IS YOUR LOFT CEILING STRONG ENOUGH FOR LOFT STORAGE?

I get asked a lot about how strong a ceiling needs to be, or will it be able to take the weight of boarding on the existing ceiling.

A ceiling is a ceiling that is all it is meant to be, they were built to hold up the plaster board or lathe plastered ceiling and for the occasionally walking on the joists for services reasons.

Some older properties because of the type of roof timbers such as a purling support system or a trussed roof will make a difference to the overall strength.

Older ceilings like a Victorian terraced tend to have a purling supported roof which is a big beam from supporting wall right through the support wall opposite. Some have extra support in the centre which rests on the internal supporting brick walls so the purling’s do not sag over the years.

If you have ever had a look inside an older terraced house style loft you may have seen strips of wood hanging around attached from ceiling to roof? These are known as hangers, and they are there to give extra support (especially in the center of a bedroom) to prevent the ceiling joists from sagging over the years.

Usually 3x2 timber joists runs from the back wall under the eaves of the roof to a central wall for support then from the central wall another set of joists run to the front of the house under the eaves. A lot of older properties suffer from ceiling sag which is normal because the roof may have also sagged but the hangers come loose where the nails have rusted away so they stop bearing weight. These all need to be checked and broken or loose ones need to be replaced with modern timber versions anyway before considering boarding.

So will your ceiling take the weight required to board, store and to walk upon?

Answer is, yes if done correctly.

Adding a batten (2x1 or 2x2) strip of wood is nowhere near any use or support and hardly adds any strength to the existing ceiling, new supporting timbers must be much more substantial than this.

Also you cannot get hardly any insulation underneath to insulate your home.

It’s not rocket science but some “cowboy builders & joiners” really have no clue. But a specialist will know all there is to know about doing this job correctly.

Here are a few ways to add strength and support for a professionally built loft storage area;

·         Check all ceiling hangers are fixed and not rotten or broken, replace if they are.

·         Check ceiling joist thickness must be at least 3 inches by 1.5” (75mm x 38-40mm)
Any thinner than this and a suspended floor will have to be installed

·         Construct a new floor frame called a sub-frame out of minimum 4”x2” set at 24” Centre’s

·         Lay the frame in the centre of your loft with the supporting wall in the middle of you frame and the outer edges underneath a purling’s.

·         The reason for this is the central area weight will be taken on  the supporting central wall of your Victorian house which goes all the way through to the ground floor footings and the overhang under the purling’s is so you can add purling hangers to your sub-frame

·         Adding purling hangers to the sub-frame will take the weight and allow you to level the floor in line with where the sub-frame fits on the central supporting wall (highest point)

·         Hanging the frame on the purling’s will take off any pressure to the ceiling joists below and will raise it enough to get insulation underneath as well as allowing important air flow ventilation through the insulation.

·         Once the sub-frame has been leveled and adequate supporting hangers have been fitted the new sub-frame will be very strong and allow at least a couple of people and lots of storage to be supported without any worries of it damaging your ceiling.

·         Once the sub-frame has been levelled set in place and fixed down then you can lay down the boards, ideally in staggered formation if possible without creating waste.

·         Never nail down only screw down you may need to remove the board at some point and nailing can crack ceiling plaster work with the impact.

So if you didn’t do all this preparation work before hand and you simply laid boards on to the existing ceiling without the extra support and strengthening you will be asking for trouble? It will put pressure on the ceiling causing increased sag and the more weight the more it will become worse and eventually it will crack or damage the ceiling beyond a simple repair and replacing a ceiling timbers and plasterboard is very messy and very expensive to do.
Worst case scenario is that the ceiling falls through!!!

Loft boarding is part of general building, as simple as it may sound as a professional company we have to work to building rules and regulations. Building in general is all about making it safe to use and sticking to rules to prevent any weakening of the existing structure. Anyone choosing to ignore these rules should not be in the building profession.

SO WHAT ABOUT A NEW PROPERTY WITH A NEW TRUSSED ROOF?

A trussed roof has a lot of extra support via the web timber frame work (the criss cross timber frames in your roof)
Usually the ceiling joists are part of the actually trussed roof frame so they are already very strong and never really require any added support if the new storage floor system being added is designed to distribute the weight evenly.

We use LoftZone StoreFloor which is a unique stilt and beam system designed to be installed directly to the existing ceiling joists to raise the ceiling floor above the insulation so as not to squash or remove any existing insulation which is normally up to 270mm high.
The new metal cross beam (sub-frame) runs opposite to the existing joists so this allow the new storage floor to distribute the storage weight more evenly and solving the problem of tall insulation getting in the way. Three jobs in one;

1.       Adds better storage weight distribution

2.       Raised the storage level above the insulation

3.       Create extra storage where you could normally have it

Most new loft joist are around 4” to 5” tall allowing room for the first 100mm of insulation to go perfectly in between the joists then a second 200mm layer laid opposite the first.

Being on average 2” thicker and slightly wider than is predecessor in the Victoria era this instantly give the ceiling joist more support to handle modern style loft boarding solutions like the LoftZone StoreFloor system.

