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Looking for loft conversion advice and strengthening joists

Posted: Tue Feb 16, 2021 8:46 am
by Fourthchoicekeeper
Help nice people of the internet. I’m shortly Going to be boarding my loft, I want to strengthen the joists by securing cross timbers on top of the existing joists. I’ve read about “bracing” the joists underneath but I can’t work out what this means. Does anybody have a clue?

I’m thinking of using 38x89 timber on top of existing joists with 400mm spaces. Then screwing the boards on top of this. Have read about using cheaper plywood instead of chipboard, would be more expensive but seems like it would be sturdier to me. So I’m unsure what to do there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Re: Looking for loft conversion advice and strengthening joists

Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 2:25 pm
by stoneyboy
Hi fourthchoicekeeper
If you are doing a loft conversion it is unlikely that the addition joists you detail will be adequate. Best check with a structural engineer.
Regards S