Project: Loft insulation with loft legs and new chipboards

moneysaver1978

Inspired by this thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6462677/insulating-and-boarding-loft-for-storage/p1 and the Wickes sale on Knauf insulation, we made a start on adding insulation to the loft in our new home.

After lifting off a few nailed down boards, we found that was no insulation and some were filled with old jackets, rags and a lot of cardboards - so we cleared up and grabbed some spare 100mm insulation to fill these.

We are now in a position to add loft legs and whilst calculating position of the loft legs, we wondered what the purpose of this wood is? It's next to a strongback.

Like with the jackets/rags/cardboards, we saw some "cowboy" tactics for some of the wiring (we have an electrician visiting to rewire) and this one isn't fully secured, it feels a bit loose so do we nail in (making it properly secure) or do we take it off (could someone added it for a short walkway? And would make it easier for adding on new insulation and loft legs!)

We have a builder coming next week for a different job so will ask him about that but we are still curious in the meantime!

 

FreeBear

Only spans 5 joists, looks to be fairly close to the supporting wall, and there is no load being placed on top. The colour of the wood suggests that it has been there a very long time, so probably predates your bodger (unless it had been reclaimed from elsewhere in the house). If it is loose, that would suggest that it is not performing any structural task (i.e. supporting the joists underneath). Al considered, removing that one piece of timber shouldn't affect the structure of the loft.

But wait for a second opinion - There might be something hidden that we can't see from just the photos.

Jonboy_1984

Looks to me like a redundant load-spreading beam from a removed water-tank or similar?

moneysaver1978

Thanks both!

We did manage to remove the galvanised steel water storage tank (although it wasn't fixed to any joists and it was positioned towards the wall). I wanted to MSE and sell it, apparently it's in demand on eBay but sadly had to cut it in half in order to fit through the hatch!

If this helps, this beam is above the landing where the staircase is.

Just curious, was it a normal practice to have a water storage tank next to the loft hatch (where this beam is)?