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Attic joists and load bearing for flooring
by: Mike from Sheffield

I am flooring my attic...the joists are 5 and half inches by 1 and 3/4 inches.They are spaced 17.3/4 inches apart and run 9 feet from wall to large metal frame, then another 9 to a second frame and a final 9 feet to the other wall. The joist thus are hanging on joist hangers at the wall ends and on the metal rim of the large metal frame which holds up the roof.

There is a supporting stud wall ( a hallway and bedroom / kitchen divide) under some of the area I want to cover. It's for light storage only.

There is a lot of insulation already installed, so I plan to run 4x2 cross joists over some of the main joists and lay the chip flooring on top.

Wondering if all of those dimensions sound Ok for load bearing of the flooring? Any advice much appreciated.
Existing Joists
by: Anonymous

Without knowing exactly what you intend to use the loft for it is only possible to offer some general pointers.

That said however it is fairly certain that should you be carrying out a loft conversion to add a habitable room than your existing joists will be insufficient to support the new loadings that would be put on them.

However, if you are only using the loft for light storage and laying chipboard loft boards than your existing joists should be OK.

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