Hi
I'm looking into boarding out the loft above my 1950s semi to make it into a room where I can escape from the family.
You know, board the floor and walls (and insulate behind the wall/roof boards perhaps) and then stick some lights and an old TV and hifi up there, and sit in peace after work!
I wouldn't be really looking to make it into an officially habitable space or anything - I can't afford to be widening entrances and fitting roof-lights and such, My budget is <#1000.
The loft space is in two sections, we had a side extension and where they moved the roof, they left all the old rafters in. The joists above the extension part are very sturdy ones, the same as they used for the flooring (look to be 2x8inch from memory) .
The rest of them are the originals, probably 2x4s. A friend of mine who fancies himself as builder says I'd be fine just boarding over these for my uses, but I'm dubious about doing it, so was going to confine the conversion to the "new" part. I'm sure I wouldn't fall through, but I don't want them sagging in the middle of the rooms underneath and putting cracks in the ceiling plaster! What do you guys think?
On to the insulation question - you guys are my first stop for advice, I've never done anything like this before so I know nothing!
I've seen the polystyrene sheet insulation at wickes. This looks to be really nice and clean and simple to fit - would I be alright using this stuff between all the rafters and then boarding over it using either plasterboard or thin plywood?
Any pointers or things to consider would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!!
Dave
I'm looking into boarding out the loft above my 1950s semi to make it into a room where I can escape from the family.
You know, board the floor and walls (and insulate behind the wall/roof boards perhaps) and then stick some lights and an old TV and hifi up there, and sit in peace after work!
I wouldn't be really looking to make it into an officially habitable space or anything - I can't afford to be widening entrances and fitting roof-lights and such, My budget is <#1000.
The loft space is in two sections, we had a side extension and where they moved the roof, they left all the old rafters in. The joists above the extension part are very sturdy ones, the same as they used for the flooring (look to be 2x8inch from memory) .
The rest of them are the originals, probably 2x4s. A friend of mine who fancies himself as builder says I'd be fine just boarding over these for my uses, but I'm dubious about doing it, so was going to confine the conversion to the "new" part. I'm sure I wouldn't fall through, but I don't want them sagging in the middle of the rooms underneath and putting cracks in the ceiling plaster! What do you guys think?
On to the insulation question - you guys are my first stop for advice, I've never done anything like this before so I know nothing!
I've seen the polystyrene sheet insulation at wickes. This looks to be really nice and clean and simple to fit - would I be alright using this stuff between all the rafters and then boarding over it using either plasterboard or thin plywood?
Any pointers or things to consider would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!!
Dave
