Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"Christian McArdle" writes:
In a victorian house of standard construction with an apex roof, how
much weight can one put in the loft?

There are all sorts of roof construction with different constructions, so it
is not possible to give you a definitive answer. However, it is unlikely
that a Victorian loft would be suitable for heavy storage, as the joist
sizes are very unlikely to be anywhere near that required by modern building
regulations.

Agreed. I generally keep only empty boxes up there for packing
things back in when I move. There are a few heavy things up
there, and they are all positioned in a line along the top of
the structural wall which supports the centres of the loft
joists.

I'm amazed at how flimsy many people's lofts seem to be, I've never
seen one of these lofts with 4" or less ceiling joists. In all my
experience from my parent's 1950s built house through all the houses
we've owned the joists have, in the main, been overkill for the job.

Our present 1920s built house has 6" (at least) by 2" ceiling joists
at, I would guess, less than 18" spacing. It feels much the same as
previous lofts that I remember. I think the major stress on our
joists is tension from the weight of the roof, maybe that's why
they're much bigger than needed to support the ceiling.

--
Chris Green