Loft conversion on 10 year old house - timber framed

[al355]

Hi,

At the early stages of looking into adding a loft conversion to our house. It was build in 2004 and is a detached 4 bed which looks similar to this

External wall dimensions are 8.4metres by 7m

The wall is brick outer, timber framed inner (no blockwork) and I was wondering if anyone has any experience of

- Whether steels of length 8.4 metres will be a problem (there are no load bearing partition walls)

- I assume steels would need to rest on the outer brick work, is a single layer of brick OK for this? If so does it rest on padstones/steel plates onto the brick

- Any other considerations that we may need to take into account on this type of house?

Will of course be employing an architect and structural engineer but think it is useful to understand some of the basics before engaging them.

Thanks

 

[tony1851]

Steels would be supported off the inner timber frame, not the brickwork, but this will require special care by your SE to get the load distribution right.

Your house will almost certainly have a truss-roof, which are difficult enough to convert to aditional space, but with a timber frame house as well.........!

 

[al355]

Steels would be supported off the inner timber frame, not the brickwork, but this will require special care by your SE to get the load distribution right.

Your house will almost certainly have a truss-roof, which are difficult enough to convert to aditional space, but with a timber frame house as well.........!

Thanks, I see that most loft conversion companies are stating that they are able to handle trussed roofs, guess I will have to engage an architect/engineer to get specifics about what is needed.
In the loft, I can't see any sign of the timber frame, it looks like the loft rafters are resting on the brickwork. Is the brickwork definitely not load bearing in a timber framed house?