Boarding and insulating our loft space!

This week we’ve been insulating and boarding our loft space ready to be used as storage space.
This is the first time we’ve ever done this so comments welcome - hoping this helps someone else save a few pennies by doing it yourself. It’s a relatively straightforward easy task, it just needs some hard work and protective clothing!!
Remember to head over to our Instagram to follow along on our renovation! :)

[@MrKonquer]

I did a lot of loft storage work about 12 years ago, I was basically a labourer for this old school joiner, and the thing about loft storage spaces is that you don’t need to screw your new timbers to the old ceiling joists, you start by lining say three timbers across the old joists then you put one of your chip boards across those new timbers and screw the chipboard to the new timber to hold them in place, it’s called a floating floor. another problem with screwing into old ceiling joists is if they weren’t completely flat with each other and you screw joists on them you could damage your ceiling below, you wouldn’t notice them un even before hand because they used wooden lath ceilings which hid alot of uneven woodwork. But your job looks very clean well done!

[@fareed3188]

Is this something that can be done by someone with no experience?

[@Orgakoyd]

I'm glad you made this comment. I've always wondered about a floating loft floor, but more in the sense of putting the boards directly on existing ceiling joists. But then you have the problem of board edges not meeting etc and lots of cutting (and boards possibly slipping off the joists, although I thought about elaborate ways of stitching the boards together and still have them floating, all too complicated for my liking). Having floating timbers running 90 degrees to the joists with boards screwed to them from the top gives you complete freedom with the locations of both the board joints and the floating timbers themselves. Although you have to watch how much weight you're putting on that ''floor' because the ceiling joists are only there to act as rafter ties and also provide a ceiling for the room below, never an actual floor as the timber sections are far too shallow compared to the floor joists used for the upstairs floor of a house for eg.

[@ThePinkPanth3r]

​@@fareed3188 it really depends, some attic spaces will be easier than others. My 100+ year old house has heavy oak ceiling joists with a fairly narrow span so I was able to just tac boards down with a few shims to keep it level. But my moms newer construction attic was pretty complicated, I had to bag up a ton of blown insulation just to see what I was working with, there was already some fairly complicated framing from the master bedroom vaulted? Ceiling . I had to take some pictures and consult some inlaws with framing experiene.

[@AdrianColes]

Ideally you need a gap between the insulation and the boards. Moisture will come up through the ceiling and insulation and it needs somewhere to go. An air gap avoids the boards from getting damp, which then makes the insulation damp, which then makes it less effective. The loft legs are great if you are just putting some boxes for storage as you don’t have all the extra weight of the timbers and you get the necessary gap between the insulation and the boards.

[@nofurtherwest3474]

The vapor will make its way through the boards and insulation and into the open attic space and ideally through a vent.

[@historian3290]

You needed timbers floating over the current joists, held by hangers on your brick wall going across. You will most likely get cracks on the ceiling if you screw the boards on existing joists.

[@user-fw6xo2zd3n]

Nice weekend project...keep up the good work both..

[@DavidSmith-fc5gk]

This honestly looks like the easiest roof cavity i've ever seen to insulate. Not even one cross beam. crazy easy .

[@deanwild4971]

Regarding the loft legs, your method is marginally superior IMO because now when you walk on the boards it's spreading the load across multiple ceiling joists instead of one. This is important because those ceiling joists are not really designed to take this additional load of storage and people walking around on it. In reality, the ceiling is usually over engineered just about adequately to ensure it will be fine. You may well get a bit of minor cracking in your ceiling below in future but it may well be fine.

[@nofurtherwest3474]

Good point. However they are also adding extra weight - not just in the extra timber but also the add'l insulation and flooring. I wonder at what point it becomes an issue. A question for a structural engineer

[@njonessy]

I’m honestly so inspired with your journey and how much you’ve been able to do yourself! ❤ I’ve been wanting to board our loft for so long and originally looked at prices and was quoted over £2k (including new loft hatch & stairs). But after watching your video, I feel like I want to take a stab at boarding it ourselves 😂 might regret it but with the cost of living crisis, you got to do what you got to do! Couple of questions: - Did you speak to a structural engineer before you started? - Did you get quotes from other companies to do your loft? How much of a saving was it by doing it yourself and buying your own materials? - Can you recommend the websites you used where to find the regulations? Because when searching, it’s quite overwhelming with all the different information you find. Thank you so much! I can’t wait to carry on watching your reno journey 😀

[@reno_no_65]

Thanks so much!! 🥰 We have got a structural engineer for the extension but not specifically for the loft no, we’ve not altered the structure of the loft. The only think you might want to check out is that your loft timbers could hold extra weight, I’d be surprised if it couldn’t though but could check it out if unsure! We didn’t get quotes no as we knew we’d diy haha! We actually found insulationsuperstore really useful, they have a lot of helpful content on which insulations to use and how thick it needs to be. But unfortunately we don’t have one website that answers everything, just alot of googling! 🙈

[@playmaker4cesc]

My dad and I boarded our own loft the past two weeks, we used raised loft legs and added insulation then put loft boards on top. Much easier than it looks, just gotta take a punt and save so much money long term.

[@eddiebaby22]

Excellent work guys

[@alexib9702]

I think you trapped air there, which can lead to condensation will meet the floor and wet it (in winter) , so issues like mold can appear. I would check if boards changed the color to darker if so it is wet.

