Don
370mm insulation?
Are you going to use xl loft legs then?
Are you going to use xl loft legs then?
1930s Semi Refurb - Part 4 of ... (Edition: Loft Insulation)
- Thread starter dlockers
- Start date
OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
Soldato
I did all this but in the wrong order earlier this year. Insulated first then laid loft legs and boards. Not impossible but just means you have to dig for the joists in insulation which isn't very pleasant! I've only boarded the central third of my loft with the outer thirds just insulated and not boarded. This is more than enough additional space for us. I also haven't insulated down the eaves, which hasn't been a problem either, but would probably help somewhat with overall insulation effectiveness. I remember buying a flexible drill bit extender which came in super handy when accessing awkward areas - highly recommended.
I have a mask - and have ordered dust sheets and some masking tape. I shall get the Dexter murder suit for when I tackle the insulation though!
Man of Honour
100% needed. I still felt itchy despite being covered. Wear shorts and a t-shirt you'll be sweating buckets !
Gloves and goggles too - if you have a respirator definitely worth while.
God, B&Q are crap. Despite the delivery being executed from the local store, they are unable to change or even cancel the order (as the CS had to phone the store and the store didn't pick up...). He told me to just refuse it when it arrives and it'll get refunded. What an utter waste of resources. I've re-ordered the same thing for Saturday but with 100mm + 170mm.
Had a decent go today, half as much as I'd have liked but there we go...
Firstly I cleared off the old 20mm insulation layer and bits of old carpet. Found this poor chap:
I then bagged up downstairs with some super inexpensive dust sheets. Life saver:
I drilled a pilot hole to identify where in the bedroom the hatch would fall. Luckily it gave me enough clearance from the rear wall to accommodate a wardrobe. Annoyingly not quite enough if I ever decide to do a wardrobe on the left hand wall as pictured above. C'est la vie.
I then whacked two supporting beams in, and put 2x 2x4's the long side of the opening.
Joining up the four pilot holes gave me my outline. I tried to use the multitool but it was ungodly messy and didn't cut deep enough at all.
In spite of having several 000's of pounds of tools, the 40 quid Bosch jigsaw came into its own.
Now I had my aperture width sorted I went about removing the ceiling joist. I left 45mm for the 2x4.
Great success... some decent damage to the ceiling but nothing that the frame won't cover.
N.b. I closed the gap by 20mm with a bit of old floorboard.
Reasonably clean cut.
Frame up. Now annoyingly I didn't realise how much of a PITA these insulated doors are. You need basically a perfect ceiling for them to close succesfully first time. Unfortunately my frame is not quite spot on, so that is a job for another day... not sure how I level it off tbh.
Fin 1
Fin 2
I'm pretty sure I should have doubled up the new opening, so without the doubling up I put some spare 2x4 pictured at the bottom in the image above. It doesn't quite span 3 joists so I think I'll grab another length of 2x4 and frame the entire thing.
As you can see the insulated door fits pretty well. We'll see how cold it gets this evening as there is now zero insulation and a loft hatch in the (current) bedroom.
Plan is to get some decent ladders if I can't recover the ones I already have, so that the loft is a truly usable (storage) space.
Questions for the audience!
I have a whole bunch of twisted ceiling joists. It certainly isn't new twisting. What's the guidance for fitting loft legs?
Firstly I cleared off the old 20mm insulation layer and bits of old carpet. Found this poor chap:
I then bagged up downstairs with some super inexpensive dust sheets. Life saver:
I drilled a pilot hole to identify where in the bedroom the hatch would fall. Luckily it gave me enough clearance from the rear wall to accommodate a wardrobe. Annoyingly not quite enough if I ever decide to do a wardrobe on the left hand wall as pictured above. C'est la vie.
I then whacked two supporting beams in, and put 2x 2x4's the long side of the opening.
Joining up the four pilot holes gave me my outline. I tried to use the multitool but it was ungodly messy and didn't cut deep enough at all.
In spite of having several 000's of pounds of tools, the 40 quid Bosch jigsaw came into its own.
Now I had my aperture width sorted I went about removing the ceiling joist. I left 45mm for the 2x4.
Great success... some decent damage to the ceiling but nothing that the frame won't cover.
N.b. I closed the gap by 20mm with a bit of old floorboard.
Reasonably clean cut.
Frame up. Now annoyingly I didn't realise how much of a PITA these insulated doors are. You need basically a perfect ceiling for them to close succesfully first time. Unfortunately my frame is not quite spot on, so that is a job for another day... not sure how I level it off tbh.
Fin 1
Fin 2
I'm pretty sure I should have doubled up the new opening, so without the doubling up I put some spare 2x4 pictured at the bottom in the image above. It doesn't quite span 3 joists so I think I'll grab another length of 2x4 and frame the entire thing.
