Loft floor supports ( pole plate )

[Thommo805]

Hi , looking at a diy loft room non regs etc , it’s a chalet style house so in loft the only brick work is the party wall and opposite , (chalet style house ) so there’s no brickwork that a wall plate sits on from the existing walls , I believe it has a pole plate that spans across and enters the brick work at either end ,
Can I hang joist hangers off this across to the otherside , there is a load bearing beam in the middle of loft as well , just wanna make sure the pole plate is load bearing cheers

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Don't you have a set of structural drawings showing what's expected?

 

[Thommo805]

No i just plodding along diy , not a loft conversion just a simple room I just wanna add a floor slightly above ceiling joists , just wondering if any knows anything about pole plates that enter the walls at both ends , if it can take weight etc

 

[cdbe]

If the plate is directly above the wall plate, which it appears to be, I don't think you'll have a problem, just timber pack between the two where your hangers are going. If the plate is further in you should assess the shear capacity of the joists.

 

[Thommo805]

Hi there is no wall plate below the plate , the plate is resting on the brickwork either end

 

[cdbe]

Sorry, I just looked at the picture!

Is yours more like this then,

You'd have to ascertain via calculation whether it can carry the additional load or take a chance.

 

[Thommo805]

Edit

 

[Thommo805]

, the pole plate is 4.3 mtrs across and 7x3 , the floor joists span 3.5

 

[Thommo805]

Edit

 

[Thommo805]

Sorry posted on wrong topic ,now Updated with pics

 

[cdbe]

You need (a structural engineer) to ascertain whether it has sufficient spare capacity to carry the additional loading.

Or just take a chance (but see below).

Or (as it's an unofficial conversion) try to beef the whole thing up. If you study the table below (it's for stair openings but it's effectively what you're doing) - you can see that the timbers required for a smaller span than yours are pretty sizeable, however for a lightly loaded loft room they (2x75x220) would be a good start. I would fit them independently of the existing plate so no risk to the roof structure.

 

[Thommo805]

You need (a structural engineer) to ascertain whether it has sufficient spare capacity to carry the additional loading.

Or just take a chance (but see below).

Or (as it's an unofficial conversion) try to beef the whole thing up. If you study the table below (it's for stair openings but it's effectively what you're doing) - you can see that the timbers required for a smaller span than yours are pretty sizeable, however for a lightly loaded loft room they (2x75x220) would be a good start. I would fit them independently of the existing plate so no risk to the roof structure.

View attachment 319136

Hi thanks for your reply , don’t really want engineer route as I’m not really changing much tbh , the ceiling joists have taken all weight up there with me up there for years , I just wanted an independent floor with additional insulation the load bearing won’t be much Different tbh , how would you do a floor without using the the plate pictured ?

 

[cdbe]

This is mine (don't ask what happened to the original ceiling joists it's a long story). An arrangement like that makes the new floor independent from the existing roof structure. If you set the new beam slightly above the existing ceiling joists (your new floor joists can be hung lower with long legged hangers) it won't touch it even if it defects (sags in the middle) a bit.

If it's just boarded storage for the Christmas decorations you'll probably be fine just hanging off the pole plate - I have about two tonnes of "useful stuff" in my loft.

 

[Thommo805]

Yea got it appreciate the time ,hate the fact have no walls front of back in the loft to rest any supporting beams on , in 2 minds if I should just cross brace on top of old beams as all the loft boarding companies advertise they do and leave all roof beams alone , the design of this house prob need major structural work just for additional floor and it just not cost effective .