What is this bit of my (roof structure) called and can I cut into it without my house falling down :D

[Lurker5501]

Hi all

We need to get into corner of our loft for maintenance. At the moment we have to crawl through this hole in the wood and it's very tight and unpleasant!

There is the same wooden hole at other end of the loft - again we'd like to cut into that for same reason.

Can anyone please advise if this hole has a name and also
Could we cut more sections out of the wood to allow for easier access, nearer to the wall area, or would this cause structural issues?
If so, even if we only cut out a tiny bit to allow for eg a hand to poke through?

Many thanks for any advice

 

[Wayners]

Maybe that's a wall to act as a back to stop stuff falling back. I've also seen something similar for train sets mounted.
It's not a fire break or wall for any purpose I know of

 

[JohnD]

You mean the piece of ply?

It's often done in loft conversions to separate the heated and clean living area from the cold and dirty eaves. I call it a knee wall. If flooring was previously added to the loft it was probably done then.

A ply membrane between timbers adds strength and rigidity in the same way as the webs in a beam. I don't think I've seen anything like yours in a roof design before, though.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

We need to get into corner of our loft for maintenance. At the moment we have to crawl through this hole in the wood and it's very tight and unpleasant!

There is the same wooden hole at other end of the loft - again we'd like to cut into that for same reason.

It looks as if it has been added, after the original build, but why that was done, is anyone's guess. My roof is similar, and I did similar, and more, to make my loft a more useable space. Possibly, the owner of that property, perhaps had a similar plan, but the progress of the plan was interrupted?