DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Howdy folks,

We've a fairly standard loft that looks a bit like this:



In the survey before we bought the house, our surveyor said:

"I recommend the supplying and fitting of deal timber hangers and runners to the main roof attic area of this house to properly support and stabilize the first floor ceilings joists and prevent future ceiling cracks."

It's now been a couple of years since we moved and some small cracks have started to appear in the ceiling of the first floor, so I referred back to the survey.

However, I've not been able to work out what he meant by "timber hangers and runners".

I found a couple of types of "hanger" - either timber that goes from the purlins to the joist OR a metal thing that goes around the joists to strengthen where they meet.. but I can't find anything about "runners".

Does anyone have any experience of this?

Otherwise, I'll get back in touch with him but he always takes an AGE to reply :)

Thanks!

Hi joec
The purlin looks fairly substantial so presumably your surveyor was planning to stabilise the ceiling joists by hanging them off this. This would be pieces of timber bolted to the joists and the purlin. The runners referred to is a flat piece of timber fixed across the top of the joists near to the hangers to tie the whole thing together.
Regards S

Thanks @stoneyboy, that makes sense.

I'm planning on insulating and putting flooring down in the attic. Would it be sensible/possible to do this first or would I need to floor around the hangers once they are added?

Hi joec
Fit your flooring over to the bottom of the hangers - there is little point in flooring the low eaves part.
Regards S