Boarding a loft

[Rutter]

Not sure if there will be any interest in this or not but we bought a new build house at the tail end of last year and our garage is currently packed full of boxes that were previously in the loft at the old house so I decided to bite the bullet and board the new loft despite being told not to by the builders.

I'd previously put an aerial up there for freeview but other than that it was largely empty as shown in the blurry picture.



As the insulation was above the joists and I didn't want to lose the benefit of this I looked into loft legs and similar solutions, eventually settling on the Loftzone system as this looks sturdy enough for my ample frame. So off I went to Bunnings to load up on loft boards etc. Obligatory car picture, seems I may need a bigger one...



I then got to work fitting the Tri supports and cross members before the metal beams and then the boards on top.





Then I chopped down some of the boards as I was using one full board and then taking about 200mm off the others to fit.



Making progress, pretty quick once everything is ready.



I still need to tidy up the hatch area and permanently mount the ladder.



Quite a quick and easy system to use if a little expensive, I was mostly delayed by my 14 month old son needing to sleep, firing in screws with an impact driver wasn't good for his nap schedule. Work has now stalled as its approaching the surface temperature of the sun in the loft currently, but i'll update this if people are interested once its complete.

[maccas99]

It's a good solution, I went with the loft stilts which are more of a budget option but I didn't need it to be permanent.

[joestifff]

Were the legs expensive? I didn't want to lose insulation either so got some lengths of 6x2 and placed them at 90 degrees to the beams already there.

I also put some wood across the "V" bits that stick up to the roof, and then used boards across there like a shelf.

[alorotom]

Were looking at new builds now and have been told the same by the builder.

Didn’t know you could get these legs/stilts and it looks good!

[S11Steve]

I started doing mine at the weekend - it's not a new build, but does have some trusses. More awkwardly though, it does have a some T&G boards under the 6" of insulation, and various other beams and batons that have been added on at various points over the years, so it's all different levels and I can't fit those stilt things.

I've got a load of 3.6m lengths of 4x2, fitted them at 2ft centres, and then screwing the boards down to them. I've had to cut various notches to keep the top of them level, but at least the insulation is still in place, and there is access for the various cables and pipes that run up there.

I'm about 96sqft into a 400sqft space, but the hardest part was clearing enough space to work and start off laying them down. Now that I have a clear boarded area, I can move stuff around easier so progress will be quicker this coming weekend.

3 days on though, I'm still getting the occasional itch, even though I was in a decorators all-in-one suit, and sweating like Mr Savile on a school bus.

[cbmotorsport]

Just be cautious how much weight you store up there. Modern houses aren't built like they use to be.

[Rutter]

joestifff said:

Were the legs expensive? I didn't want to lose insulation either so got some lengths of 6x2 and placed them at 90 degrees to the beams already there.

I also put some wood across the "V" bits that stick up to the roof, and then used boards across there like a shelf.

The Loftzone system worked out at about £300 for the ~15m2 of loft i've boarded, so not cheap but a very quick simple and strong way of doing it whilst preserving the insulation and the airgap above it. Boards were extra at around £7 for 3 from bunnings, similar at wickes.

alorotom said:

Were looking at new builds now and have been told the same by the builder.

Didn’t know you could get these legs/stilts and it looks good!

I believe that most new build lofts are rated for 25kg per sq meter and are only really designed to hold up the roof and the ceiling below. but I clearly know better and wanted to use it for storage!

[Jobbo]

I've been pondering something like this - the previous owner of our house put a similar quantity of insulation up there which is great, very effective over winter. But how do you finish the area around the loft hatch?

[Rutter]

Jobbo said:

I've been pondering something like this - the previous owner of our house put a similar quantity of insulation up there which is great, very effective over winter. But how do you finish the area around the loft hatch?

I've bought some timber to tidy up the loft hatch area, i'll try and update the thread once its done, same with the light fittings.

[hyphen]

cbmotorsport said:

Just be cautious how much weight you store up there. Modern houses aren't built like they use to be.

Old houses wern't meant to have too much in the loft either, joists will be smaller. Be careful unless you want ceilings to crack, or disturb any lathes.

Keep any storage relatively light and aim to place anything heavier above walls below so supported better..

[anonymous-user]

We have a house built in 1930 and are having the loft boarded using this stuff...


It’s supported as it’s connected to the 4 large roof beams, 2 either side.

Putting a roof lining in. Makes it look like a cannabis farm but keeps it tidy up there.

[Flibble]

Rutter said:

The Loftzone system worked out at about £300 for the ~15m2 of loft i've boarded, so not cheap but a very quick simple and strong way of doing it whilst preserving the insulation and the airgap above it. Boards were extra at around £7 for 3 from bunnings, similar at wickes.

Seems fairly pricey, I was thinking of doing an area of celotex or such rather than loft stilts as it's about half the price. Thin plywood on top and job's a goodun.

[xstian]

You should have staggered your joints down the middle for better strength.

You're in a new build so you shouldn't have to worry about it for a few years, but I have to take a lot of boarding out of lofts when electrical repairs are needed. By all means board a sq meter anything more than that your money would have been better spent on a skip.

[Promised Land]

xstian said:

You should have staggered your joints down the middle for better strength.

I was about to say the same, start the second row by putting the full sheet in the centre and cut a sheet in half and fit either side of it, then two full sheets on the third row and fourth a sheet in the centre etc, like when we deck floor joists on site, but that library pic further up shows the floor without staggered boards.

I'm more surprised that the spandrel panel still has the protective polythene on it from when it was delivered to site, that's a red item for the CML where we work.

[herewego]

Have you actually filled the space under the boards with insulation, it doesn't appear so?

[Woody John]

Rutter said:

Not sure if there will be any interest in this or not but we bought a new build house at the tail end of last year and our garage is currently packed full of boxes that were previously in the loft at the old house so I decided to bite the bullet and board the new loft despite being told not to by the builders.

I'd previously put an aerial up there for freeview but other than that it was largely empty as shown in the blurry picture.



As the insulation was above the joists and I didn't want to lose the benefit of this I looked into loft legs and similar solutions, eventually settling on the Loftzone system as this looks sturdy enough for my ample frame. So off I went to Bunnings to load up on loft boards etc. Obligatory car picture, seems I may need a bigger one...



I then got to work fitting the Tri supports and cross members before the metal beams and then the boards on top.





Then I chopped down some of the boards as I was using one full board and then taking about 200mm off the others to fit.



Making progress, pretty quick once everything is ready.



I still need to tidy up the hatch area and permanently mount the ladder.



Quite a quick and easy system to use if a little expensive, I was mostly delayed by my 14 month old son needing to sleep, firing in screws with an impact driver wasn't good for his nap schedule. Work has now stalled as its approaching the surface temperature of the sun in the loft currently, but i'll update this if people are interested once its complete.

Why didn't you board on top if joist?

[tim0409]

Woody John said:

Why didn't you board on top if joist?

The OP states that there was/is insulation above the joists hence the need for the legs. I take it from the later pictures that the top layer has been removed, to be replaced later.

[Biker's Nemesis]

I did mine 10 years ago, I screwed battens into the brickwork then fixed joist hangers to hang the new joists slightly higher than the ceiling joists. I then fitted tongue and grove flooring.

[herewego]

Woody John said:

Why didn't you board on top if joist?

Mineral wool insulation should be a foot deep.

[sandman77]

herewego said:

Mineral wool insulation should be a foot deep.

And it looks like it is in photo 1 but in photo 3 it looks like it has either been compressed down or some removed as it is lower than the joists.