Boarding out the loft question

[screenman]

The boarded bit will be only a small part of the total roof space so not too worried about the loss of insulation, just looking for the most foolproof way given that I am pretty cack handed

Shaun

Can I suggest getting a man in, lofts are horrible spaces to work in and the likelyhood of a cack handed person doing a lot of damage could be quite high.

 

[HF2300]

Those joists look very thin - they're probably only designed to take the weight of the ceiling and may not cope with boards, stored stuff and people tromping about up there.

 

[Cuchilo]

I would lay 2 bits of 4x2 in the direction of the top insulation so its bearing on all of the rafters below . Then lay 4x2 on top of those in the direction of the rafters the first plates are bearing on . Board on top of this .

 

[midlife]

Thanks for all the info. Going to have a think. I was only going to be sliding things in and out within reaching distance of the loft hatch so total area about the size of a small dinner table. Mainly to keep the voracious mice off things in the garage.

Cheers

Shaun

 

[keithmac]

I packed our insulation between the joists and boarded over the top, it's a 1950's build and has very deep joists (unlike the OP's).

In winter the loft area is freezing cold so presumably the insulation is working ok.

Was thinking of of the solid insulation between the roof rafters as well but probably a waste of time, plus it's nice to go up into the loft now and again when there's a downpoor and check for leaks..

 

[iateyoubutler]

I know this is not much help here but my loft is insulated to daft levels too, luckily with the way mine is constructed I have a load of horizontal joists, about 5ft up from the floor of the loft that make perfect shelf supports, all the crap goes up on there and the floor is left undisturbed

 

[iateyoubutler]

Also, the first place I had had a huge roof space, and the insulation was on the pitched part of the roof, with nothing above the ceilings. Never seen that before

 

[Slick]

After hearing about the loft legs on CC, I have bought them but yet to fit them. They appear simple to fit and roof truss's are designed to carry quite a large load without being big and cumbersome adding more weight to the wall heads. I plan on doing it next weekend, as long as I don't get dragged to the golf course, kicking and screaming.

 

[snorri]

Thinking about boarding out our small loft in our newish house to store x-mas decorations and the like

Buy a sheet of ply and cut it into the largest pieces that can be passed through the loft entrance hatch. Laid on top of the insulation these will spread the load and have negligible effect on insulating qualities. Lay the ply as close to the entrance hatch as possible so that you can reach the stored items without having to walk around in the loft space.
If you provide fitments to allow walking around a loft space it soon becomes an alternative to the rubbish or recycling bin.

Thinks........ why do I suspect you could go on to store things a lot heavier than christmas decorations up there?.

 

[screenman]

I researched the insulating qualities, it surprised me the difference between compressed and not.

Anyone had their house pressures tested, ours just missed it.

 

[bikingdad90]

Here is ours in progress. Loft legs screw to joists and then the legs have ton and groove screwed on. Took me and my wife two days to add legs, extra insulation and reboard when we moved in. The previous owners squashed the insulation by not adding legs.

 

[bikingdad90]

We also got a ladder fitted to the hatch for ease of getting things in and out. Only issue we had was one lighting loop rang along the outside and needed careful placement of the feet to avoid.

 

[midlife]

We also got a ladder fitted to the hatch for ease of getting things in and out. Only issue we had was one lighting loop rang along the outside and needed careful placement of the feet to avoid.

Looks like a nice job . All I need is a few extra square feet for Xmas stuff and the odd box of Lego.

Shaun

 

[bikingdad90]

The worst part is covering up and masking up to lift the top layer of insulation; you will be boiling and sweating like a pig. Once that is done it is a case of drill and screws on repeat.

 

[mjr]

Mainly to keep the voracious mice off things in the garage.

Won't work. The little beggars will climb up the insides of the cavity walls and appear in the loft. Don't keep food in the loft and set some traps :-(