anyone ever get 8 by 4 ply through a loft opening?

buky

Howdy,

will be flooring the attic in a bit. At the moment I am going to be putting in a dolle loft ladder.
Opening size 118 by 58 cm. If you angle the sheet in theory it should fit through.

Anyone ever get 8 by 4 shhets of ply through a hole this size? Or is it impossible due to ladder being in the way?

Tks a lot

Bruthal

The rectangular opening of 118 x 58 cm will have a diagonal of 130cm or so, and the 48 inch wide ply will be 122cm, so it would fit through that size opening, but only if there were no obstacles on the other side.

Its likely the rafters and trusses etc will be in the way, more than the ladder, but if the attic is big with plenty of clearance, they might go in.

I did this same thing with the neighbour next door when he floored his attic last year, and we cut the ply boards into 4 x 4 squares, and did it that way to get them into the attic.

cnocbui

Have you got more than 8' of headroom in the attic above the opening? if not....

Bruthal

Its really the vertical trusses that block it, a full 8 foot of headroom wouldnt be needed, as the board would go in at a good angle, if the attic was clear of the verticle beams near the opening.

mick121

cut sheet down the middle.eg 8x2 you should be fine

wwwboof

you can get 8x2 tongue and grove flooring far easyer to handle

PaulieBoy

A two man job, and I would not like to be the one in the attic trying to pull up a 3/4 inch 8X4 sheet trying to stay on the joists and not put my foot through the ceiling. Good luck with that :-)
As said you rip them down the length into 8X2 sheets and it's easy to do. 4X4 are still awkward to work with and you will have to cut them to length to suit joist spacing, easy to do in the attic with a 8X2.
I've done a few attics and it's the easiest way to go.

buky

Hmmm...its a very tight fit.

then I will have to take the inside measurement from the stira, which would be about 1 cm each side.
That is 116 by 56 cm. What would the diagonal be on this?

Good point about headroom. Luckily I have the 8 foot.

Joist are only inch an half. The reason I dont really want to cut the sheet is because I need the sheets to strenghten up the attic. They will be screwed at regular close intervals and I dont want to have to screw twice on the one joist if I can avoid it. Of course I will have to anyway but using 8 by 4 as opposed to 8 by 2, halves the number of sheet joinings. The roof is a cut roof and very few joists are a similar distance apart. (old house) I will probably have to cut the sheets anyway to halfway across the last joist under each sheet.

Hence, I am considering going for a slightly bigger loft door.

paddy147

Why waste extra money,and make a simple job far more awkward and potentially dangerous with regards the weight and hassle of geting 8 x 4 up into an attic??

Listen to what the experienced people here are telling you...............................


Go and buy the sheets of 8 x 4 foot 18mm thick WPB Ply as its cheaper to buy it at the moment than normal ply.

WPB is moisture resistant and harder wearing too.

Then get a skill saw and a chalk line and cut them into 8 x 2s.

This will be alot easier aswell,if you ever have to take back up a section of ply in a confined attic space,to get at a power cable or some of the plumbing pipe in the attic space.

Trust me.:)

Bruthal

If your going to cut them, you want something better than a chalk line. A straight piece screwed to the board to run the saw along as a guide is what you want.

paddy147

robbie7730 wrote: »

If your going to cut them, you want something better than a chalk line. A straight piece screwed to the board to run the saw along as a guide is what you want.

Funny how I can cut them straight down the middle with that method (skill saw and chalk line).

Allmost every skill saw has a straight line marker or lazer line marker on it.

Its all in the wrist.:pac::D

Bruthal

buky wrote: »

That is 116 by 56 cm. What would the diagonal be on this?

You can calculate that, each dimmension squared, the results added together, then the square root of this is the diagonal.

116^2 + 56^2 = 16592
Square root of 16592 = 128.8

Bruthal

paddy147 wrote: »

Funny how I can cut them straight down the middle with that method (skill saw and chalk line).

