Help Please - I Need to Remove These From my Roof Space???

by **vidwiz** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 12:37 pm

I'm starting to strengthen the floor in my loft space and I've now started to look on how I can open the space up. It's a semi detached 1950's house.

Shown in picture 1 & 2 below is a sort of tension beam going across the loft. There are 2 of these in the loft space every 6 rafters.

Shown in picture 3 is the 125mm x 75mm beam that goes the length of the loft floor and runs parallel to a 220mm x 75mm pearling.

So can anyone advise me please on how to remove the tension beams but still keep the roof safe?

I'm thinking 100mm x 50mm C24 post's going up between the floor beam and pearling. What do you recon?

Thanks.

PIC1.

PIC2.

PIC3.

by **welsh brickie** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:09 am

honestly, its best to get a professional to look at the beams before removal, its hard to evaluate the job without first hand inspection

by **vidwiz** » Wed Jun 18, 2014 10:30 am

welsh brickie wrote:honestly, its best to get a professional to look at the beams before removal, its hard to evaluate the job without first hand inspection

Thanks for your reply - Not quite the advice I was looking for on a DIY site but I suppose it is best to be cautious.

Has anyone come across these types of supports before? I have spent hours looking on the net to see if anyone has tackled these before but can't seem to find anything similar!

I was also thinking of putting C24 100mm x 47mm across the top of all the rafters, so to make each one 'A' shaped for extra support.

Thanks in advance for any advice given.

by **welsh brickie** » Fri Jun 20, 2014 11:46 am

the pitch of the roof is quite steep and they could be tie beams used to stop the roof from flexing, the rafters seem quite thin aswell, like I said it needs inspecting before removal, if your planning to convert the attic into a habitable room then you need building control approval

by **vidwiz** » Sat Jun 28, 2014 4:08 pm

Thank you for your reply.
I just want to make it a good, strong storage/hobby type place. The floor is in the process of being strengthened but I don't want to keep climbing over these tie beams - I'm too old for cross-country! ;-)

I was thinking with all the extra supports I'm planning to do to each rafter I would be probably safe to remove the tension beams when every rafter has been supported. I was also thinking about integrating them into a dividing stud wall so all I would need to do is cut the middle of the beam out for a door.

by **thedoctor** » Sun Jun 29, 2014 8:29 am

Hi, take this opportunity to have the insulation in your loft increased to 270mm to comply with the regs. Take a look at the following link to our page on loft starage and raise the floor to accomodate the new insulation while at the same time providing a solid floor for storage https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/bo ... ftzone.htm

As for proving a room for hobby work I'm afraid this is illegal as it would then become living accomodation under the building regs and a fire escape stairway would have to be provided which goes straight to outside air without passing through another room.

Lofts, unless altered in the correct way, are for storage only and any "strengthening" for other purposes is dangerous as the loft floor is purely there to hold the ceiling up, not to be walked on regularly. You can find out all about loft conversion "rules" in our loft conversion pages.

https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/lo ... rsions.htm