meant all of it.

In other words the rafters -no matter what section, are set at imperial dimensions. Modern plasterboard is metric. He will lose about half an inch in every board length.

I would have said by "loft space" he meant to enclose it all, otherwise he'd have said something more germaine such as: I want to put some stuff in the loft so I want to board the floor...

Assuming he was thinking of expandiing his family, I would have thought it an idea to put the leckie, aeriels, computer leads and plumbing under the boards or better still in the unusable outer edges.

He would then have needed to support or strengthen the floor joists. His understatement at the end, about leaving things out, should have warned me he was u ijaut.