www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Hi I have just had somebody round about fitting loft ladders and a new hatch but his price was a tad on the expensive side so i have decided to do it myself but my problem is that the ladder i want is a wooden one fixed to the hatch and the width is 575mm but the gap between the joists in the loft is only 400mm so how do i overcome this. If i cut the joist will this not weaken the joists?

you need to nog out the joists b4 u cut them

This might help-Making a loft hole


You can only enlarge the loft hole in older houses that do not use trusses.

If you live in a modern house then cutting these could be dangerous as they could be structural.

so how would i tell the difference?

jjj123 wrote:so how would i tell the difference?

A picture of roof trusses has been attached.

Modern houses use these and so the timbers can be structural.

Older houses are constructed from a large beam in the centre with roof timbers extending from it to the wall plates of the house.

thanks for this ultimate handyman (great site by the way), it does appear that i have this sort of roof structure - so waht now, get the experts in or there an easy solution. The fact is we live in a 2 bedroom property and the wife wants to put the baby cot and all the accessories in the loft for storage but as i the hatch is not big enough hence the reason for wanting to enlarge the loft and fit ladders

You would only need to cut one of the timbers and so you should be ok following the instructions in the page that I posted a link to.

Just make sure that you brace it correctly, and when you come to insert the new noggins ensure that they are substancial pieces of timber, for example if the existing timber is 3 inches thick use 4 inch by three inch timber and some 6 inch long screws to screw it all together.

You'll need about twelve 6 inch screws- two in each point indicated on the attached photo.

and don't forget to temporarily brace it together whilst you cut out the timber and fit the noggins, like in this picture-

With trusses My chippy mate always prefers to use joist hangers, whether it's overkill or not I haven't a clue.

forgive the ignorance but what are joist hangers?

Personally I recommend that you seek Building Control advice and approval on this. You may cause problems when/if you have to sell your home if a surveyor considers the new hatch opening has compromised the integrity of the roof.

Be safe, get it approved.

DWD

jjj123 wrote:forgive the ignorance but what are joist hangers?

joist hangers are metal brackets what the joist sits in, they are fixed to the brickwork and the timber itself usually with twist nails.