Help for loft conversion DIY on cheap

[steviemarsh]

Hi there ! newbie here so i'll appologise in advance for any ignorance that shows through...
the house that we moved into already had the loft floored out and collar ties raised with electrics and lighting .
there are braces 1.5 metre high at every truss to floor joist about 1.5 metres from outer wall and for good measure our lawyer got a joiner to put 4 of braces from floor to ridge (not needed apparently). 2 fold question we want to take out the centre braces (floor to ridge) and raise the collar ties which are 30" ridge to bottom of tie ..how higher can i put them with 74 inches from bottom of tie to floor at present.....but want to sister 6x2 joists to existing 4"x2"joists which the ends seem to be in the wall and not on and bricked between joists(not explained well ) .
floor span is about 7m with a load bearing wall roughly at centre dividing rooms below . Can i bolt to existing without going into wall like originals or do i use hangers and cut joists in two and butt together above load bearing wall because of hatch access at moment or would i get away with 2"x2" laid at 90 degrees on top of existing joists .
phew ! that was one hell of questions...sorry !
hope to convert to bedroom only - do it this way as should we move later it wont be too much to get it to regs and planning consent later too
any help would be gratefully accepted....cheers !
stevie

 

[Static]

for good measure our lawyer got a joiner to put 4 of braces from floor to ridge (not needed apparently)

Huh? Why is your lawyer instructing joiners to work on the roof?! and if it was not needed why was it done?

there are braces 1.5 metre high at every truss to floor joist about 1.5 metres from outer wall and for good measure our lawyer got a joiner to put 4 of braces from floor to ridge (not needed apparently). 2 fold question we want to take out the centre braces (floor to ridge) and raise the collar ties which are 30" ridge to bottom of tie ..how higher can i put them with 74 inches from bottom of tie to floor at present.....but want to sister 6x2 joists to existing 4"x2"joists which the ends seem to be in the wall and not on and bricked between joists(not explained well ) .

Right firstly your description of the roof is a little vague, photos both of the loft space showing the timbers and externally can help.

Few questions:
Do you have a purlin running each side of the roof?
Are the braces each side vertical or diagonal?
What age is the property?
Are the struts/collar/rafters/joists all connected with nail plates?
Do the floor to ridge members your lawyer put in sit on the load bearing wall?

Chances are the vertical members your lawyer got put in where to try and combat the spread issues caused by the previous owner moving the collar ties up.. who is telling you these arent needed?

floor span is about 7m with a load bearing wall roughly at centre dividing rooms below . Can i bolt to existing without going into wall like originals or do i use hangers and cut joists in two and butt together above load bearing wall because of hatch access at moment or would i get away with 2"x2" laid at 90 degrees on top of existing joists .

Your new floor joists are undersized and will not comply with building regs.. and yes they will need to be supported on all the load bearing walls (external walls and the internal one), so long as there is adequate masonry then joist hangers with wall plate would be fine..
No you cant just bolt to existing.. the new joists will need thier own bearing points.. and ideally should be independant of the existing..
No dont butt the joists over the wall either, but simply stagger them so they get maximum bearing..

hope to convert to bedroom only - do it this way as should we move later it wont be too much to get it to regs and planning consent later too

You will need to have serious thoughts on access stairs to get it to comply with building regs (normally the sticking point for most loft conversions).. as well as floor-ceiling height issues..

In the end a badly done partial conversion will normally lower the property price by the cost to turn it into a proper conversion.. better to do it correct to building refs in the first place then spend 2x the cost fixing mistakes..

 

[steviemarsh]

thank you for your help and sorry it was vague. the answers to your questions are...
the lawyer got the ridge to floor struts put in off his own back - joiner disagreed but did the job anyway.

1..there are no purlins
2.. the side braces/hangers are vertical
3.. the property was built by ex authority in late 60's / early 70's
4..all collars / braces etc seem to be just nailed- no plates
5.. the floor to ridge to support sits on a piece of 4x2 that is on the chipboard flooring

 

[steviemarsh]

//www.diynot.com/network/steviemarsh/albums/

 

[Static]

Thanks for the pics..

Those vertical struts look newer to the existing rafters, can you check the the rafters to see if there was a fixing point further up the rafter and thus the original struts may already have been moved to make extra room..
Or may not have even been part of the existing room makeup at all.. always a possibility the previous owner removed all the supporting timbers to make room for his partial conversion.. and just put back what he needed for walls/ceilings to the room..
There will be tell tale signs on the ceiling and roof rafters to where old timbers connected..

To be honest i think you would be far better off doing this properly, getting in an SE and maybe an Architect/Technician to draw up some plans.. then do get planning/BC involved and do the works at your leisure..

 

[steviemarsh]

Thank you for all your advice, at this point i have sought the help of a friend of the family who is a builder. He is going to have a look at all the timbers in the loft and advise what to do next.
I think the best way is to do this under supervision from him and all will be to specs' and regs so that later on if / when i decide to sell it will be easier to pass the regs etc..
It just shows that you cannot always trust the work done in your home before you buy it , that all is correct..
thank you once again

stevie

 

[noseall]

To be honest i think you would be far better off doing this properly, getting in an SE and maybe an Architect/Technician to draw up some plans.. then do get planning/BC involved and do the works at your leisure..

...To which you replied..

Thank you for all your advice, at this point i have sought the help of a friend of the family who is a builder. He is going to have a look at all the timbers in the loft I think the best way is to do this under supervision from him

Hmm? You need an S.E. to look at it, THEN a builder.