Hi,

I want to get cracking on a loft conversion on a bungalow and would like some help in understanding the particulars of the materials I'll be needing.

I have a lot of internal solid walls and plan to place RSJs from the gable to the internal walls and suspend floor joists from them. I understand that to do this I need joist hangers, I've never used a joist hanger, do they differ in sie according to the dimension of the RSJ, and how are they attached to the RSJ?

I also plan to extend supports vertically upwards from the rsj up to the roof joists to support them intead of using the gigantic purlin tha is in place. How are these vertical posts attached down to the RSJ and upwards to the roof joist, is there some specialized bracket involved here?

Finally, what mechanism is used to fix the RSJ itself in place. My house is very long, 54 ft, so I plan to use two lengths of RSK, ie. 2 RSJs on each side of the house. I expect it is sunk into a hole knocked out of the gable on one end and bedded in with concrete, is that correct?
But then when I rest it on the internal solid wall , what is used to hold it in place there?

I understand I'll need to abide by BR , I'll get my architect friend to double check what I'm doing along the way but I'd like these questions answered to help me in planning work,and pricing and ordering materials.

Thanks for helping an adventurous DIYer save 10,000 euros. (in ireland)

Ian