Allmost every skill saw has a straight line marker or lazer line marker on it.

Its all in the wrist.:pac::D

Very good paddy. Your better than me.

paddy147

robbie7730 wrote: »

Very good paddy. Your better than me.

We are both very good at certain things,in our own ways.:)

buky

very good lads,

cheers for replies

Paddy, please read my last post.

Joists are only inch an half. The reason I dont really want to cut the sheet is because I need the sheets to strenghten up the attic. They will be screwed at regular close intervals and I dont want to have to screw twice on the one joist if I can avoid it. Of course I will have to anyway but using 8 by 4 as opposed to 8 by 2, halves the number of sheet joinings. The roof is a cut roof and very few joists are a similar distance apart. (old house) I will probably have to cut the sheets anyway to halfway across the last joist under each sheet.
Cutting the sheets is pointless as my joist spaces are irregular. They range from 13 inches to 19 inches. I will prob have to cut the sheet anyway. It also involves more joints an extra screwing. I understand where you are coming from though. Tks for the tip about wpb. Strength rather than harder wearing will be my priority. I need to make a strong rigid box floor. How strong is wpb? Anyway I more or less have the answer to my question. They will fit up.

paddy147

buky wrote: »

very good lads,

cheers for replies

Paddy, please read my last post.

Joists are only inch an half. The reason I dont really want to cut the sheet is because I need the sheets to strenghten up the attic. They will be screwed at regular close intervals and I dont want to have to screw twice on the one joist if I can avoid it. Of course I will have to anyway but using 8 by 4 as opposed to 8 by 2, halves the number of sheet joinings. The roof is a cut roof and very few joists are a similar distance apart. (old house) I will probably have to cut the sheets anyway to halfway across the last joist under each sheet.
Cutting the sheets is pointless as my joist spaces are irregular. They range from 13 inches to 19 inches. I will prob have to cut the sheet anyway. It also involves more joints an extra screwing. I understand where you are coming from though. Tks for the tip about wpb. Strength rather than harder wearing will be my priority. I need to make a strong rigid box floor. How strong is wpb? Anyway I more or less have the answer to my question. They will fit up.

Mine is an old house too (1953 house) that has been internally gutted and refurbed.My attic spaces and joist spacing (in some places) are like yours too


You asked a question,and so far allmost everybody has told you the same answer (8 x 2).

A solution to your problem is..........
Couple of lengths of 2 x 1.5 or 3 x 2 on their sides and cross battoned over the existing joists,then whack the 8 x 2 sheets onto them.

Quick and easy solution.

WPB is harder wearing and stronger too,than normal ply.


Or just go with the plan you have,(you seem determinded to stick to no matter what advice is given to you),and make more work and hassle and potential safety hazzards for yourself in the long run.

Either or.

Best of luck with what ever you do.

Regards.

JMSE

I started this job today as I need the storage. '83 built with 5' clearance with trusses , pure nightmare of an attic and it should be made a crime to build such an unusable space. Am cutting my floor into 4'x2'. But as my joists are 4" and the old insulation is fairly flat, I raised the new 'floor' up on 4" spacers of 4"x1.5" offcuts. This will allow me to put a higher grade 8" layer of insulation in under the 'floor'. And before you all think I'm doing this backwards, I really only did two test pieces to see how it looked and now I'll get the insulation.

mathepac

Have you considered counter-battening across the existing joists? Something like maybe a 2x4 or even 2x2 at right angles to the existing joists, which you can space accurately if the existing joists are a bit "off". A single fastener into the old timbers will secure them and two screws into the new timber through the new floor.

Bruthal

mathepac wrote: »

Have you considered counter-battening across the existing joists? Something like maybe a 2x4 or even 2x2 at right angles to the existing joists, which you can space accurately if the existing joists are a bit "off". A single fastener into the old timbers will secure them and two screws into the new timber through the new floor.

Counter battening is better anyway, as it avoids wiring getting clamped between the attic floor joists and the plywood sheeting.