attic conversion

[leedrobinson]

hi all
me and the missus have recently been talking of converting the attic in our end terrace house to give us a bit more room for us and the kids ,went to the halifax and theyve obliged us with the funds so its now just the simple matter of doing the work!

My plan is to fit a new floor level by fixing 90x90 rsa`s with m16 screwed rod and resin fixings to the front and rear accrington brick wall and back to back angles fixed through the main dividing wall , i plan to have all angles toe`ing up and notching the 195 x 50 floor joists to give a nice flush framework for plasterboarding the ceiling on the first floor which i plan to tape and seal before removing the existing ceiling timbers and plaster to try and keep mess to minimum!

thats my plan anyway if any off you see something obviously wrong with this any feed back would be greatly appreciated.
having got the floor in and ceiling out i could further plan out my stairs windows stud walling etc,etc

like i say any help would be greatly appreciated !

 

[noseall]

My plan is to fit a new floor level by fixing 90x90 rsa`s

I was with you up until this point.

 

[leedrobinson]

basically i want to fit steel angles to support the new floor joists(rather than knocking pockets in brickwork) will this be
in line with the building regs, i presume you can use this method but want to make sure. tried uploading a drawing to the site but cant get it to work!

 

[noseall]

Can you not use the existing wall plate to bear the joists?

 

[leedrobinson]

i`m not entirely sure what the the wall plate is!
is it the length of timber that runs along the top of the wall at eaves level?
thing is i`m a welder by trade and talk of plate makes me think of steel plate and im sure there wouldnt be a length of steel running along my eaves!
thing is i want to drop the ceiling height before actually removing the existing ceiling ,i know that doesnt read right but i hope you know what i mean!

 

[stuart45]

i`m not entirely sure what the the wall plate is!
is it the length of timber that runs along the top of the wall at eaves level?

Yes, usually a length of 4x2.

 

[leedrobinson]

thought so,but to minimise dust and disruption i`d like to put the new floor level in board it out (underneath)and seal it and then remove the existing ceiling cos i`ve dropped a ceiling before and the amount of dust that generates is a right bugger to shift.
maybee i`m over engineering but i was in the steel frame buisness for 12 years and am used to industrial applications!

 

[stuart45]

The ceiling joists will probably be helping stop the rafters from spreading outwards, so if you put in a new set of joists below and remove the originals the bracing will be lost.

 

[leedrobinson]

there are ties coming down off the purlins to all the existing ceiling joists,but they are only about 20 x 40 mm so presume they are there to stop ceiling sagging and are not structural,anyway these ties will be replaced by stud walling so any restraint will be replaced.

 

[leedrobinson]

and they come straight down so wouldnt be stopping roof spreading

 

[stuart45]

The ceiling joists should be fixed to the rafter feet. This stops the rafters moving outwards. When they are removed the roof could move outwards unless you put in collars higher up, but the higher they are the less effective they are.

 

[leedrobinson]

so the best bet would be to tie rafter feet back to the new floor before removing ceiling joists,perhaps a diagonal tie with a stiffener.

 

[Shytalkz]

Are you planning on getting BRegs approval for this?

 

[stuart45]

I would consider suffering the dust and pull down the ceiling first, without altering the ceiling height. I know it's a mess, especially with lathe and plaster but you are making a lot more work and structural problems by dropping the ceiling height. The dust can be kept to a minimum by sealing the doors with tape and damping down the ceiling before starting. You can also hire dust extractors.

 

[leedrobinson]

would like to do to the regs,(not after planning permission).
have got a plenty of headroom in attic as it stands (2.4m)but would like to maximise room(in attic) and would like to lower ceiling on first floor as it stands at about 2.85 m and with heating bills as they are would like to lower to reduce these bills.basically want as big an attic room as possible.