Boarding over loft insulation

[Sarah100]

Hi,
We are currently in the process of insulating our loft and would like to board over the top of it so we can use the space for storage. However, the insulation is thicker than the joists are tall. What is the best way to raise the joists? Do we just add wood to them? Do we put wood perpendicular to the joists or the same way? We don't really want to compress the insulation and lose the thickness.
Thanks!

 

[morrik27]

Get your self down do the builders merchant you want at least 50x50 batons over the top of the existing joists (running at right angles) then board over the top. depending on the height of the roof pitch you can either get loft boarding packs or 2400x600 boards to lay as a floor.

if you put the batons down first you can easily move the cables around, and get them all nicely layed out ready for the boards. If you have the space, (height-wise) ,you can fix 50mm by 75mm (or 100mm) batons then run another layer of insulation over the top.

It's worth pointing out that the boards will all inter-lock, so leave a gap of about 2 inches at teh gable ends so that you can unscrew it all and get to light fittings/cables/and the like in the event you decide to change things later - other wise you end up taking the lot up! This will alos allow air to circulat through the insulation.

Apart from that it pretty easy, start around the hatch and work out. Most people recommend staggering the joint for the boards.

A tip i found was to do the loft in three sections the centre under the higest point, then the two outside bits. then you can put the small things at the sides, and there's easy access along the centre. Also things are as close to the walls.

Also i would point out that you should get a descent cordless drill. The first one i did took a week (but i did with a wheel brace and a screw driver ), but it shouldn't take more than a saturday morning.....

 

[Sarah100]

Thank you! We'll have a go at that!