Regs for a floor hatch, headers and trimmers.

[krenovian]

Hi,

I have cut a hatch in the timber floor in my hall and need to cut the middle joist and frame the hole.
There is a pipe which can't be moved and will restrict the size of usable space so
I want to fit a single header at each side.

The hole is under 4ft and the joists are less then 3ft from supported joist ends.
Can I use single headers to maximise the space?

Do I have to fit trimmers?

If I have to fit trimmers can someone recommend the best hardware to use to join them
to the existing joists?

Must the joist hangers be exactly the same height as the joists?

I used to make furniture so I know my way around tools and timber but I'm not familiar
with construction Regs. I have used google and have found a lot of information but
can't find the specific answers to my questions above.

Many thanks.

 

[krenovian]

I'm up at 5 so I'm going to my scratcher. If anyone replies I will get back to you tomorrow.

Thanks again.

 

[vinn]

For what purpose have you cut a hatch in your hall?
Is the hatch already opened up to the dimensions in the diagrams?
Why cant the pipe be moved - what pipe is it: gas, water etc?

 

[krenovian]

Hi,

Thanks for replying. It's actually my mates flat. It's a ground floor tenement flat and he wanted the hatch in the hall. He wants it to be a feature so it's brass door furniture and a nice finish all round. I told him to put it in his cupboard but he is a bit mad and insisted it went in the hall.

The hole is already there and the pipe is a water pipe but this is only access to a crawl space so the only thing going through this hole will be tradesmen and whatever equipment they use.

The hole is big enough for a small enough guy to get down but the joists are only 300mm apart and he wants the middle joist cut in case future tradesman need the extra space.

This was supposed to be fairly simple so I don't want to get involved in moving pipes around if it's not necessary.

I want to use whatever is absolutely the correct method. I'm not looking for shortcuts. But I obviously don't want to be doing work that isn't required.

Thanks

 

[bernardgreen]

he wants the middle joist cut in case future tradesman need the extra space.

Tradesmen employ underpaid skinnies to get between joists, they are underpaid so they cannot afford food enough to get fat.

 

[krenovian]

Excellent news. No need to trim the joist then. Tory rule also means that soon we'll be able to use small children to do these tasks for a bowl of gruel and a corner of a kennel. We can just pour these boneless waifs down a hole the size of a coke can.