[@nofurtherwest3474]

Let's see, condensation will form on cold surface, so if the upper side of the ceiling (attic side) is cold then you'll have condensation. But adding insulation should mitigate this. Without insulation it would actually be the underside (the ceiling surface) that would be cold and create condensation potentially in winter, but it depends on how much heat is in the room. If ample heat then it will heat up the surface and prevent condensation. For example this can cause a roof with no insulation to warm the snow on top of it and melt the snow. It all depends Depends on the temperature of the various surfaces, the temp of the air, the moisture levels, and the ventilation.

[@marykelly9698]

Love it ❤

[@vickiodili1250]

I can highly recommend wood fibre insulation which deals with moisture better, and is fine to handle compared to the Knauf/Rockwool which irritates your skin and lungs

[@kane951]

Helpful video. Would you say standing on joists is fine or would you recommend leaning on boards ?

[@hihihiesme]

The energy and excitement at the start of the vid compared to the deep look in your eye at the end reminds me why i pay people to do that crap 😂 more power to ya tho good work 👏

[@Wild-Storm]

how is it possible to get that length of timber through the hatch?

[@Mixthisway]

Nice Video Thanks 👍

[@deaosatori216]

Thinking of doing similar but I think my ceiling joists are not load bearing "floor joists"? We're yours already load bearing floor joists?

[@user-th1dx5pg6s]

do you also need to insulate between the rafters with rigid insulation?

[@Andy713uk]

Do you need an air gap between the insulation and loft boards?

[@zooloo2415]

With the fibreglass in place and boards fixed down did you think of the electrical cables for lights and switches need a certain amount of air flow.

[@pedro3474]

In a perfect world yes, in the real world insulation is layed over cables all the time changing the electricians intended installation method with no problems. Also, lighting circuits shouldnt be pulling big loads, so it will more than likely be completely fine

[@tomrivans9102]

Hi, why didnt you use the loft stilts? These are 270mm high and means you can add more insulation in?

[@paulfrost3501]

I wonder how foil insulation such as superfoil could change the specs or physical thickness recommended of 270mm compared to the same insulation / building regs ?

[@seanswall1967]

Mr Frost no less, middle name Jack ?, sorry, I imagine you sigh... but just so on topic. afaik, please correct me if I'm wrong, but the foil is used as a vapor barrier, to stop vapor from reaching the attic insulation which will destroy its insulation properties.

[@cezar050681]

How did you fix in place the 2x4 ?

[@TheMak1985]

I insulated and boarded our loft, what they don't tell you is it pulls the drywall in the rooms below at ceiling level causing cracks throughout the house. regretted the boarding!

[@TheEmolost]

Hi you mention about you did asbestos testing in the material youve used. What equipment did you used for that? Or did you consult asbestos specialist? Thank you

[@paulsonline]

Knauf hasn't got asbestos in it

[@Wild-Storm]

How did you manage to get these long pieces of timber through the hatch?

[@colincurtis633]

How did you screw the 4x2 in the joists? Angled the screws?

[@reno_no_65]

Yep just at an angle 👍🏼

[@jimtowe565]

How much of a gap did u leave before putting in another screw? I’m putting 8ft joists and not sure how many screws I should be using. Was thinking would two be enough as the weight will hold it down also.

[@DeeTeaDee]

Ahh man I just wanna put boxes in my loft ffs🤦🏻‍♂️

[@DeeTeaDee]

11 months on and still sifting through videos for help. Im replying to my own fcking message. The quotes im getting for boarding my loft are fkcing OBSCENE £1700 !???? Just to put some S**T in my loft!!! SICK OF IT!!!!!

[@LanreLocs]

Why don’t home builders just install loft boards from the beginning

[@williambeattie8529]

Cost

[@williambeattie8529]

Or should I say cost saving

[@LegionUK]

The loft is only for insulating purposes and most homes dont have enough space to stand. boarding would be good but also a waste since a lot of properties come with enough storage to facilitate most people

[@davidtaylor8244]

Cost, pure and simple, I'm sure if you were buying a new build house and you wanted the loft boarded they would do it! at a cost!

[@ashleyt4565]

Used to do work for a builder and in every new build would put 9x2 ceiling joists just in case the new buyer wants to deck the lift out !

[@matthewtaylor6935]

So this is what I do for a living and it’s completely wrong. I don’t want to rain on your parade but you are going to encounter problems. Cracks on the ceiling below and moisture build up due to no air flow between insulation and boards. Use a loft system such as loft zone if you are going to do it yourself, not so expensive and you pay for the square meter you need.

[@nicholaschip5820]

Are you a qualified trades person?

[@LegionUK]

I wouldnt say so based of the channel name

[@7kingkev]

Never do this over your existing joists if you want to avoid problems with your ceilings below , and also this does not meet the requirements of loft insulation, but if your a cowboy , crack on

[@stuartosborne6263]

Could you explain why please?

[@mrdeafa25]

Because the existing joists are only capable of hanging a ceiling they are not strong enough to also support a floor, also they almost certainly won't be of an even height which will cause flexing when you walk on it.Loft insulation shouldn't be crammed in as you will lose up to 50% of its potential and without sufficient air circulation you will eventually get condensation and then black mould. In other words, what they did looks great but it is going to cause problems down the line and I guess they will already have issues with the bedroom ceilings and possibly the walls.At one point they were moaning whilst putting the insulation in and a remark was made about whether it would have been better to pay someone else to do it. The correct answer would have been Yes and I guess they will realise that sooner or later. At some point in the future they will want to sell that house and any surveyor worth his salt will find the error of their ways. This could turn out to be very costly in the long run.@@stuartosborne6263

[@njh8277]

@@stuartosborne6263 Cannot handle the weight, therefore celling below cracks

[@alex1975uk]

@@njh8277not really extra weight that might cause cracks in ceiling, it’s if you straighten out the 100 year old original joists during this process.