Hi everybody,
I'm, looking to convert my loft into a usable room and was hoping that somebody could help with a question..............
House was constructed in 1890 (terrace) so has a very large loft space free from roof trusses and all the annoying limitations of newer houses. Roof construction is fairly standard for a house of that age with 2"x3" rafters with 9"x3" purlins at half height and 2"x3"ceiling joists, ceiling joists sitting on external walls and supporting wall running across the middle of the house. 2 support beams run between the side walls in the loft at mid point across the front and back rooms which the ceiling joists are attached to. Following this so far?
What I am looking to do is tie these beams to the rafters/purlins using 2"x2" uprights then hang 2"x6" joists between the beams to give a new floor level. At mid point, the new joists would be supported by the central supporting wall (which would be built up to suit) so the spans would not exceed 2.6m at any point. The new joists would sit approx 1/2" above the existing ceiling joists. Would this work? I understand that the loading of the new floor could cause the support beams to deflect leading to cracks in the ceilings below which is the reason for tieing them to the rafters/purlins making the structure pretty solid. Forgot to mention, the beams are 9"x3" and 7"x2 1/2".
Any advice would be appreciated
I'm, looking to convert my loft into a usable room and was hoping that somebody could help with a question..............
House was constructed in 1890 (terrace) so has a very large loft space free from roof trusses and all the annoying limitations of newer houses. Roof construction is fairly standard for a house of that age with 2"x3" rafters with 9"x3" purlins at half height and 2"x3"ceiling joists, ceiling joists sitting on external walls and supporting wall running across the middle of the house. 2 support beams run between the side walls in the loft at mid point across the front and back rooms which the ceiling joists are attached to. Following this so far?
What I am looking to do is tie these beams to the rafters/purlins using 2"x2" uprights then hang 2"x6" joists between the beams to give a new floor level. At mid point, the new joists would be supported by the central supporting wall (which would be built up to suit) so the spans would not exceed 2.6m at any point. The new joists would sit approx 1/2" above the existing ceiling joists. Would this work? I understand that the loading of the new floor could cause the support beams to deflect leading to cracks in the ceilings below which is the reason for tieing them to the rafters/purlins making the structure pretty solid. Forgot to mention, the beams are 9"x3" and 7"x2 1/2".
Any advice would be appreciated
