"John Seed" wrote in message
om...
I pulled down a sagging ceiling in one of my bedrooms at the weekend
(as one does). Above it, the joists spanning the room are bowed and
need replacing.

The joists are nailed into the rafters beneath the oak beams that run
the length of the house on either side (they are not attached to the
beams).

What I would like to do is replace the joists with ones above the oak
beams (to expose the beams and create more space in the bedroom).

Bad ASCII art of the side view follows.

What I have (The O's are the oak beams);
/\
/ \
/ \
/O O\
/----------------\
/ \
| |
| |
| |


What I want;
/\
/ \
/________\
/O O\
/ \
/ \
| |
| |
| |

I have 2 bedrooms in this elevation with a brick wall in the middle
(upto the height of the oak beams). The walls are stone to the height
of the beams with brick above. A brick extension runs off a hip in
the middle of the house

The joists are 3"x1 1/2", the rafters are 3"x2", Both are about 10' in
length.. They are spaced about 1' apart along the roof.

Can I do what I want? Is there a good book? Is is diy or do I need
an expert?

Any other information that I should post here?


What is the age of this house. Roof design has changed over the years and
the places where forces are applied changed with it. I've done something
with a very similar end result in my house and it looks fabulous, but the
joists run parallel to the purlins so there was far less problems.

The main problem with modifying your arrangment is that the stresses on the
new joints will be higher than the current arrangement. Also there is
unfortunately a possibility of the roof moving as the new arrangement
settles causing some work to be needed there as well.

Do you REALLY want to do this ?