loft advice needed please ...

[lilchef]

hi everyone, been on here a few times the last few days and im very impressed with all the advice ive seen, theres some very skilled and knowledgable people here, ive been searching these last few days to see if an idea i have is feasible. ive learnt a hell of a lot during my search for answers, im normally a very practical guy and can suggest or think of a work around for most things, but im at a stumbling block now... just when i think i have an answer i see something that contradicts it or i see maybe another way of doing it.. ive seen so many different answers and now im not sure i remember which is best haha, so before my head exploded i thought i`d actually register here and ask you good people some advice.
so theres the intro out of the way
now for my dilemna...

im not looking to convert my whole loft into a room, but my sons bedroom is the smallest in the house, and he has worked so hard for upcoming exams that i thought id treat him to a re-jigged funky bedroom, the idea i have is for his bedroom just to contain his bed, a small drawer unit and a wall-wide new york at night wallpaper mural.. with a storage area in the loft for a clothing rail... a few old games and keepsakes and a couple of bookshelves for his (hopefully impending) uni courses

i was thinking that i could box/partition a section of the loft area, with ladder access from his room.. i know about insulation and vapour barriers etc but in order for me to make it accessible and not to have a ladder crossing the window, with little headroom above for access, i would need to remove what i think are called purlin braces, if i could remove part of the purlin too that would be fantastic and double the access space to make it feel more open as it would be visible from his room and allow me to possibly install a roof window at some point, but if needs be i could live with the purlin staying in situ if neccesary.


i know i would need to brace and support the rafters if i removed a purlin, but are these bracey things just there to stop the purlin bowing or sagging or do they perform some other task too.. what are the ramifications of removal and if i did decide to remove the support, what would i need to put in its place to counteract its removal

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• lilchef
• 6 May 2011
• 1

Untitled

• lilchef
• 6 May 2011
• 1

Untitled

• lilchef
• 6 May 2011
• 1

Untitled

• lilchef
• 6 May 2011
• 1

im normally very confident attemting big jobs, but need a little help if possible.. even at this early planning stage

any help you could give would be very much appreciated, and now ive registered on this site i hope at some point i can do my share and help someone too at some point.. many thanks guys [/img]

 

[foxhole]

You need to speak to locall council regarding your 'plans' they will stop your head exploding and your house falling down.

 

[DevilDamo]

Loft conversions are not cheap, especially ones that require structural engineering input (e.g. purlins out, beams in, etc...). I would also speak to a structural engineer as they would be the ones required to provide details/calculations if you did carry out the conversion under Building Regulations, which you should be doing.

This is quite a good link for you to get to know the planning and building regulation implications...

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/loftconversion/

 

[lilchef]

ive been thinking some more about this and discussed it with my boy too, as to how he would use any extra space, he says he wants his bed up there, my wife and arent keen as it will lead to a massive escalation in costs and if its going to be that prohibitive we will scrap the whole idea altogether.

so after discussing it all we have decided that we would still like to give him some extra floorspace in his bedroom by simply storing his clothes on a small (maybe 4ft x 2ft ) partitioned ledge created in the loft , with no walking space.. he is just to go up a stepladder and his clothes will be there, just within reach, it will give him enough space in his room to allow a decent sized desk for his forthcoming studies,
... basically i want to create a new loft opening and put a small box over it, maybe im thinking of it too simply.. i dont know, but the problem remains that the strut beams that you see in my pic will be in the way of any access by ladder, if i were to build say for example another 2 identical struts to these and install them either side of the opening i want to create, wouldnt that be stronger than it is even now and allow me the space to make a small plasterboard wall partition and hang a clothes rail and a couple of shelves beneath it ? .. if i put extra beams into the floor to strengthen it, to cope with the weight of clothes and shelving, and dont make it big enough for him to even place a foot on the floor up there, isnt it just classed as a loft opening ? rather than a conversion ?
sorry for all the questions.. and thanks for all the advice so far.

i will draw a simple plan out later

 

[DevilDamo]

Even if you weren't going down the full loft conversion route, but using the area for storage... as soon as you carry out any structural changes, a Building Regulation application would be required and an engineer engaged.