Loftboarding - are stilts pants?

[scarble]

Having moved early march, now that supplies are coming through again I can finally board my new loft and get the christmas tree and old paperwork out the way before the putting-things-in-the-garage conversation. PH hive-mind advise me, save my garage, how do I do this?
I did plastic stilts in the old place for a tiny platform for a few boxes, but have heard they can fail after a while and want to do it right, like ideally not have to re-do it ever.
So, plastic legs?
Or, add timber on top of existing joists, running parralel along them, to lift above insulation, then board across. (Screw straight through or some kind of bracket?)
Or, slimmer timber risers on existing joists, run timber battens perpendicular (how thick, screw straight through or brackets?)
Or, slimmer timber risers and some aluminium battens if I can find them.. (there's one company advertises plastic risers and aluminum battens but again, does the plastic last?)

Interlocking chipboards or something else?

[Simpo Two]

scarble said:

Or, add timber on top of existing joists, running parralel along them, to lift above insulation, then board across. (Screw straight through)

I'd do that one. Simple and strong. But screw them on first, otherwise when you try positioning the floor panels they could fall off sideways which would be annoying.

[Drumroll]

Simpo Two said:

scarble said:

Or, add timber on top of existing joists, running parralel along them, to lift above insulation, then board across. (Screw straight through)

I'd do that one. Simple and strong. But screw them on first, otherwise when you try positioning the floor panels they could fall off sideways which would be annoying.

That is what I have done. Other than on a couple of times when I tried to screw the new floorboards into screwheads from the timber extenders, it has worked well

[Oil Trash]

My first house I got all diy and decided to board the loft - second screw went straight through the light mains supply Big Bang

And then when I moved out 5 years later thought isn’t much I; there took me all weekend to empty - ever since only thing in may lodt is a fake Xmas tree

[Joe M]

Look into a "loftzone" kit. Not the cheapest but makes it very easy. Also, add extra insulation if you raise the height of the floor.

[Jakg]

I would (and did) go for the plastic stilts.

The weight loading for a ceiling is quite low and unless you can attach to something very solid, all your really doing with lots of chunky wood is making the ceiling take more weight than it needs to.

[Simpo Two]

Joe M said:

Also, add extra insulation if you raise the height of the floor.

I assumed he was. Otherwise there's not much point in raising the floor...

[ChocolateFrog]

Nothing wrong with the plastic loft legs.

They take my 100+kg walking round on them.

[Christian85]

I bought and tried plastic loft legs initially and sacked them off.

Went down the route of putting in 4x2 timbers running the opposite way to the joists and boards on top of them.

[scarble]

I have plenty of insulation, it comes up over the beams hence need for raising to avoid compressing insulation (and needing an air gap to prevent condensation build up)

Christian85 said:

I bought and tried plastic loft legs initially and sacked them off.

Went down the route of putting in 4x2 timbers running the opposite way to the joists and boards on top of them.

Did you have issues with the plastic legs?
What timber did you use? Generic plained softwood? Sappel or something like that?

[Ambleton]

I used the plastic loft legs (from wickes) exactly as per the instructions about two years ago. When you only have a small area I can see why they'd be questionable. I did a relatively large area with T+G loft boards. I went a little over the top with screws I think. In addition all the boards had a healthy bead of wood glue in all the grooves prior to installation. It feels rock solid.

[mjcneat]

I used the stilts from B&Q and then the MDF boards to lift above my double layer insulation. Very easy to install and still standing about 3 years later. I'm a big lad and they felt very stable when standing on the boards after installation.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Same mine are working well they just cost alot!

[TA14]

Seem to be £1 to £1.50 ea https://www.toolstation.com/loft-flooring-legs/p44...

For worries about them snapping you need some bracing or restraint. It will depend on your loft layout but the easiest would be to fit the boards tight up against the end walls and rafters or trusses - alternatively steady the boarding against the joists/rafters with steel angle brackets (or go full hog PH and fit truss clips)

[sgtBerbatov]

I didn't go for the stilts when I did mine, I sort of wish I did now though as it gives you more space for insulation.

But I'll be honest, pay someone else to do it. I do every single job in my house up to the point where it's electrics and I don't want to burn the house down. I did my loft on a saturday, and when I finished I swore blind if I ever had to do the job again I would pay for someone else to do it. It's a horrible, horrible job.

[Fatboy]

I used the loftzone legs and beams, piece of cake to fit....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AT59GF6/ref=cm_sw_r...

Just get 18mm chipboard flooring locally, much cheaper then the kits they do that include the boards...

Edited to add - it was winter when I did mine, so not as hot as it's going to be now...