As you can see the insulated door fits pretty well. We'll see how cold it gets this evening as there is now zero insulation and a loft hatch in the (current) bedroom.
Plan is to get some decent ladders if I can't recover the ones I already have, so that the loft is a truly usable (storage) space.
Questions for the audience!
I have a whole bunch of twisted ceiling joists. It certainly isn't new twisting. What's the guidance for fitting loft legs?
Well done good job. For levelling the hatch you can get some shims like these:Had a decent go today, half as much as I'd have liked but there we go...
Firstly I cleared off the old 20mm insulation layer and bits of old carpet. Found this poor chap:
I then bagged up downstairs with some super inexpensive dust sheets. Life saver:
I drilled a pilot hole to identify where in the bedroom the hatch would fall. Luckily it gave me enough clearance from the rear wall to accommodate a wardrobe. Annoyingly not quite enough if I ever decide to do a wardrobe on the left hand wall as pictured above. C'est la vie.
I then whacked two supporting beams in, and put 2x 2x4's the long side of the opening.
Joining up the four pilot holes gave me my outline. I tried to use the multitool but it was ungodly messy and didn't cut deep enough at all.
In spite of having several 000's of pounds of tools, the 40 quid Bosch jigsaw came into its own.
Now I had my aperture width sorted I went about removing the ceiling joist. I left 45mm for the 2x4.
Great success... some decent damage to the ceiling but nothing that the frame won't cover.
N.b. I closed the gap by 20mm with a bit of old floorboard.
Reasonably clean cut.
Frame up. Now annoyingly I didn't realise how much of a PITA these insulated doors are. You need basically a perfect ceiling for them to close succesfully first time. Unfortunately my frame is not quite spot on, so that is a job for another day... not sure how I level it off tbh.
Fin 1
Fin 2
I'm pretty sure I should have doubled up the new opening, so without the doubling up I put some spare 2x4 pictured at the bottom in the image above. It doesn't quite span 3 joists so I think I'll grab another length of 2x4 and frame the entire thing.
As you can see the insulated door fits pretty well. We'll see how cold it gets this evening as there is now zero insulation and a loft hatch in the (current) bedroom.
Plan is to get some decent ladders if I can't recover the ones I already have, so that the loft is a truly usable (storage) space.
Questions for the audience!
I have a whole bunch of twisted ceiling joists. It certainly isn't new twisting. What's the guidance for fitting loft legs?
Broadfix Assorted U Packers - Pack of 150 | Wickes.co.uk
Broadfix Assorted U Packers - Pack of 150
www.wickes.co.uk
Come in various sizes I used these for levelling my suspended floor in my downstairs bathrooms, very handy.
Giving me heebee jeebees with you standing on that board in the last photo
For the legs on twisted joists I’d just crack on unless they’re massively out, it’s a loft floor, unless you plan to store some bowling balls it’ll be fine
. Or again you could use the shims on the top of the legs when you put the boards on top of them.Top man, good shout. Those packers look like a decent solution.Well done good job. For levelling the hatch you can get some shims like these:
Broadfix Assorted U Packers - Pack of 150 | Wickes.co.uk
Broadfix Assorted U Packers - Pack of 150
Come in various sizes I used these for levelling my suspended floor in my downstairs bathrooms, very handy.
Giving me heebee jeebees with you standing on that board in the last photo
For the legs on twisted joists I’d just crack on unless they’re massively out, it’s a loft floor, unless you plan to store some bowling balls it’ll be fine
I can stand on the board even though it isn't across a joint because I am so dainty
Another bonus question - the water cylinder will be living up there. Should I bother insulating beneath that? Obviously don't want that sitting on loft legs!
Good job @dLockers, not wasting any time!
Might be a bit late in a few of these recommendations but for cutting plasterboard next time get one of these, an Irwin jabsaw, brilliant it is. I even used mine to cut circles in the ceiling for speakers.
If you're vacuuming in the loft you don't want the vacuum cleaner in the loft as well as it can disturb the air, increase the heat and noise. What I did was get a hose extension so it could sit in the room below and controlled it with a smart plug.
Once you've packed the loft hatch give the edges of it run with some caulking if you aren't already.
I would insulate under the water cylinder as if you don't it'll create a bit of a cold spot in the ceiling, otherwise it won't too any harm.
Might be a bit late in a few of these recommendations but for cutting plasterboard next time get one of these, an Irwin jabsaw, brilliant it is. I even used mine to cut circles in the ceiling for speakers.
If you're vacuuming in the loft you don't want the vacuum cleaner in the loft as well as it can disturb the air, increase the heat and noise. What I did was get a hose extension so it could sit in the room below and controlled it with a smart plug
.Once you've packed the loft hatch give the edges of it run with some caulking if you aren't already.
I would insulate under the water cylinder as if you don't it'll create a bit of a cold spot in the ceiling, otherwise it won't too any harm.
