Hello,
I'll try and keep this as brief as possible! I am looking at extending the upstairs of my house, over the top of the garage.
The gable end wall will move and join the garage wall, which is about 3 meters away. so we will obviously need to add new roof alongside the existing.
I've received conflicting information and hoping for some additional professional thoughts so I can make the best choice.
We have a Fink Truss Roof, which if I read correctly, is solely supported by the front and back walls of the house, not the gable wall (by design?).
Our designer is insistent that we need a steel to run from front to back of the house upstairs to support the gable end wall.
The conflicting information I have received is that we don't need one at all and we could effectively just remove the gable end bricks, because the steel is effectively not supporting anything?
You thoughts would be greatly appreciated, since this is absolutely stressing me out!
Many thanks in advance!
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
Hi, If your 'Designer' is a qualified Structural Engineer then I would be inclined to trust his advise. However you could have a preliminary conversation with another Structural Engineer and ask them if they could design something that does not require said beam, essentially that would constitute his/her brief. The Engineer then has the choice to either accept the commission or not.
If you still can't attract the answer you desire, you could also task the Engineer to come up with an alternative scheme that does not involve that beam, you could also request an 'all timber scheme'. Eventually you will get an Engineer who understands your brief and will design what you want. Very best wishes Lee Davidson RIBA
Hello.
Is your designer an architect, technologist or an engineer? Typically you'll have an engineer working in tandem with the architect to come up with the design. Is this an early stage concept design or has a technical design been done?
It's very tricky to answer the question fully without seeing the house, but if the designer is an engineer, they will have done calculations and must have a good reason for proposing the steel. If it's a technologist or architect speculating at an early concept stage, I'd say best to speak to a structural engineer for a more concrete answer, as it'll be their liability on the line when making that decision.
More questions than answers, but I hope that helps you move forward a little!
I'll start by saying I'm an Architect not an Engineer so refer to their advice above all regarding anything structural.
Reading the other responses, these all sound like good advice. Thinking around the issue though, the only reason I can see for a steel to be introduced is to support a load. This load could be a wall you're retaining in the loft space or possibly to prevent the spreading of the external walls front and back when you remove the existing gable end possibly, although I've personally not encountered this. It's very difficult to give an exact answer without having all the information.
TLDR - Check with a Structural Engineer if in doubt.
Regards, J Mahoney Architects Ltd ARB
Trussed rafters (trusses) are generally produced by specialist manufacturers who normally provide design and calculations for an installation based upon drawings you provide. Gable walls are usually afforded stability with galvanised straps across three trusses along the pitch and at ceiling level. Taking down a gable should be straight forward however the front and rear walls are stabilised by the return wall ie; the wall at first floor below the gable. You should seek advice from a structural engineer for your specific issue.
