"Jerry Built" ] wrote in message . ..
"N. Thornton" wrote: IMM wrote: The Neutered Pillockofer wrote:

Modern multi-braced roof trusses are cheap, and adequate, but won't
allow you to add a room in the attic like substantial victorian ones
might.

So? Modern timbers are far superior to Victorian houses.

What? In what way?

Hi. I dont think there were any building regs covering timber sizing
100 or 150 years ago, and some of the woodwork on these old places
I've seen has had people peeing in their boots (figuratively .

The question wasn't actually about opxy "building regs" or timber
sizing.

Which question are you referring to? I was just responding to a point
about timbers, which is relevant to the thread as its one of the
differences between Victorian and modern buildings.


I saw one Vic house with twisted snaking 3" beams supporting the
upstairs floors, and IIRC they were something like 15 feet long.

Yes, I've seen a number of new houses with twisted snaking roof
trusses, too...

Yes, thats no biggie in itself, but when your floor's held up with 3"
wood thats bent and rotten, that is.


One
or two had rotted through as well. The chap who owned it said that
when he pulled the plaster off, he was amazed the beams had supported
the floor without it collapsing.

6" floor joists are common in the better Vic houses, which is still
smaller than you'll find on new builds, but not a problem. Its just a
bit less soundproof.

A bit less? Would that be measurable, I wonder, or merely theoretical?

You can calculate it. IIRC (and I might not) I think 6x2s have around
twice the deflection as 8x2 for a given load, thus they have half the
stiffness in the face of a given sound pressure.

Floorboards with gaps between them also allow more sound through than
modern tongue and groove chip, which has hardly any gaps. The end
result is a significant difference.


The biggest diffrence is probably in the roof. There are Vic houses
around that wouldnt have the least chance of meeting todays load
requirements, but if they've stayed up, they're still with us.

So "building regulations" outlaw a "traditional" roof constructed of
4x2s? I didn't know that.

Not 4x2 as far as I know, but I'm fairly sure they outlaw the ones
built with 3x 1.5". And I've seen 4x1" in one place.


Regards, NT