Fixing up the attic, but how do I handle these beams

[Morsansgrabb]

In our cottage, the attic is mostly unfinished, there have been some poorly executed attempts to insulate half of it, and there's some kind of unknown sheet flooring on the floor. So it would mean tearing everything out and starting over. I would like to open it up and create a large usable space out of it, but at the moment there are two beams running right through the room which makes it difficult to imagine how best to utilize the space.

What kind of construction is it, really? Is it possible to resolve the house's structural integrity in some other way than through these beams? I've marked where the beams go in red.

 

[justusandersson]

It is an old-fashioned roof structure without proper rafters. The roof beams are in turn supported by two (at least) longitudinal purlins, which in turn rest on your red-marked beams. The latter serve both as support for the purlins and as a replacement for non-existent collar beams. (A collar beam is the horizontal joist usually found on rafters and serves to prevent the rafters from splaying out) The function of your red beams can certainly be replaced.

 

[Morsansgrabb]

It is an old-fashioned roof construction without proper trusses. The rafters are in turn supported by at least two longitudinal beams, which in turn rest on your red-marked beams. These latter ones function partly as support for the beams and partly as a replacement for non-existent collar ties. (A collar tie is the horizontal member that is usually found on trusses and is designed to prevent the trusses from bowing out) The function of your red logs can certainly be replaced.

Interesting! Do you know what this kind of construction is called?

 

[justusandersson]

I don't know if this particular one has a name. It seems a bit homemade. Roof constructions based on ridge beams otherwise completely dominated among log houses in the past.

 

[Morsansgrabb]

I don't know if this one has any name. It seems a bit homemade. Roof constructions based on ridges otherwise completely dominated among log houses in the past.

Haha, okay, a little home solution in other words. The cottage is from the mid-1800s and is located in Hälsingland. Thanks for your answers!

 

[KnockOnWood]

I don't know if this one has a specific name. It seems somewhat homemade. Roof constructions based on ridge beams otherwise completely dominated among log houses in the past.

Our first house, an old fisherman's cottage on Asperö in the southern archipelago of Gothenburg, was built in a similar way.
That is, with ridge beams laid on the gables' log frames and with a couple of supports in between.
The cottage was likely from the 1820s.

I can imagine that the red-marked construction is a replacement for a completely timbered partition wall,
so that it is possible to move between the different sections.
But removing it entirely would probably be disastrous unless it was replaced with a full-fledged truss.

 

[Stefan1972]

That's how they used to build in the past because they never made standalone self-supporting trusses. If you want to remove something like that, it's basically about making a new truss, but that doesn't mean you can avoid struts because of it. The roof needs to be supported by a newer construction as well. As I see it, the ceiling height is too low for something functional to be done. The roof needs to be supported and you don't want any struts in the "room," which becomes a bit of a catch-22 situation.

 

[Morsansgrabb]

Our first house, an old fisherman's cottage on Asperö in the southern archipelago of Gothenburg, was built in a similar way. That is, with ridges laid on the gable timber frame and with a couple of supports in between. The cottage was presumably from the 1820s.

I would imagine that the red-marked construction is a replacement for a fully timbered partition wall, so that it is possible to move between the different sections. But removing it completely would probably be disastrous unless it is replaced with a proper roof truss.

Yes, I would never start tearing it down myself without knowing what I'm doing. But can an ordinary carpenter determine how we should proceed or does it have to be a building engineer type?

 

[Morsansgrabb]

This is how it was built back in the day because they never made standalone self-supporting trusses that were just put there. To get rid of something like that, it basically involves making a new truss, but that doesn't mean you get rid of braces. The roof also needs to be supported by a newer construction. As I see it, the ceiling height is too low for you to make something that works. The roof needs to be supported, and you don't want any braces in the "room," which becomes a bit of a catch-22.

Ah, so you mean that it will be difficult to make a construction that doesn't involve splitting the space in half?

 

[justusandersson]

I see no difficulties in replacing your red-marked construction with something less obtrusive. To better assess the possibilities, I would like to see some closer images of the timber in its current state.