I'd appreciate some help. loft conversion in a Victorian terrace, purlins, 2.6m of head room in the centre, overall space is about 5x4m. The existing ceiling rafters are 5x8cm at approx 40cm centres, with another 5x8 screwed at 90 degrees at the front and back, bedded into the side walls. The staircase supporting walls below run parallel to the roof.
Access is very hard to install steels so thinking I can hang new joists off the side brick walls, so at 90 degrees to existing ceiling joists. Presumably they would need to be 7.5x17 or similar at 40cm centres. Is there any reason why not to do this, it seems obvious but can't find an example of someone else doing this, everyone seems to have steels and hang the floor off them, or double up wooden joists to hang the new joist parallel with the old joists. Using the central staircase supporting wall to reduce the span could work perhaps and then only have a couple of joists hung off the walls?
I'll lose some headroom but I want to avoid steels at all cost as there's no way a crane can get to the back of the house! Any ideas that use materials lifted by hand through windows much appreciated.(length not a problem within reason)
Thanks for any serious advice
Access is very hard to install steels so thinking I can hang new joists off the side brick walls, so at 90 degrees to existing ceiling joists. Presumably they would need to be 7.5x17 or similar at 40cm centres. Is there any reason why not to do this, it seems obvious but can't find an example of someone else doing this, everyone seems to have steels and hang the floor off them, or double up wooden joists to hang the new joist parallel with the old joists. Using the central staircase supporting wall to reduce the span could work perhaps and then only have a couple of joists hung off the walls?
I'll lose some headroom but I want to avoid steels at all cost as there's no way a crane can get to the back of the house! Any ideas that use materials lifted by hand through windows much appreciated.(length not a problem within reason)
Thanks for any serious advice
