I have a two story garage which was originally a coach house.
It has solid brick walls.
The upstairs was a hay loft.
I'd like to lower the joists that form the upper floor so that there is more headroom upstairs.
Currently the ground floor is over 3 meters high, I'd like to lower the ceiling/upper floor by about 80cm.
I'm thinking that I would fix new wall plates to the inside walls, below the existing joists, then cut the joists where they go into the brick and then re-attach them to the new wall plate with joist hangers.
Does that sound feasible?
What diameter bolts should be used to attach the new wall plates to the wall and what spacing? Should the bolts go in one brick deep or all the way through with a nut on the outside?
It has solid brick walls.
The upstairs was a hay loft.
I'd like to lower the joists that form the upper floor so that there is more headroom upstairs.
Currently the ground floor is over 3 meters high, I'd like to lower the ceiling/upper floor by about 80cm.
I'm thinking that I would fix new wall plates to the inside walls, below the existing joists, then cut the joists where they go into the brick and then re-attach them to the new wall plate with joist hangers.
Does that sound feasible?
What diameter bolts should be used to attach the new wall plates to the wall and what spacing? Should the bolts go in one brick deep or all the way through with a nut on the outside?