2 bed attic floorbaords

Coolhand

I know theres a thread on attic conversion but this is a bit different. In the 2 bed town houses the attic is ready to convert so I was told. I dont plan to convert but would nice to be able to use it for storage a bit more. For laying floorboards is it fine to go ahead and just start nailing them down or should anything else be done in advance?

Charlie-Bravo

If you plan to do the work yourself, make sure you buy boards that can fit through the hatch! You can cut larger boards but you might end up with lots of useless large cut-offs!

All the joists are at different 'centres' so you'll end up having to cut the ends of boards (when laying them across the joists).

There's plenty of crappy chipboard in woodies called 'loft board' which will fit through the access hatch. You will have to screw them down though...they tend to move alot if you don't.

http://www.woodiesdiy.com/productdetail.aspx?pid=2015&loc=P&catid=110.0

DK32

If I remember correctly B&Q sell ready cut attic flooring in packs. This is very easy to either screw or nail down. (recommend screwing down so you can lift them up again if you ever need to).

The cheapest option though is to measure out the square footage of flooring you need then go along to B&Q or a builders providers that can cut them into width's that will fit up through the hatch.
B&Q will cut up a full size sheet of chipboard or marine ply to the width you require. This also makes it much easier to fit in the car.

cuddlycavies

Be careful. As far as Iknow you cant just start laying boards on Joists. A new floor has to be constructed and it should be supported by steel. Otherwise you will have difficulty selling your house in the future.

loyatemu

cuddlycavies wrote: »

Be careful. As far as Iknow you cant just start laying boards on Joists. A new floor has to be constructed and it should be supported by steel. Otherwise you will have difficulty selling your house in the future.

I think steel joists are only required if you are planning to convert the attic into a room - if you just want to use it for storage, flooring over the joists should be fine (provided you're not planning to store gold bullion up there).

Maisy

if its of any help, I'm in a two bed and got my attic floored for storage. It was done by a qualified carpenter, he floored over the joists with marine ply he got from his builders merchant. He made sure it was fitted securely and being screwed in its easy enough to take up if the attic were to be converted. He also did what DK32 recommended, measured up for what he needed.

He came back two days later,to move the light switch from the back to the top of the ladder. He thought he had come to the wrong house I had put so much up there in the meantime lol But no gold bullion

Its there three years now and has given me no problems at all.

DK32

cuddlycavies wrote: »

Be careful. As far as Iknow you cant just start laying boards on Joists. A new floor has to be constructed and it should be supported by steel. Otherwise you will have difficulty selling your house in the future.

I can only confirm for the houses built in the first phase of the wood, these houses were built with a view to converting the attic space. There is no need for metal joists in these houses as the distance between each joist is very narrow. You would only need to add a metal joist or additional supports if you intended on compromising the structural integrity of the overall floor plan by taking out a supporting wall.

cuddlycavies

loyatemu wrote: »

I think steel joists are only required if you are planning to convert the attic into a room - if you just want to use it for storage, flooring over the joists should be fine (provided you're not planning to store gold bullion up there).

yes of course, that is correct.

Welsh Wizard

Maisy wrote: »

if its of any help, I'm in a two bed and got my attic floored for storage. It was done by a qualified carpenter, he floored over the joists with marine ply he got from his builders merchant. He made sure it was fitted securely and being screwed in its easy enough to take up if the attic were to be converted. He also did what DK32 recommended, measured up for what he needed.

He came back two days later,to move the light switch from the back to the top of the ladder. He thought he had come to the wrong house I had put so much up there in the meantime lol But no gold bullion

Its there three years now and has given me no problems at all.

Can I ask why he used Marine ply...?, Isn't this much more expensive than chip board...?
If anyone is looking for wood for their attic, I managed to get chipboard sheets, that interlock with each other, fit through the hatch no problem and is also fire retarded.... Think we paid €80 delivered....

sso

We just converted our attic. Did most of the work ourselves and are delighted with the space. When we moved in we floored the attic with the "loft flooring" mentioned already. It did a grand job. When we did the conversion we moved that flooring into the eaves as it was still in good condition. For the main floor we counter-battlned (put long bits of timber across joists going in opposite direction) to spread any load more evenly. We were advised that it would make the floor stronger and wan't too much work. We the laid 18mm thick ply wood flooring over that. It is great. Much stronger than the chip board and if you do convert your floor is done. However if you are trying to get it through the hatch you need smaller sheets. We got ours in Bray building supplies. They also did a tongue and groove version in 8ft x 2ft sheets which you'd get into the attic through the hatch and takes less cutting.

It's really not a bad job to do.Make sure that you don't compress the insulation while you work though or it'll create hear bridgescand make it less effective.

Good luck :-)