For small loft conversions this can be done by installing additional wooden rafters but for large projects steel beams are usually required and these can be quite costly.
Strengthen roof trusses loft conversion.
Measure the width of your roof trusses from inside to inside.
New beams would be required.
They also take up a lot of space and the process of installation can be quite involved.
The role of the horizontal beam is to tie the truss together and carry the load that would otherwise be sustained by the support and vertical timber also known as the king post.
Before work can begin a structural engineer will calculate the size of the steels required.
In addition to the way your loft is constructed occasionally the height of the roof may be too low when constructed with truss rafters which means that it may need to be raised in order to accommodate a loft conversion.
It typically costs around 4 000 for a set of 10 telebeam trusses sufficient for loft conversion of a small semi.
The conversion from a trussed roof to a trussless roof simply involves the redistribution of the roofs weight from the trusses to beams running from gable to gable.
This will often work out cheaper than using conventional steels once you factor in savings on labour access and plant hire etc.
This process involves the installation and use of steel beams.
Attic conversions are now possible by replacing the truss rafters with a shaped trusses or horizontal beams which in return create additional space.