Truss been cut away (replacement?)

Ihavegingeritis

I am currently buying a house and in the survey, it’s been revealed that a truss in the roof space has been cut away to accommodate a folding ladder.

I am struggling to find someone to come and give a quote for the cost of repair  because all of the workmen are pretty booked up in my area.

Does anyone have any ideas about the costs involved in repairing something like this? How serious is it? 

FreeBear

Looks to be a relatively simple repair that even a multi-skilled handyman could do - Or if you feel up to wielding a saw, one you could do yourself. Find a length of timber the same size as the others, cut to length and at the right angle, fix in place with a couple of screws. For added strength, you can get metal brackets to reinforce the joints.

The load that would have been taken by the missing truss is now being taken by adjacent timbers. In the short term, you shouldn't experience any major issues (depending on the type of tiles). Longer term, the rafter will sag a little and tiles my be at greater risk of slipping.

TELLIT01

As the timber was removed to allow a ladder to retract into the attic space, could a timber fixed across between the two adjoining trusses be strong enough instead?

Section62

TELLIT01 said:

As the timber was removed to allow a ladder to retract into the attic space, could a timber fixed across between the two adjoining trusses be strong enough instead?

This is what a professional would have done (probably with some doubling-up too)... which might raise a bit of a red flag about what other DIY/bodge work has been done in the house.

Ihavegingeritis

Apparently a few houses in the close had this done around the same time when they had ladders installed by the same guy, so I don’t think it was a DIY job. Everything else in the place seems to have been done to a high standard. 

I’m glad to hear that this seems to be fixable though. I’ve had all sorts of advice from friends, everything it costing several hundred quid, to thousands, to telling me to walk from the sale because it will need a new roof. 

If there are any tradesmen out there who can confirm, it would really appreciate it! 

FreeBear

Ihavegingeritis said: I’m glad to hear that this seems to be fixable though. I’ve had all sorts of advice from friends, everything it costing several hundred quid, to thousands, to telling me to walk from the sale because it will need a new roof.

A length of 3x2 from B&Q, about £9. An hour tops for a handyman at £30-50 per hour. Maybe another £5 for steel brackets if needed. No reason to walk away over just this one issue.

TELLIT01

Ihavegingeritis said:

Apparently a few houses in the close had this done around the same time when they had ladders installed by the same guy, so I don’t think it was a DIY job. Everything else in the place seems to have been done to a high standard. 

I’m glad to hear that this seems to be fixable though. I’ve had all sorts of advice from friends, everything it costing several hundred quid, to thousands, to telling me to walk from the sale because it will need a new roof. 

If there are any tradesmen out there who can confirm, it would really appreciate it! 

Maybe not DIY, but definitely bodged.

Bendy_House

If you look at your pic, IHG, you'll see that one roof rafter has lost its support by the removal of that truss. I'm pretty sure all that's need is a similarly-sized timber to span horizontally between the two adjacent rafters, pressed up firmly against the currently-unsupported one.

Like:

Ihavegingeritis

Bendy_House said:

If you look at your pic, IHG, you'll see that one roof rafter has lost its support by the removal of that truss. I'm pretty sure all that's need is a similarly-sized timber to span horizontally between the two adjacent rafters, pressed up firmly against the currently-unsupported one.

Like:

Thanks, Bendy House. That’s good advice.

Ihavegingeritis

TELLIT01 said:

Ihavegingeritis said:

Apparently a few houses in the close had this done around the same time when they had ladders installed by the same guy, so I don’t think it was a DIY job. Everything else in the place seems to have been done to a high standard. 

I’m glad to hear that this seems to be fixable though. I’ve had all sorts of advice from friends, everything it costing several hundred quid, to thousands, to telling me to walk from the sale because it will need a new roof. 

If there are any tradesmen out there who can confirm, it would really appreciate it! 

Maybe not DIY, but definitely bodged.

Agreed! I’m far from an expert but I just don’t understand why anyone would look at a truss and even think of sawing it off.

stuart45

Ihavegingeritis said:

TELLIT01 said:

Ihavegingeritis said:

Apparently a few houses in the close had this done around the same time when they had ladders installed by the same guy, so I don’t think it was a DIY job. Everything else in the place seems to have been done to a high standard. 

I’m glad to hear that this seems to be fixable though. I’ve had all sorts of advice from friends, everything it costing several hundred quid, to thousands, to telling me to walk from the sale because it will need a new roof. 

If there are any tradesmen out there who can confirm, it would really appreciate it! 

Maybe not DIY, but definitely bodged.

Agreed! I’m far from an expert but I just don’t understand why anyone would look at a truss and even think of sawing it off.

You'd be surprised how many people cut timbers out of their roofs, sometimes to get their train sets in.
Yours isn't the worst I've seen. You could stick a longer piece over a few more rafters if you like.
In technical terms the missing piece is called a strut in a cut roof, and a web in a trussed rafter roof.