Loft Boarding

Creating a basic loft storage solution is very easy and quick and you certainly don’t need much in the way of DIY skills to do the job and is fairly easy to learn how to board a loft.

The materials you need can be purchased very cheaply from DIY stores as either small panels or large (8’x2’) chipboard sheets.

The panels are more convenient to work with as they are smaller and easier to manage though will work out a little more expensive than the larger sheets.

Whichever material you decide to work with the cost of boarding your loft should only be a few hundred pounds.

And, the only other items you will need are wood screws, a saw and screwdriver.

The first thing to determine is the area of your roof space to see how many sheets you will need. Measure the depth and length and then multiply to work out the area.

If you are carrying out the project simply to provide secure loft storage then it may be wise to just board the middle without trying to reach the awkward area under the eaves – you won’t lose much space and the job will be completed much faster.

Before laying the boarding the joists can be raised, levelled and strengthened by laying timber battens across them (minimum 2”x1”).

This also a good idea if you have electrical cables running on the top of the joists.

If you aren’t adding some strengthening (i.e., you will only be using the loft for very light storage) ensure you have an electrician re-route the wiring – don’t be tempted to cut into the joists to ‘bury’ the wiring, this will weaken the joists too much.

If using longer screws make sure they are not so long that they will go through the timber and into the ceiling!

By the way, don’t nail the loft boarding down. Using screws enables the boards to be easily taken up at a later date if necessary and hammering nails in the loft could cause a plaster shower in the rooms below!

The fibres on the old style loft insulation are horrendously irritating if they make contact with your skin and, of course, the mask is essential so that you don’t inhale any of the dust which will envelope you as you work.

When screwing the sheets to the joists take extra care to avoid electrical wiring. Each board will probably only require two screws to be made secure.

This kind of project will not normally require loft conversion planning permission or loft conversion building regulations approval but if going any further, fitting a roof light for example, then contact your council’s building control officers to confirm you do not have no make a building regulations application.

See more Related Pages below or complete the form at the bottom of the page for a free no obligation quote from tradesmen near you...

Loft Conversion Guide

DIY Loft Conversion

Using Chipboard For Laying Flooring

Cutting An Access Hole To Your Loft

Lowering The Ceiling

Loft Boarding & Flooring

Loft Boards

Basic Loft Conversions

Loft Conversion