I have been told our rafters are too short and not sufficiently load bearing
Anonymous user 03/03/2024 - 3.30 PM
Hi, I have been advised by a structural surveyor our rafters on a 3bed semi are too short, and not sufficiently load bearing. The tiles are slightly showing signs of sagging between the rafters. Does this mean I have to get new rafters or is it braceable? Im very worried. The house is approx. 50years old, and apparently they are all the same in the street, and very common in houses of this age. Some of the other houses have just had new tiles, but I wonder if this is not enough? Are new tiles lighter than older ones?? If they are, would this negate the need for bracing or new rafters? Any comments would be gratefully received. One worried lady
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
Hi there,
It's worth calling your structural engineer - if he has said they aren't load bearing he should be able to tell you what needs to be done to put it right and up to date with latest regulations.
Your local council's building control might also be able to help as if this is a common issue for lots of buildings in the area I'm sure they would have had to inspect and sign off other roof jobs in area.
Ultimately, it will need a structural engineer to run his calculations and provide guidelines for the builders to follow.
I hope this helps
All the best,
I would recommend asking some of your neighbours and seeing what solutions they have come up with.
a structural engineer would be the best person to ask if the existing rafters can be strengthened or if a complete roof replacement is required,
depending on what tiles have been used will depend on the weight,
they may have had some strengthening work completed at the time of the tile replacement or they may be in the dark like you unfortunately a lot of company's will just replace the tiles without checking if the roof can support the weight of the tiles so your neighbours maybe in the same position as yourself.
good luck Alex
