What is this beam

[davecooper]

I have a beam approx 3" x 2" running the length of my loft. nailed to the joists as shown in the pictures. Does anyone know what this is for and is it necessary? I want to board the loft and if this has to stay, I will have to build up the joists to give me a flat surface when I lay the boarding.

Loft beam 1

• davecooper
• 19 Jun 2014
• 1

Loft beam 2

• davecooper
• 19 Jun 2014
• 1

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[ree]

It appears to be a binder, although binders are usually tied into hangers.
It was probably used to steady the ceiling joists during construction.

Remove the nails and lift the binder - then see if any sagging movement has taken place on the plaster board ceiling below? Given the partition and cross wall(?) then the ceiling and joists shouldn't move.

When you sheet board the loft the boards will perform a similar function to the binder. Use screws.

Make sure that the joist sections are heavy enough for your purpose.

 

[kbdiy]

You don't mention what you intend to use the loft for - just storage or something more? Reason is, you have no insulation at the moment and if you board directly on the joists you will only get a maximum depth of 100mm insulation whereas current standard is minimum 270mm. Worth considering raising the floor slightly to allow for extra insulation if only going to be used for storage, therefore no need to remove the binders.

 

[skhudy]

As ree said it's a binder, to prevent deflection in the ceiling joists, the houses I've had have all had similar.

I've done similar in my loft, removed this, sistered some beefier 6x2 joists (probably overkill), added insulation and boarded for storage

 

[davecooper]

The loft will be used for storage only. Being a dormer bungalow, the loft is not very big anyway so no good for anything else. I do not want to lose any more headroom so I am considering removing the tie beam and then boarding over 100mm insulation. I am also going to use 2" polystyrene insulating boards between the roof beams.

By the way, the pictures show the loft after I had lifted the old makeshift partial flooring and the old insulation. This was due to a roof leak that has required a complete new roof.

 

[kbdiy]

If it's only for storage I'd sacrifice the headroom to get more insulation in there. Insulating at the rafters may reduce the effective airflow and cause condensation problems. Better to keep the heat in the house and let the air flow around the loft to keep it condensation-free.