removing unused water tank?

When i moved into my home it had a new central heating system put in.
The water heats up from the kitchen boiler now.
But when i went up in the attic i found a empty big black plastic water tank with caped off pipes running across the insulation and through the ceiling into the airing cupboard below.
I used a saw and cut up the tank to get out of loft hatch and threw it away.
This year i want to floor the attic with 3/4" chipboard for storage purpose only but these pipes are in the way.
Can i cut them off and cap them or will it cause problems?
I already thought out how to over come the problem of electrical wires on the joist,im going to saw out little grooves in the rafters to place wirers into.
Any advice please .x

HI MissAnniexxx

Here are some "do's" and "don't" I have found useful over the years.

• Don't mess with services or structure unless you're competent to do so.
• Don't assume your ceiling structure will take the load - you need to have it checked.
• Don't notch joists yourself even if an engineer has given the go ahead - he will expect a carpenter to do this.
• Do remember you're a layperson not a carpenter - notch the ceiling joists incorrectly and they will collapse under load.
• Do use professionals and qualified tradesmen in relation to this work - structure and services can go wrong spectacularly.
• Do remember - builders who say "Ah, sure it'll be alright" seldom if ever issue certs for which they can be sued if things go wrong.
• Do remember - even builders who do in theory issue certs for which they can be sued if things go wrong may not be in business long enough.
• Do remember - hiding services and not labelling them and/or their positions is a sure route to disaster when follow on work tales place in the house.

I try to follow all these advices always when I am advising my own clients - its all to easy to over stretch yourself as an architect.
This advice earns me no more fees - it usually earns me less fees - but I always recommend that they take specialist advice when its needed.

Gung-ho self-builders will probably give you the opposite view.
Tales of their unqualified disasters litter the pages of AAM and boards.ie.
Ambition exceeding ability, training and experience tends to end in disaster.

You have been warned.


ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.

I was going to fit some boards in my attic for storage, I was thinking of notching the joist to allow electric cables to pass underneath, According to your advice I cannot do this? The notch is tiny compare to the thickness of the joist.

why not notch the board instead of the joists - just a thought.

Brilliant Horatio.

Never understood why more people don't do this.

A 25mm board will take a router and it seems to make sense.

If any reader knows why this shouldn't be done could they please post.

ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.

Hi Roker,

I'm saying "stick to what you're good at" - and for a reason.

Some people can't read drawings, some just don't "get" structure.
I've seen some real horror shows after only five years of DIY "improvements".

Years ago builders and tradesmen operated using somewhat generous rules of thumb.
With the trend towards minimal floor and roof members and stress graded timbers, it can be more risky today.

When dealing with services and structure you should retain the services of professionals and tradesmen who are competent to do the work.
Timber framed houses or framed upper floors can have complex load transference requirements both for load dispersal and lateral stiffening - its not all loadbearing blockwork.

ONQ.

[broken link removed]

All advice on AAM is remote from the situation and cannot be relied upon as a defence or support - in and of itself - should legal action be taken.
Competent legal and building professionals should be asked to advise in Real Life with rights to inspect and issue reports on the matters at hand.