Help please, I don't know where to start

[Belenzinha71]

Hi There,

I'm a complete newbie here (just joined today) and as I'm not a native speaker of English (and erm... I don't know if it matters but also a female) I have no idea of the terminology I need to use in order to find the answer to my question. To be honest I don't even know how to form my question, still, I'll try...

I live in a new-build timber frame house. The developers built part of bedroom number two above the stairs and created a MASSIVE bulky unusable box above it. I think I've worked out it's called the bulkhead. Anyway as the box was way too huge and it was really hampering my interior design ideas for the room I've had a poke around the box and removed the MDF board that was covering it, most of the plasterboard and part of the timber frame. Have a look:

//www.diynot.com/network/Belenzinha71/albums/4666

Would anyone be able to tell me if it is possible to reduce the size of the box, please?

Also, how can I create some sort of floor surface that would allow me to create some wall to wall wardrobes above this space?

There may be some existing discussion threads already but as I don't know where to start in terms of my search I don't know what terminology to use when searching the threads.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

THANK YOU!

 

[OvertonPlumber]

the problem is the 3x2s they used to span the angle ceiling in the hallway are not loadbearing. Hence why they make up the square bulky boxing.
I suppose you could remove all of the boxing accept for the ceiling and the 3x2s that span that part.
You would then need to construct something capable of loadbearing. This could be achieved by bolting/screwing a plate to the outside wal(inside)l and another to the inside (where side of boxing is now) and span with some counter-battens 4x2s running opposite to the ceiling timbers then 3/4 ply the back of that should be fine.

P.s don't blame me if you fall through the ceiling

 

[Belenzinha71]

Thank you MrBenchmark, that's most helpful. I've been losing sleep over this precisely because I fear whatever I do will just end up with me (or even worse my future children) going through the ceiling. So yes, ideally I'd like to have a structurally sound solution there. But I wouldn't even know what kind of professional I'd need to call in!

If I do bolt or screw a plate to the outside wall, do you know what kind of plate I need to ask for when I go to the local DIY store?

Grateful for your advice

 

[OvertonPlumber]

A plate is a generic term used to describe a lump of timber that carries others. By fixing it to the outside wall (inside) with coach bolts and washers you will transfer the loadbeariing to the wall and not the ceiling. Ive done a rough sketch, my mouse is broken.
Any carpenter/chippy builder would be able to do this for you, just get a fixed price, maybe ask on a local site, maybe do it cheap on saturday morning etc.
avoid sheds (b=q etc) to buy your timber. It maybe cheap but its normally in short lengths, twisted and not pressure treated. Champion timber, jewsons, wickes are places to go or if you can find 1 a independent diy shop.

Untitled

• OvertonPlumber
• 12 Jan 2010
• 1

my mouse is broken.
you'd be basically building another structure over that weak ceiling

 

[noseall]

Hi There,

as I'm not a native speaker of English (and erm... I don't know if it matters but also a female) I have no idea of the terminology

You write far more eloquently than a lot of the 'text speak' numpties on this forum anyhoo.

 

[Belenzinha71]

Great! Thank you very much, MrBenchmark! There's a Wickes and a Champion Timber down the road from me; I'll visit them first. The bolting idea is great, that's something I'd not considered at all and the diagram is very clear so I might even attempt it myself. I suspect I am not alone on this site when it comes to having big plans for our homes but sadly limited budgets to go with them. Still, I'll get a professional carpenter to give me a quote as I'm sure I'd sleep better if it was done by someone with expertise.

Thanks Noseall. By the way, what's a Numptie?

If anyone else out there can help with further suggestions I'd be most grateful.

Thank You

 

[Belenzinha71]

I forgot to mention that one of the steps I was considering was to reinforce any wooden structure/frame I create by attaching a metal cross-brace of some sort. Trouble is, because I know nothing at all about structural engineering (or perhaps is just a general lack of common sense!) I'm not sure if a) that step would truly reinforce or just add unnecessary weight, and b) if I were to include a metal brace, what kind of brace I would need to use. Any suggestions?

Thank You

 

[mointainwalker]

Hello Belenzinha

First of all, Numptie is a humourous expression for a fool or idiot

Secondly, if your house is very new, I would have a look at any plans that you got when you were thinking of buying it ( or go to the show-house if it's still there ), because they might not show this box .

It wouldn't be the first time that site-builders had altered something to make their work easier.

If that's the case, back to the builders to get it fixed

If not, I would forget about your idea of a metal re-inforcement.

Wood is easy to cut/drill/screw. If you start thinking about metal, it is firstly much more difficult to obtain - not much in B+Q etc - and you then have to have flanges (flat plates on the end to enable you to be able to bolt it to a flat surface opposite ) so it has to be speciallly made for your particular use, so much more expensive.

Looking at your photo , this box is the width of your stairs , so prob 700 - 800 mm wide.

Since a wardrobe is normally 60 cm deep, if you extended by a bit more to the depth of this box, this ugly construction would be entirely hidden and then you could deal with the slope.

The other answers have dealt with making a load-bearing surface, which I personally do not feel is necessary in this situation.

If it was to be hidden in the wardrobe, you could remove the outer parts of the box and then cover the sloping area by screwing a cut-to-size piece of 18 mm plywood or chipboard or OSB board( B+Q or a timber yard will do this for you ) over the existing, sloping boards to prevent anyone falling through the plasterboard if they trip whilst in the wardrobe.

These boards are normally in sizes bigger than you need ( 2500 x 1200 mm ) costing approx pnds 15 (chipboard) - pnds 30 (plywood) so you would save yourself money and effort ( a board is both heavy and VERY difficult to handle if you are not tall and strong and have very long arms *) by asking if they have any offcuts or broken boards that are big enough to allow your required size board to be cut.

*That, by the way, is the truth, and not just a male/female joke.

This something you could, conceivably do yourself, although it is likely to require quite a lot of force to remove the timbers of the box.

I should add that I am a DIYer and not a professional and possibly what I have suggested might break some regulation, but I (personally) wouldn't lose any sleep if I thought it was safe in its particular situation.

 

[Belenzinha71]

Thanks a lot Mountainwalker, that's also very helpful. The box area is about 1 metre by 1 metre, so hideously huge and bulky. I had originally considered installing IKEA (or similar) built-in wardrobes but those are only about 600 mm. I've now contacted 3 'chippies' (I learnt that word yesterday!) and asked them to give me quotes. We'll see if they come up with something sensible.

Sadly the house is not that new (4 years old) it's taken me that long to get the cash to start thinking about decorating. Also sadly the huge horrible box was in the plans already and we knew it was a problem but the house had so much wow factor we just had to overlook what's turned out to be a decorating nightmare.

I couldn't possibly attempt lifting heavy plywood that big so I think I'll persuade the husband to do it instead!

By the way, since we are on the topic of fitting wardrobes and general carpentry work, does anyone know how much I should expect to pay for having the box sealed and a 2 x 2 metre wardrobe built? (I live within the M25 so I suspect there's a premium to pay around these parts). Any ideas would be welcome.

Thanks

 

[mointainwalker]

It might be both cheaper and more aesthetically pleasing to make the height (2m), the height of the room - usually 230 - 250 cm. but this would depend on the cost of taller doors.

This saves the time and cost of a making a "ceiling" for the wardrobe as you use the ceiling of the room instead. It uses what is otherwise fairly useless space and it also means there is no where for dust to settle.

Most chippies will be fairly used to doing this : usually involves buying 2 or 3 sliding doors with runners, panels of the finish you want i.e. white melamine or wood effect etc and then making internal hanging/storage space to your requirements.