At Truss Loft, we specialise in carrying out loft conversions to properties with truss rafter roofs.

 

 

Truss rafter roofs are constructed from a series of pre-fabricated wooden members called trusses. The truss roof concept dates back hundreds of years, but it was taken up en-masse during the house construction boom of the late 1960s as an efficient, cost-effective and rapid method for constructing roofs on new homes.

 

 

Although there are many different types of roof truss, the one commonly used on modern homes is the traditional ‘w’ shaped design. A roof made up of ‘w’ shaped trusses is incredibly strong, due to the way it distributes the roof load evenly across all components within the structure, ensuring that no single timber bears too much force. However, as is the case with many functional designs, there are practical down-sides to truss roofs. The main drawback is that they’re highly space intensive, rendering the loft completely unviable as living space and even impractical for storage in many cases. To simply remove the trusses during a loft conversion would cause the whole roof to become unstable and collapse in on the house. So, in order to safely free up the space in a trussed loft, a method needs to be found that provides an equivalent level of support for the roof before the trusses are removed – and that’s where we come in. 

 

 

Contact most builders and architects and they’ll tell you that a trussed roof cannot be converted, and will probably instead recommend an entire roof replacement using pre-constructed attic trusses, or a similar solution. While this may well be true for trussed roofs that are not high enough to legally accommodate a loft conversion (regulations dictate that trusses should be at least 2.3 metres from the base of the truss to the highest point for loft conversions), the reality is that trussed roofs above this height can easily accommodate a loft conversion in the vast majority of cases. 

 

 

 

 

Our process involves transferring the load of the roof from the in-situ timber trusses to newly installed horizontal steel beams. The beams are specially manufactured for each individual loft conversion project and are fitted by our in-house structural steel specialists. Once the beams are in place and bearing the load of the roof, the obstructive wooden roof trusses are removed, transforming what was previously a cold, impractical void into high quality living space. 

The exact process of carrying out a trussed rafter loft conversion varies from project to project, due to factors like size of the property, access, and the complexity of the roof structure. In larger roofs where there are a number of different types of trusses running in different directions, a higher level of technical planning and skill is required to ensure the replacement structure can accommodate the multi-directional forces supported by the original roof. But whatever the configuration of the roof, our surveyors and structural specialists are highly experienced in this type of loft conversion project and can find a solution to suit almost any trussed rafter roof.  

 

 

 

To find out more, go to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page, or call us for FREE on 0800 195 3855. Alternatively, email us at sales@trussloft.co.uk and we’ll call you back.

 

Want to know more about the pre-loft conversion procedure? Go to our undertaking a trussed roof loft conversion page.