step by step loft conversion,step 1?

[mikell]

DOORFRAMES CAN STAY!!
After much hoo haring ,the b regs man called ( nice man too by the way),
and a few phone calls to head office,decided I could keep my frames ,if I fill any voids where joiners puit spacers between frame and wall will expanding foam,fit fd30s with itrumesent strips cut in to the doors.
So I didnt need my new frames after all!! but Id already bought em.

My eleven frames where delivered two days later!!

However later that afternoon ,I put them on local radio and they sold for a small profit ,being picked up about an hour later
( I only sold 9 not 11 as I need one fro the frame I took out and one for the new loft room (eventually).

So , With the small profit from the door frames I have purchased 2 used velux windows ,both very tidy with flashings . So I think so far I have:

2 fd frames
2 velux windows and flashings
and a little profit .
( oh and 5 cans of fire retardent expanding foam I bought,cheap!).

Early days but im waiting on the b regs to pass my plans so im seeing what I can scavanger !

in the meantime , Anyone got any iso super 10 rolls going cheap?

 

[mikell]

Am still waiting on the building regs to pass the plans as there were a few problems in the drawings,they spotted.
I have all my fire doors ready to go and a spark due to start on my electrics , so slowly slowly,get there in the end!
P.s Any thoughts on me using a polish team of builders / joiners ect?
On the one hand I m thinking about all the foreigners and lack of training opportunities for the young,but on the other hand why should politics get in the way of good workmanship( I hope) at a cheap price? I really am in two minds ,I know its not their fault as Id do the same but Il still feel a bit of a traitor if i use them!!!!

 

[JerryM]

Mikell,

good to know your back up and running, well almost.

i always feel when getting work done it comes down to gut feeling on who you feel you can trust and get on with rather than cheapest price. a recommendation by someone you know is by far the best.

i know indirectly several polish people and would have to say that on what i've seen they put some of us brits to shame. my opinion is that they are diligent, hardworking and genuine.

sentiment also has no hold over market forces.

 

[JerryM]

Mikell,

just noticed this post which may be of interest.

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=127794

 

[mikell]

hi J erry,
cheers I had a look at the post and mine is quite similar but im cutting in to the ( on the drawing) 2nd bedroom ,where they have cupboards I will have stairs.the stairway will end at the party wall.
I cant go over my existing stairs as its a hipped roof and would need to have a dormer fitted to accomodate the stairway ( no headheight ).
Have filled all the empty spaces behind doorframes with fire foam
as the building guys said,got all my doors ,routered them for the intumescent strips ect.
Have a garden full of kingspan and a roll of triso super 10,im collecting bits like a womble at the moment,bargain here,ebay there!
the rsjs were deemed 60kg on the plans but after bregs had a word this has changed now to 25kg per rsj,bit of a difference in weight!!
Im toying with the idea,only toying though,that if I get the steels all fitted ,how had can it be to attatch joist hangers to them and slot in the joists ? I was going to pay for the whole floor fitting but guess i would need to read up on it before making a decision,guess there may be much more to it than just slotting them in,but you never know!
cheers,JWill be back soon !

 

[JerryM]

Mikell,

pls give a bit more detail on the rsj business. were they for 60kg /m load or beam weight before b/regs and what was reason for chg. i ask as the steels bit is probably the no 1 putting me off based on getting them in and handling them (soil pipe no 2). for this reason i was interested in the other post on splicing steels as before that i was thinking best way for me being to use a flitch beam (laminated wooden beam) for the cross wall purlins.

in terms of putting the floor in yourself i would say go for it. i've only had experience (so far) of lintels and the hardest part is handling them so if u get that bit done ie steels fitted then you've got the hardest bit done. to put the joists in u would ideally need an extra pair of hands though.

 

[mikell]

hi J,
the plans that were drawn up by the architect,had the beams as
universal column beams at 203 x 203 60 kg ( on the plans) x2 running from party wall to gable end .
and one from center load bearing wall to gable (about 12 ft) at
178 x 102 , 25kg.
and triple trimmer joists across these.

The Building regs guy said they would do the job but were WAY overcompensating,and would poss put a strain on the foundations,and questioned the structural calcs. Once they requested them from thwe architect he came back with a revised drawing of :

x2 beams ( no mention of universal column now) at 203 x 102 , 25kg
and one from center load bearing wall to gable still at
178 x 102 , 25kg.
He also added an extra beam running across the other three under the hipped section of roof as `hip support` universal beam 203 x 102 25kg.

the bregs guy said you would need a crane to get the two 60kg in ..so I pressume the 25kg would be managable by hand for whoever fits them?
So the overall weight prob was the issue J , well spotted building regs guy!
Will prob change again shortly though!

 

[JerryM]

Mikell,

wow. have always found the bco spot on myself. those 60kg beams would have been quite something (just on the 12ft to the supporting wall gives 200kg).

even the new spec is quite heavy @25kg per meter ie the "little" 178x102x25kg over the 12ft span works out at 90kg

i'm surprised (but no expert) that the cross beam under the hip is required but i guess your taking out existing roof support as part of the work.

i'm note sure the weights are right though. i think the 203 x 102 is 23 kg and the 178 x 102 is 19 kg which will help a bit.

 

[mikell]

No J I dont think anything is to be removed from under the hip ( i am prob wrong), but think hes added this to mabye compensate in some way for the smaller sized beams now? That doesnt make much sense but its the only thing that does to me!! 60 kg down to 25kg and now an extra beam where that added weight was!!>??

 

[mikell]

I was looking at the joist hangers today in b n q,and if the steels are in ,I was under the impression they hang on to the rsj with a claw like action over the top ,but all the ones on display had a level top were I guess I would have to drill in to the steel to fix em on,is that right?
Another thought is mabye when the joist hangers are in place with the weight of the joists,they cant drop anywhere due to being held in place by the weight and the tight fit of the joist itself stopping any movement?
Is this correct? Any thoughts would be gratefully recieved,thanks!

 

[JerryM]

Mikell,

have a look at that other post (duzzer). it has good pictures of how the joist hangers fit.

 

[mikell]

thanks j,
AHh ! that makes sense then,a beam attached to the steel then the hangers screwed on to the beam!
thanks J , spent a while browsing duzzers stuff, as big all says -we are all still learning- and there are a lot of us about!!
Have just cut and hung my first fire door,had a few probs as Im rubbish with wood,but got there in the end,hopefully the next one will be easier!
Again reluctant to pay for a job I may be able to get done meself,even though it took me about 5 hours!!Im hopeing to beat my personal best tonight,four hours 58 im looking for!

 

[JerryM]

Mikell,

the main thing is your making progress and that's pretty much all that matters.

i've found its well worth buying the right tools for the job (or hiring). also you will find u speed up. doors are a pretty hard job to start out on as well.

 

[mikell]

have just recieved the first drafts back from bregs were the beams measured 203 x 203 60kg with a letter saying my plans had been refused due to lack of information on the structural calcs.
We had these ammended after b regs looked at it , to 203 x 102 25kg
and I submitted these amendments along with the calcs about a month ago mabye more?.
Im worried that they have not got these now,or they are in some in tray somewhere gathering dust
Or do they do this anyway to let you know the first set have failed but they are still processing the amended ones? I hope this is the case as im waiting on them in the meantime. I only got them today so wont be able to ring em till monday to find out the true situation,any ideas gents?
ta.

 

[JerryM]

nothing to be concerned about (such things happen and a lot in building work)

would ring building control and i would try to book a time when u can go in and go through things with them – ideally the inspector allocated to the work (unless u get confidence from the phone call)