Loft boarding

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 27 Nov 2015 at 14:03

So if 50mm or so then fence posts would be too thick, so probably just some 50mm square timber would be fine

Wickes do WICKES STUDWORK (CLS) 38X63X2400MM, which says Nominal size 50 x 75mm, sounds perfect for making legs

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 27 Nov 2015 at 14:04

SPG said:
Think screw fix do the loft legs a little cheaper.

Yes but they get worse reviews in general than the ones that eg wickes supply

Jez · 27 Nov 2015 at 14:05

Use a woodyard mate, the big sheds are mega expensive for timber. You'll be very surprised at how cheap a proper wood yard is by comparison. My local one in Oxfordshire is around 1/3rd of the price of tradepoint (B&Q).

Teknobry · 27 Nov 2015 at 20:14

Get on ebay, very cheap to buy plastic loftlegs in bulk. I've just purchased 78 of them for £50.

t-rex · 30 Nov 2015 at 16:12

I screwed the 38X63X2400mm studwork timber perpendicular to my joists and put board on top of that. Mostly old wardrobes and free bits of wood from outside IKEA. Cost me about £40 in total.

dirtychinchilla · 1 Dec 2015 at 11:02

The thing that I'm struggling to understand is why firstly, you wouldn't just make wooden stilts because those plastic ones seem highly overpriced, and secondly, you then only put the stilts around the oustide of the board from what I've seen online if your insulation is already down...what use is it round the edge of the board?! If your insulation is down then how are you supposed to put stilts in the middle?!

Teknobry · 1 Dec 2015 at 23:40

dirtychinchilla said:
The thing that I'm struggling to understand is why firstly, you wouldn't just make wooden stilts because those plastic ones seem highly overpriced, and secondly, you then only put the stilts around the oustide of the board from what I've seen online if your insulation is already down...what use is it round the edge of the board?! If your insulation is down then how are you supposed to put stilts in the middle?!

I'm not following your thinking. You attach the stilts to the joists and lay the boards across the stilts.
It's easy enough to poke a hole through the glassfibre stuff to screw the stilt down to the joist. Then they take the weight of the board so it doesn't squash your insulation.

bimbleuk · 2 Dec 2015 at 01:38

I used the Wickes legs and they work fine once you get a few in place. I spaced them out a bit more than recommended as I'm sure they're being over cautious. Anyway it'll also depend on what wood you're using as I used some quite stiff boards already in the loft.

Felix · 2 Dec 2015 at 10:51

Teknobry said:
Get on ebay, very cheap to buy plastic loftlegs in bulk. I've just purchased 78 of them for £50.

Do you have a ebay item code for them?

topgun06 · 2 Dec 2015 at 11:51

I can't find a listing with that specific price. But there are loads on eBay. They all seem to work out at about a quid each.

touch · 2 Dec 2015 at 12:21

You can get them from wickes for just under a quid each:
http://www.wickes.co.uk/Loftleg-175mm-Loft-Legs-Pack-12/p/100412

bimbleuk · 2 Dec 2015 at 14:43

I did a bit of research before buying the Wickes sourced Loft legs and they were said to be less prone to twisting than some on the market. Which they certainly don't feel like they would now I've installed a few as they're well bu-trussed.

dctek · 3 Dec 2015 at 12:03

I boarded 50% of our loft in the summer, I went with the loftzone stuff and I have to say it was a hard days work (2 of us)

but the results are excellent.

Solus · 4 Dec 2015 at 14:36

I used timber to raise the height over the purlins

Participant · 4 Dec 2015 at 17:17

dctek said:
I boarded 50% of our loft in the summer, I went with the loftzone stuff and I have to say it was a hard days work (2 of us)

but the results are excellent.

You should have staggered the boards. So I'd say the results are average

.

dctek · 5 Dec 2015 at 15:34

Participant said:
You should have staggered the boards. So I'd say the results are average .

Why stagger them when they are supported by aluminium all the way along :rolleyes:

Business Man · 8 Dec 2015 at 02:37

Yes I've been looking at the loftzone myself, it's not cheap mind but it looks the next best solution if you want a uniform insulated loft, the downside is you are limited to existing joists strength so don't overload it.

I believe by staggering the boards it gives it lateral strength. It's why plasterboarding and flooring ect is done like that

jellybeard999 · 8 Dec 2015 at 12:37

Solus said:
I used timber to raise the height over the purlins.

See here:

http://www.adeptpcrepair.co.uk/loft boarding2.jpg

I did mine this way too, but I only boarded half the loft. The other half is just insulation. Less temptation to fill it with junk

Teknobry · 9 Dec 2015 at 13:20

I've decided to abandon the loft leg idea, leave the wool insulation between the joists and use solid insulation over it instead then put the boards on top of that.
hoping i won't have to screw anything down either, maybe just a bit of glue on the insulation boards to the joists?

Lopéz · 9 Dec 2015 at 13:41

If I used loft legs I'd have no loft space to use. I can't even stand up in my loft at the highest point, it's an annoyingly shallow roof pitch. Plus it's truss design means there is virtually zero usable space, they must have had a right laugh trying to get the CWS tank up there.