I would recommend the same but he has laths as well so not sure how well they’d fair really.Good job @dLockers, not wasting any time!
Might be a bit late in a few of these recommendations but for cutting plasterboard next time get one of these, an Irwin jabsaw, brilliant it is. I even used mine to cut circles in the ceiling for speakers.
If you're vacuuming in the loft you don't want the vacuum cleaner in the loft as well as it can disturb the air, increase the heat and noise. What I did was get a hose extension so it could sit in the room below and controlled it with a smart plug
Once you've packed the loft hatch give the edges of it run with some caulking if you aren't already.
I would insulate under the water cylinder as if you don't it'll create a bit of a cold spot in the ceiling, otherwise it won't too any harm.
Oh, that is a good point! I've only used it on plasterboard and I think you're right, probably not that good on laths, never encountered the stuff.
Cheers chaps. I have been pleasantly surprised with the lathe ceiling. The surveyor was convinced it had come lose in places, but it is solid as a rock. The stuff is very, very well fitted.
Anyway, another back breaking day (I am seriously broken now). Managed to get a bit done.
100mm down:
Sick of moving this board:
Put some 170mm down on the back and then sorted out my loft legs:
Partially finished and the first board on. Loft legs weren't as much of a pain as I thought but probably because I can do 600 centres with the larger boards. I was going to reinforce every other centre but TBH with the low ceiling height, there isn't going to be much weight here at all.
I then thought "well this hasn't helped the plumbers who are fitting the boiler/tank up here at all as this is the opposite side of the loft. Lols. So I quickly switched gear to the other side. I then remembered why I started where I did, I was avoiding messing around with the PIR.
I ended up getting 50mm for £25/sheet plus 25 for delivery (£125 total). To get it wedged up beautifully I had to cut the first one in 3 places and slot it all in, each of the others will be cut in half. It wedges in really well, and is tight to the ceiling.
It isn't quite 50mm air gap but it is close.
Not sure where I learnt the trick but I used the tape measure to score the cut line. Worked perfectly.
Got another board up and called it a day:
Overall, really pleased with the loft legs although they aren't really "in use" atm. Great call on using the larger boards despite having to kill myself to get them up there (working entirely solo).
Insulation wasn't as bad as I thought. Once I'd cracked the approach it was a piece of cake. Using the tenon saw was an amazing trick to trimming it easily.
Fingers crossed it makes a difference... about 50% of the floor area remaining but the main thing is, the plumber can work happily!
Anyway, another back breaking day (I am seriously broken now). Managed to get a bit done.
100mm down:
Sick of moving this board:
Put some 170mm down on the back and then sorted out my loft legs:
Partially finished and the first board on. Loft legs weren't as much of a pain as I thought but probably because I can do 600 centres with the larger boards. I was going to reinforce every other centre but TBH with the low ceiling height, there isn't going to be much weight here at all.
I then thought "well this hasn't helped the plumbers who are fitting the boiler/tank up here at all as this is the opposite side of the loft. Lols. So I quickly switched gear to the other side. I then remembered why I started where I did, I was avoiding messing around with the PIR.
I ended up getting 50mm for £25/sheet plus 25 for delivery (£125 total). To get it wedged up beautifully I had to cut the first one in 3 places and slot it all in, each of the others will be cut in half. It wedges in really well, and is tight to the ceiling.
It isn't quite 50mm air gap but it is close.
Not sure where I learnt the trick but I used the tape measure to score the cut line. Worked perfectly.
Got another board up and called it a day:
Overall, really pleased with the loft legs although they aren't really "in use" atm. Great call on using the larger boards despite having to kill myself to get them up there (working entirely solo).
Insulation wasn't as bad as I thought. Once I'd cracked the approach it was a piece of cake. Using the tenon saw was an amazing trick to trimming it easily.
Fingers crossed it makes a difference... about 50% of the floor area remaining but the main thing is, the plumber can work happily!
Last edited:
Caporegime
- Joined
- 13 Nov 2006
- Posts
- 26,170
Fin 1
Kill room looks pretty good. Minimal cleanup required post chop.
Man of Honour
Love it @dLockers great work.
Good job. Legs tougher than you thought they'd be? I'm a big chap and after I got my first board down I laid down on it and was surprised by how sturdy it is. Also when screwing them down I'd often put my one free arm on top of one putting a lot of weight on it, and drive it with the other.
I didn't do any more legs than needed except around the loft hatch, I figured that part is probably going to get abused the most, people tricep dipping in and out.
I didn't do any more legs than needed except around the loft hatch, I figured that part is probably going to get abused the most, people tricep dipping in and out.
Last edited:
Yeah that's exactly how I found myself working too. Super sturdy. Definitely OTT with how many I have under those boards, may try and space them a bit more when I do the other side. I need to tott up how many I have as well. Think I may have way too many or not enough
I haven't screwed the boards down yet.