Board Thickness for Loft

[sjoyce666]

I'm looking at boarding out the centre section of the loft for storage.

From centre of joist to centre of joist is 2ft

Is 18mm chipboard suitable or am i better off sourcing some 22mm from a Timber Merchant ?

I have seen the loft board packs available from DIY stores. The boards are 4ft so would span two sets of joists. Am i better of cutting them to 2ft and screwing them down or leave as 4ft and just screw down every 2ft. That is if 18mm is even suitable

Thanks

Scott

 

[noseall]

18mm chipboard will be adequate. the longer the better.

 

[sjoyce666]

I can only get a 4ft length board up into the loft due to the placing of the loft entrance.

Will this still be suitable ?

Scott

 

[noseall]

I can only get a 4ft length board up into the loft due to the placing of the loft entrance.

Will this still be suitable ?

Scott

yes.

 

[sjoyce666]

I had a look at some boards yesterday and the only problem i can see is that the boards state that the maximum centre span is 450mm.

The centre span between the joists in my loft are 570mm so i may have to go for thicker chipboard

The boards are designed for a joist every 16" but my joists are every 24"

Does anyone know of any suitable boards otherwise i will have to phone round local timber merchants for prices on thicker chipboard

Scott

 

[noseall]

fit some noggings across the joins.

 

[Deluks]

Use ply or osb 18mm, will span that and much stronger than chipboard. You can get t&g floorboards in B&Q. It's only a loft floor so won't subject to the same loads as a normal floor.

 

[JohnD]

use 18mm ply, it's stronger (and won't fall apart if it gets damp).

If you are only going to use your loft to store the Christmas tree and your Judy Garland albums, it will not be carrying much weight. I don't suppose the timbers are strong enough for a habitable room anyway.

you could also cross-batten it at 16" centres with 2x2 or similar, this will also help spread the load, and give extra depth for insulation.

edited: bah!

 

[timbalcombe]

saw some boards in focus today that said max centres of 600mm.
Chipboard, t&g, 18mm thick.
Hope that helps

 

[kevnurse]

I had a look at some boards yesterday and the only problem i can see is that the boards state that the maximum centre span is 450mm.

The centre span between the joists in my loft are 570mm so i may have to go for thicker chipboard

The boards are designed for a joist every 16" but my joists are every 24"

Scott

Scott, those figures are for compliance with building regulations, whereby the boards would be used as flooring in a habitable room. You told us that your loft will only be partially floored for storage purposes. Therefore you can use anything you like for that purpose and you can use your own judgement. At worst, boards that should span 16" which are laid across 24" spans will flex a little bit, but will not split under normal loads. If you need convincing, buy one piece and lay it across a few wooden battens, at 24" span, in your driveway and walk on it.

 

[JoshRogan]

I've just laid some 18mm Chipboard sheets (not T&G, just £11 a sheet 2.4 x 1.2) down as temp floorboards in my attic garage whilst I work on it. The joists are 600mm centres and whilst there is some flex in the boards when standing in the middle of the joists it holds my weight fine (92kg/200lbs).

I would not want to jump up and down on them too much though, especially now they have been thoroughly soaked after yesterdays rain (not quite got the roof covering on yet!)

C.