There are lots of elements to think about when considering having a new loft conversion installed in your home so it’s important to make sure you have thought about these before going ahead. Here we at Palmers Lofts have outlined a few things for you to consider, most of which will be explained with you on your free initial assessment.
Loft Conversion Assessment Before going ahead with your loft conversion, Palmers Lofts will give you a free, no obligation assessment to ensure you have the right space available. The assessment will decide the suitability of the roof space for a loft conversion and include aspects such as; the available head height, the pitch and the type of structure, as well as any obstacles to consider such as water tanks or chimney stacks.
Head Height The available head height is measured from the bottom of the ridge timber to the top of the ceiling joist; the useable part of the roof should be greater than 2.2m. This is also good to know to ensure you make the most out of the space available by arranging the room to fit the space you have. For example, if you have slopping roofs or a low ceiling height in one area, maybe putting the bed or bath in this space would be the best work around.
Pitch Angle The higher the pitch angle in your loft conversion space, the higher the central head height is likely to be. This will indicate to you how much dead room you will have in your loft space. If dormer windows are used or if the roof can re-designed to allow for more living space, then the floor area can be increased to reflect this and give you the maximum space possible.
Type of Roof Structure There are two main structures used in roof construction, traditional framed type and truss section type. The traditional framed type is typically found in the pre-1960s houses where the rafters and ceiling joists, together with supporting timbers, are cut to size on site and assembled. It has more structural input and is often the most suitable for attic conversions. The space can be relatively inexpensive and can be opened up by strengthening the rafters and adding supports as specified by a structural engineer.
Truss section type is generally found in post-1960s houses and is the most popular form of construction. The truss section type utilises thinner and more low cost timbers but still have the structural integrity by the addition of braced diagonal timbers. They allow the roof of a house to be erected and felted within a day. However, this type of truss suggests that there are no load bearing structures beneath, and so opening up the space requires a greater added structural input. This will normally involve the insertion of steel beams between load-bearing walls for the new floor joists to hang on and the rafter section to be supported on — together with a steel beam at the ridge. This added structural input requires skill, knowledge and equipment that would limit scope as far as DIY is concerned and would be a lot more expensive.
Written By Becky
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