[andysnook]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to build a woody in the loft, the roof provides a nice 45 degrees which is great.  So, its tempting to screw my ply sheets directly to the rafters - but of course I'm concerned about whether the rathers can take this kind of loading.

I've seen loads and loads of plans and examples of home walls on the net, but struggling to find many examples of anything screwed directly to the rafters.

Anyone ever tried this ?  Or is there a good reason people dont do it this way ?

Thanks in advance for all your thoughts

A.

[dave]

I was going to do this at my old crib but opted for a much smaller cellar board instead because I couldn't convince myself that it wasn't going to pull the roof down.

[andysnook]

I was going to do this at my old crib but opted for a much smaller cellar board instead because I couldn't convince myself that it wasn't going to pull the roof down.

Yeah that's basically my worry.  I do actually have room for a free standing wall, but its a lot more to build and wont be as wide/tall etc.

[Serpico]

I've got an attic room but opted for a free standing board, partly because of concerns about fixing anything to the roof but mainly because I didn't want it steeper than 35deg. The board itself is a 10'x8' A frame design, the 2 legs are 4"x2" tied back with another 2 lengths of 4"x2" to the base of the wall.

[Andy B]

How fat are your rafters?

[slackline]

How fat are your rafters?

[account_inactive]

Think about the way the framework has been built and how it will support your structure. A cellar joist will take more weight than your roof beams  

If you can build an a-frame without loosing too much space then that would be the way to go.  My cellar is a bit damp and not the best arena for athletic endeavors

[andysnook]

How fat are your rafters?

I'll check tonight, from memory I'd say they look like 2x6 but I could be wrong - less than 2 feet apart though

[andysnook]

How fat are your rafters?

Very good

11st

Looks like the free-standing approach is definitely winning at the moment.

[dave]

I think the nail in the coffin for my idea of an attic woody was watching scouse footless across my 2x6" roof beam on some screwed-on wood holds and seeing the entire beam flex like the tacoma narrows bridge (cast your minds back to a-level physics classes).

[Andy B]

How fat are your rafters?

I'll check tonight, from memory I'd say they look like 2x6 but I could be wrong - less than 2 feet apart though

Assuming that's in inches, and there's not already any movement in them [and possibly depending on whether I owned the property], I'd be getting tempted to attach the board directly to them.

gr, who comes on here regularly, used [a long time ago] to have a board which was attached directly to the rafters in the communal attic of a big old [rented] house. If he doesn't see this you could pm him for some advice.

[Andy B]

I think the nail in the coffin for my idea of an attic woody was watching scouse footless across my 2x6" roof beam on some screwed-on wood holds and seeing the entire beam flex like the tacoma narrows bridge (cast your minds back to a-level physics classes).

Scouse's campusing exactly matched the resonance of your joist? that's incredible. Rafters at less than two foot intervals, attached to each other by 18mm boards will move a lot less than swinging on a single one. And Scouse is a big boy.

[rodma]

Hi all,

I'm hoping to build a woody in the loft, the roof provides a nice 45 degrees which is great.  So, its tempting to screw my ply sheets directly to the rafters - but of course I'm concerned about whether the rathers can take this kind of loading.

I've seen loads and loads of plans and examples of home walls on the net, but struggling to find many examples of anything screwed directly to the rafters.

Anyone ever tried this ?  Or is there a good reason people dont do it this way ?

Thanks in advance for all your thoughts

A.

Could you post a picture up of the structure (including horizontal timbers between the two pitches) so I can have a peek.

A well constructed roof should be designed to handle serious wind loadings and some snow loads.

Hanging a couple of sheets of ply and the weight of 1 climber should get nowhere near the design loads.

I think the nail in the coffin for my idea of an attic woody was watching scouse footless across my 2x6" roof beam on some screwed-on wood holds and seeing the entire beam flex like the tacoma narrows bridge (cast your minds back to a-level physics classes).

If this was on the horizontal bracing, then you should expect that it would flex a fair bit. If it was on the actual pitched rafters, then that's quite scary.

[r-man]

Here's a pic of a friend's attic woody. Seems to work pretty well. The plywood isn't nailed to the roof beams, but sits on a rung (nailed to the beam) at either end.

[andysnook]

Hi Rodma, I'll certainly do that.  I'm moving in over the next couple of days so I'll get one posted as soon as I can.

Thanks again everyone for your input on this

[dave]

that looks awesome - he should try and get rid of a few holds though, looks a bit crowded on there.

[r-man]

It hasn't been up long, holds are still being added.

[T_B]

Dunno about anyone else, but at the mo, my attic must be about c40 degrees celcius! I can barely hang the washing up, nevermind pull down.

[dave]

is there a gap behind that for t-nuts or is it a screw-on only setup? looks like a smart solution to the attic woody problem.

[r-man]

There is a slight gap, but it's just screw ons. Wooden holds only on this board. I'm sure you could use t-nuts if you wanted.

T_B, we've found aiming a big fan at the woody cools it down significantly.

[Jaspersharpe]

Dunno about anyone else, but at the mo, my attic must be about c40 degrees celcius! I can barely hang the washing up, nevermind pull down.

  

It used to get warm enough in our cellar even with a big fan. Looks like a good setup though. The least obtrusive board ever?

[andysnook]

Dunno about anyone else, but at the mo, my attic must be about c40 degrees celcius! I can barely hang the washing up, nevermind pull down.

I had thought of this too - and have dealt with it by applying a good helping of denial...

[fashionguru]

Hi,  I built one a fair few years back in an ex's loft.

This was attached to a frame work that its was attached direct to the beams.

It was a fairly large affair with a 40deg 8ftwall at one side and the a 30deg 8ft with a 4 ft step roof at the other.

No problems with the roof as I know but the floor did give problems.

it was not a floating floor so was direct on to ceiling bellow and repeated falling over the time cracked this and made a mess.

Dont know if its still up but bet the roof gave in if it was.

Tony S

[rodma]

it was not a floating floor so was direct on to ceiling bellow and repeated falling over the time cracked this and made a mess.

We're in a top floor flat, but I think the downstairs neighbours don't have a cornice or anything like that in the room below our campus board. At least, I hope they don't ???

[uptown]

My very first board was fixed directly onto the rafters - I used marine grade ply and fixed regularly with some structurally fat screws - I  had no probs at all and was told that if anything it would strengthen the roof structure - in a way its just an expensive over engineered cross bracing!
My one tip would be to pilot the screw holes well and use good quality stainless fixings as I had real trouble removing those fat boys and sheared most of the heads off - attics are reknowned for humidity and condensation which backed up with old fashioned roofing felt make them corrode and seize. The board is still there now afaik - 21 years and counting!
More crucial to the size of the rafters is the size and spacing of your purlins - if they aren't sturdy or aren't there at all you may struggle with rafter flexing leading to broken slates. The Victorians were notorious for under speccing roof timbers. What age is the property?