is this providing support for the purlin?

[whatshappening]

Just wondering if anybody can tell me if the purlin is being supported by the vertical wooden strut to the right of the picture? Does the hip rafter keep the purlin in place if this strut is removed?
There is a brick bedroom wall below this wooden strut, but the wall does not provide support to the ceiling joists. I want to remove the bedroom wall, and despite 2 people telling me they "think" it is safe to remove this wooden strut, i am still having my doubts.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[^woody^]

Does the hip rafter keep the purlin in place if this strut is removed?

No. The strut is supporting the purlin

 

[whatshappening]

Thanks for the reply Woody.
Do you know what additional support could be provided to enable me to remove this strut, or do i need a structural engineer?

 

[Ian H]

The one under the purlin is a support for the purlin, the other 2 will be to stop the ceiling sagging.

I would guess that the support goes right down through the brick wall and into a base plate of timber under the wall. It looks exactly the same as ours.


Why do you want to remove it?

Sorry, just re read that you want to remove the wall.

Assuming you have a central brick load bearing wall in the centre of the house you would need a structural engineer to design a beam to go from the front wall to the centre wall, taking into account the point load from that support.

 

[^woody^]

You will need a beam, which could potentially be a couple of timbers bolted together, rather than steel, and this will need to span across somewhere to support that post, or a new post in a different location.

 

[whatshappening]

Thanks for the replies.
Unfortunately, there isn't a central brick load bearing wall.
Just wondering if the "support goes right down through the brick wall and into a base plate of timber under the wall", then does the rest of the brick wall provide any support or is the timber taking the load by itself? In theory could the brick wall be removed and the timber left in place?

 

[^woody^]

Using something like sky hooks you mean?

 

[Ian H]

You could have done that at mine but not sure about yours.

The brick walls upstairs at my house were some hollow, 3 core things. The plaster came off with he paper to reveal the bricks and they were very brittle so we got rid.

We removed a wall below in the kitchen so put a steel beam across the kitchen ceiling, a block wall ontop of that and reinstated the same support that your on about. We had the purlin propped with acros either side while we did it.

I'll try and find a photo.

 

[Ian H]

There you go. I'm not sure what dance our daughter is doing.

Left alone over time that support may bend. That just my thoughts, I'm in no way qualified to give you any proper advise, only what I've done myself as a DIY'er.

 

[whatshappening]

Yeah, forget that idea. Just took some of the plaster off, and the strut supporting the purlin rests directly on a timber base plate which then sits on the brickwork.
Perhaps an rsj in the wall is the only way forward?!

 

[whatshappening]

Thanks for the photos 1990.
The central wall in my house is very similar, but wouldn't trust it to take any more weight.
Looks like you had fun!!!!

 

[John D v2.0]

We had a similar situation, strut supported by a 2 inch block wall which had a timber post at one end supported off the 1st floor joists and was tied into the chimney at the other end.
One the chimney was demolished, the wall was unstable, so a steel was added at the other end (chimney end) to keep everything balanced together. You may be able to do something similar to us.

 

[Ian H]

We are still at it but it isn't always fun

 

[chappers]

yep that's supporting the purlin and the hip rafter doesn't support the purlin

Yeah, forget that idea. Just took some of the plaster off, and the strut supporting the purlin rests directly on a timber base plate which then sits on the brickwork.
Perhaps an rsj in the wall is the only way forward?!

Speak with a SE, as Woody suggested you can probably get away with some timber beams rather than an RSJ

 

[Doggit]

How long is the purlin, and are there any other supports. Those are damned big purlins, and I wonder if the support was just to hold the purlin in place during the roofs construction. I think at the end of the day, it's going to be an SE that gives you a definitive answer, including an alternative method of support.

If there isn't a central load bearing wall, then how far down does the wall under the support go, to the first floor, or down to the ground floor.