Change Loft rafters - Pictures

[barry43]

I want to make use of my loft space for storage. I have planks of wood running from one side of the roof to the other. Highlighted in red in the following image.


If I remove these what do I need to do to re-enforce the structure ? I want to make usable space in the middle.

 

[Symptoms]

barry - cut them at your peril and certainly not without the advice of a Structural Engineer. These collars or ties brace* the roof structure and usually provide a firm bearing for the purlins (unlike yours these are often positioned below the purlins). Those short angled timbers are struts which bear on load-bearing structure or cross-walls. It also looks like you've got a hipped-roof (slopes on all sides) so how many of these collars do you have up there (looks like only 2); it was common practice only to fit collars between the Jack rafters (the end ones) on hipped roofs.

It is possible to re-structure roof support but pro advice is needed.

*brace means they prevent the roof structure speading outwards due to the weight of the roof covering.