flooring a trussed attic??

coco0981

Hi there

Am looking to floor my attic just so that i can store junk up there (xmas decorations etc nothing heavy). Have got a couple packs of T&G chipboard but don't really know how to proceed. There's so many trusses up there that to floor it without leave gaps from one side of the row of trusses to the otherc side will mean cutting 3 notches out of each board that butts onto 3 different trusses, 1 top middle and bottom. But this will mean a fair bit of the chipboard won't be sitting on any joist at all. Should i just not cut out notches at all and leave a gap running by the foot of the trusses that would be unfloored?? Or can i get some 4 by 2 and add it in between the joists at right angles so that the sides of the cut boards are resting on these??
I don't think i explained that very well but if anyone gets what i'm saying then your advice is very welcome

skingtile

flooring in truss roofs is normally done just down the middle of the roof where you should have a clear run , the boards run at right angles to the trusses. if atall possible screw boards, nailing could cause plaster popping on your ceilings and also make it extremely hard to lift a board as people often have to

coco0981

Ok
My house is a end terrace with a hipped roof which means i have a lot more trusses than normal in the first half of the attic, there is no one centre part in this half that would be really worthwhile flooring if i can't join up the boards around the trusses as i was originally hoping to do.

I presume my best bet so is to floor one lenght of the first bit as a walkway and then floor the more open space at the back as the storage area

Thanks

skingtile

i am afraid there is no easy way, justa serious amount of cutting and fitting tobe done

BostonB

I wouldn't cut any notches at all. My attic is the same. Theres no constant level in across the truss at all. Very poor design. I started doing in one way then stopped realisting it would take forever.

So instead I started putting strips of wood alongs the top to bring it all to the same height, leaving gaps for wires etc. Then I'm running straight boards where I can. Hopfully I'll be able to fix sections together with out screwing them down, so I can just lift them when I need to in the future. Its going to be a lot of work. I'd never buy a house with a attic like this again.

blogga

I can't help it: the ambiguity is too much.
The attic is trussed so it can't defend itself.
One good uppercut should floor it.
:rolleyes:

PeteHeat

Hi,

You might want to look at getting a few lengths of 2"x2" laths and fixing them across the roof trusses with screws, you can set the space between the laths to suit your boards.

If the trusses are not level it may help to fix some 2"x2" on the trusses to bring them up level.

.

coco0981

thanks for the advice, think i will just floor where full boards will fit and leave the gaps between. Is there a particular size screw i should be using or will any do??

skingtile

recomend 4 by 30 spax or rawlplug, with rawlplug you get a free screw bit to suit screws,