Remove section of Oak Purlin

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Yorkshire
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We've got an old farm house which is in a L configuration. The attic has been converted at some point in the past by previous owners. It has a vaulted ceiling with oak purlins running down the length of the room. At the elbow of the room one of the purlins blocks an alcove however it didn't appear to be supporting anything anymore as you can see from the photos. Therefore we would like to remove this to make the space more useable. Who is best to advise on whether this can be safely removed? A structural engineer I'm guessing?
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Yes, a structural engineer (SE). Sometimes when previous owners have done work, they've sometimes already cut parts out, so a SE would be the best option.
Purlins are normally 6' apart to carry the rafters. Maybe the rafters have been replaced by sizes of timber that no longer warrants a purlin. The SE may want to see the rafters so you might have to cut some plasterboards away. On the otherhand, one look and he might say, "Yup, get rid of it".
 
While most purlins are carrying only vertical loads in some cases they also have horizontal loading ( as a tie beam does ). To cut one with horizonal loading could make the roof structure unstable.
 

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