lowering ceiling advise needed.

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Hello guys,

I'm having a loft conversion but I'd like to lower the existing ceilings inside the bedrooms to make more space upstairs. ( make the room more usable on the corners)

My internal room ceilings are around 2500mm and I want to lower them to 2100mm.

My room spans are 4 .4M and require 9x3s. The plan is to use 8x2 wall plates and anchor them to the walls. hang the 9x3 floor joists by using the timber joist hangers and space the joists at 400 centers.

Do I need building regs ? The loft floor is already a part of the loft conversion.

I have emailed my buildings controlled officer for advice..

Any input guys ?
 
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You certainly do need Building Regs as its a structural alteration.

Why such big joists? Could you use something like 8x2s and space them closer?

Have you considered restraint to the roof? When you take out the ceiling ties, you need some way of preventing the rafters from spreading.
 
Its the span of the room hence why I need to use 9x3 Joists. :(
The roof has been re designed to sit on 4 RSJ's which span the length of the house.

I could use long brackets to hold the roof eves to the new wall plate. (which will need to be done anyway)

lets hope my inspector is happy for me to proceed without applying for building regs. -
 
lets hope my inspector is happy for me to proceed without applying for building regs. -

Two things;

1. You will have to make a Building Regs application to get your inspector out.

2. For a new floor in a loft conversion, you can often use smaller joists than quoted in the published tables. If the space down near the eaves is blocked off, it means that the floor may not necessarilly be loaded over the full length to the standard required for domestic floors.
 
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lets hope my inspector is happy for me to proceed without applying for building regs. -

Two things;

1. You will have to make a Building Regs application to get your inspector out.

2. For a new floor in a loft conversion, you can often use smaller joists than quoted in the published tables. If the space down near the eaves is blocked off, it means that the floor may not necessarilly be loaded over the full length to the standard required for domestic floors.


A lot of history, originally the timber joists were designed to sit on the external wall and the internal load bearing wall. However this couldn't be done due to the way the roof came down onto a purlin and then the eves cut across at an angle.

To keep the roof design it was decided later on in the build to hang the timber joists off the RJSs which were all redesigned to accommodate the new loadings. At this point I had already paid for the 9x3's and they had been delivered!

The RSJ's have already been installed and the RSJs sit 1 meter from the external wall. I was away on work and the builder decided to insert the padstone above the current ceiling level by around 5/6 inches and so the floor has been raised by a total of 9 inches.

I was expecting to gain 2 large bedrooms and 1 bathroom but have ended up with 2 medium sized rooms and a small bathroom.

Phase 1 of the build has been completed and I am not happy with the size v money that I have spent!.. hence my questions around lowering the ceilings and using a wall plate to hang the joists off.
 
Out of interest how much were the 9x3's? I realise its a moot point now.

expensive. £1064

They worked out to be around 28£ per joist, I used 38 of them, but ordered 44. 6 of them were cut by the builders and used as structual support for the roof whilst the old purlins / hip was removed
:(
 

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