Loft leg different heights and general questions

[ag90]

Hi there

Our loft is partly boarded already, directly onto the joists. It's only a small area and makes it easier to access the loft so I don't mind despite it not being best practice.

The rest of the loft is un-boarded with lots of insulation. I would like to board a section of the loft for additional space using loft legs.

See pic here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/4Q4WCrR1bGZRTQCk9

I plan to attach loft legs to the joists highlighted yellow. My problem is the joist highlighted blue (covered by the existing board).

My question is...

Can I simply attach loft legs to the blue joist by drilling through the existing board, and then add spacers to the loft legs on the yellow joist to ensure an equal height? Or is there a better way that doesn't involve removing the existing boards etc.

And a few more general questions....

There are some wires as you can see in the pics, am I OK just installing the legs around these?

I've read that boards should be staggered for strength. Given the small size of of this section, I won't be able to stagger them. Is that a problem?

Many thanks
Andy

 

[foxhole]

Quicker , easier , cheaper to just cross board the area with 4x2 timber , notched to meet boarded section .

 

[ag90]

Quicker , easier , cheaper to just cross board the area with 4x2 timber , notched to meet boarded section

Thanks, I am not sure the timber would provide enough space for the insulation, it's pretty darn thick.

Thinking I might attach another timber baton to the existing (blue) one and then attach the legs to that.

 

[cdbe]

Just hang a few 3x2's from those (almost) vertical truss sections at whatever height suits you and board.