Q & A - Roof Trusses

Our loft conversion requires changing the pitch of the roof, can my roofer do that or does someone else need to be hired?

Nathan asked, "We are converting our loft into two bedrooms but have to change the pitch of the roof to accommodate this. The person doing our roof says that he will fix the new pre-made trusses to the existing ones and then saw away any parts of the old trusses that are no longer needed. What I would like to know is this an acceptable/safe/correct way of doing it?"

Nathan, roofers are licensed to do roofing. Carpenters read plans and are licensed to build it for us. Architects are licensed to design the buildings and engineers are licensed to approve structural calculation with a wet stamp. Throw in the building department to oversee your project and you should be fine. Leave one or two of these professionals out of the picture and you could have problems.

It is very uncommon to have a roofer that is licensed to provide all of these services. I would be concerned with any roofer cutting any roof trusses on my home.

Please seek advice from a local building department before starting this project.

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