Good evening all,
I'm currently stripping back our new (to us!) 1930s property in preparation for some building works, rewire etc. There is a small brick cavity built porch (approx 1x1.5m) attached to the property which has a pitched, tiled roof. It's unclear if this is part of the original build or added afterwards. I've today removed the lath and plaster ceiling and now have access to the void which is where my questioning leads:
We'd like to remove the 4 beams that span the porch so we can board, insulate and light the vaulted part and glaze the 'gable' (if that makes sense). I'm trying to understand what the four beams are for structurally. The rafters appear to be 'cut' to the brick and sit on the outer part of the cavity. The beams rest on the inner brick cavity and have a single nail joining them to the rafters. As far as I can tell they do not appear to be providing anything structural, possibly only in place for the lath to mount to? They could of course be tying the two edges of the roof together! We do have a structural engineer working on some plans on other parts of the house so of course I will consult, I'm just inpatient and like to understand these things!! Obviously if nothing else needs to be done and they can come out because they were just there to support the lath then that will save some pennies too.
I've attached a couple of photos to try and show the parts in question. In the second photo, the beam is in the foreground and the rafter in the background.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
I'm currently stripping back our new (to us!) 1930s property in preparation for some building works, rewire etc. There is a small brick cavity built porch (approx 1x1.5m) attached to the property which has a pitched, tiled roof. It's unclear if this is part of the original build or added afterwards. I've today removed the lath and plaster ceiling and now have access to the void which is where my questioning leads:
We'd like to remove the 4 beams that span the porch so we can board, insulate and light the vaulted part and glaze the 'gable' (if that makes sense). I'm trying to understand what the four beams are for structurally. The rafters appear to be 'cut' to the brick and sit on the outer part of the cavity. The beams rest on the inner brick cavity and have a single nail joining them to the rafters. As far as I can tell they do not appear to be providing anything structural, possibly only in place for the lath to mount to? They could of course be tying the two edges of the roof together! We do have a structural engineer working on some plans on other parts of the house so of course I will consult, I'm just inpatient and like to understand these things!! Obviously if nothing else needs to be done and they can come out because they were just there to support the lath then that will save some pennies too.
I've attached a couple of photos to try and show the parts in question. In the second photo, the beam is in the foreground and the rafter in the background.
Any advice greatly appreciated.
