In the attic of our house built in '63 there is a roof beam hanging from the rafters that is not included in the house's construction drawings. Can anyone explain what function it has? Load-bearing, stability, or could previous owners have put it there for decorative purposes? We don't think it's nice and would prefer to remove it.
At first glance, it looks like a reinforcement/exchange of the rafters, i.e., the beam is not hanging from the rafters but rather the roof rests on the beam. There has likely been a load-bearing line earlier where the vertical stud is located. However, there's a strange joint on the beam, how does the beam's support appear at each end?
Probably it is for load distribution, but one might think that they should have put a support in the gables.
Well, you probably didn't get much wiser from this, but I wouldn't have removed the beams without a certain explanation as to why they are there.
Well, you probably didn't get much wiser from this, but I wouldn't have removed the beams without a certain explanation as to why they are there.
The beam is there because the trusses are not designed to support themselves! They are too weak without the beams!
The joint is probably due to how they installed the beam and mounted it!
Hanging load distribution is common in reconstructions when removing internal details that weaken the construction!
You cannot remove the original construction, reinforce it, and then later remove the reinforcement!
The joint is probably due to how they installed the beam and mounted it!
Hanging load distribution is common in reconstructions when removing internal details that weaken the construction!
You cannot remove the original construction, reinforce it, and then later remove the reinforcement!
The most reasonable interpretation is that it is a prepared alteration of the intermediate trusses' rafters for one or more dormers that were never built. If the beam has been there since the house was built, this supports the hypothesis. Likewise, if it is a catalog house. If you want to remove it, you must first check the dimensions of the trusses concerning the house's width, roof pitch, and snow load zone.