Loft flooring advice please!

[Spannerhead]

Im looking for some advice if anyone can please help

I'm going to board my loft and I need to put some beams across the loft to lay the chip board on. The only problem is I have this annoying peice of wood going diagonally across the loft. Is my best option to take this off and then screw pieces of wood across the joists at right angles. Can I even do that? Or would my best option be to lay the pieces of wood at right angles to the joists but work and cut around this diagonal piece? I've drawn a picture to explain what I mean. At the moment my loft is as picture 1, is my best option 2 or 3? As you can see I'm an amateur so any advice would be good.im going to use the same size wood going diagonally for my beams going at right angles to the joists. Maybe if I can take out this piece of wood I will use slightly higher beams to give the insulation more room.

 

[Spannerhead]

 

[Mikefromlondon]

There is no picture to be seen.

 

[chappers]

Technically speaking their should be diagonal bracing on the bottom cord between where it meets the top cord and the compression cord across the first 4 trusses. Similar to your picture.
To be honest I can't remember the last time I saw this done what's normally just done is lateral bracing across all truss bottom cords at the apex of the bottom and top cords and the bottom and tension/compression cords as you suggest you want to do.

 

[Spannerhead]

Thanks for the reply, does this mean it is safe to remove the brace that is in place in my loft?

 

[JohnD]

what does that brace do? I haven't got one in my trussed roof, but I have got spliced diagonals on both sides of the ridge. the roofer told me they were only useful during build, and didn't do anything on a finished house.

 

[Spannerhead]

I have no idea what the brace does!

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Nor have I come across one like that, a diagonal brace. It most likely doesn't achieve anything worthwhile other than just being nuisance.

 

[chappers]

looks like it's doing all of the bottom chord bracing in that roof. I was taught to put diagonal bracing across the first 4 trusses at either end. But a quick search across the net seems to imply it is more of a North American thing.

 

[Mark Rea]

Take it out , chipboard screwed down is much better brace , if u want tho u can put flat metal strapping alongside it, remove bracing and floor over strapping