Normally as we did with the Victorian house we only use the central area in this case this would be the highest parts down the centre of the loft known as the apex of the roof. Using the eaves can be done but this restricts access and the pitch of the roof is lower which also cuts down on the storage height, so you must consider if it is worth using these area.

So how much weight can a new loft take?
It can handle a fair bit of weight as a rule if you cannot lift it to the loft then that one item is too heavy so you need to split it up in to different boxes.

Total weight is really determined by the strength of the ceiling timbers, extra reinforcement and how well the storage floor is built. Most strengthened ceilings can manage at least two or three people and many storage boxes containing general items so long as you distribute things evenly throughout the loft then you would be surprised at how much weight can be stored in your loft.
For advice on this please ask the surveyor when they do a site survey they will give you their professional opinion on your type of loft as to how much storage weight is possible.

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So what exactly do I need to create a storage area in my loft ?

If you have never thought about extra home storage in your loft before then you might want to know what it involves and how much it will cost.
The most common questions I get asked will be answered right here.
Using your loft for storage isn't a new idea, a small percentage of us have been using our lofts for many years by placing down old broken down kitchen cupboards and any old lengths of wood we could find.
Most DIYers will simply lay them down on the existing joists by removing or squashing the insulation so they can be fastened down. Or worst still, just laying them perched on top of the insulation with good intentions of fastening them down one day.
What we didn't know back in the day was that loft insulation was going to get thicker and taller and require air flow and zero compression to work at 100% efficiency.
How times have changed, with thicker insulation, building regulations, government recommended this and that its hard to keep up with it all.
These days we can no longer just lay boards on to joists, we have to raise this boarded level higher than the insulation to avoid any compression or worst of all, having to remove what we put down to save on our heating bills. (Gain storage but loose money day after day on rising heating bills).
Now you dont have to remove the insulation or squash it as we have specialist equipment to raise the boarded level above the insulation, so no compression and no removal, keep your insulation down un-squashed and still save on your heating bills by using a system called LoftZone Raised Loft StoreFloor.
Very clever system consisting of 3 components, a tri-support stilt and a uni-support stilt all combined with a steel box section cross beam. All this put together will create a very strong, and safe raised boarded storage area in your loft above the insulation.


So what do you need to create a loft storage area?

If you have never had a loft made in to a storage area before then this bit is essential reading.

The differences between a new house and an older house can change things slightly but as a pointer an older house may need a loft hatch if it doesn't hinged and fold down, it will need to be changed, and it has to be big enough to get you, a ladder and things through.

1. Ladders... A fixed stowaway ladder is a must, it not only makes things easier getting in to the loft but its also very safe and wont wobble or move like a step ladder. Never balance on a step ladder or use an unsecured ladder to gain access to your loft a fall can be fatal.
A starting point for ladders is a good quality aluminum sliding fold away ladder that fixes to the loft floor sub-frame and stows away neatly in to the loft using a reach pole to push it in.
There are various ladders on the market for various jobs including concertina and wood options.
Our surveyor will suggest what is best for your loft.

2. Loft Hatch... You need to get in and out of your loft as easily as possible so the right size is very important. No point squeezing though a tiny hole as you will not get much up there to start with. The standard size today is a 726mm long by 566mm wide plastic draft seal and insulated hinged and folding down loft hatch. a British standard and building regulations accepted hatch used commonly in new build houses throughout the UK.
Most new houses over the past 3 years or so will have suitable loft hatches already installed but if its a lift up plastic or wood then it will need to be changed. The reason for this is not just because of the size of the opening its because the ladder wont operate in the hatch if its to narrow and the hatch lid wont lift up enough to get it off because the new ladders sits right above the hatch door. This is not a big job for professionals like us, but could be for a DIYer.

3. Lighting... You have to be able to see what your doing up there so a light is important. Never use a portable electric light that plugs in on your landing socket as these can be lethal if the cable rubs on the metal ladder (which often does). It must be a fixed permanently wired in to the existing lighting circuit. A choice of a bulb or a tube light is available, the tube being a lot brighter than a bulb.

4. Boarding... All loft boarding must be laid down on a sub-frame. A sub-frame is either an additional set of wood joists laid at right angles to the existing joists or a stilt and beam system (LoftZone Raised loft floor). Either is good providing it is above the insulation and will not compress the insulation when the boards go down. (Remember there must also be an air gap under the boards to allow good air circulation)
Having chosen the correct sub-frame we then install interlocking high density loft panels (or boards) these are specially designed for loft boarding and are of a suitable 18mm thick and very strong when installed correctly.
So how much boarding will you need? well that is entirely up to you and your budget and also what will fit.
We always say go for the higher central area of your loft, if its a trussed roof like in most brand new builds it would go down the centre of the A part of the frame. If its a terraced or a detached then up to the main purlings is usually sufficient storage around 12 to 15 m²
Never completely board your loft out as it is a loft space and it needs air circulation to work so keep the eaves free at least.

So that is it really, unless you want safety rails, roof dust sheets or a mini loft conversion (luxury loft room) there is nothing else to consider.

The cost for basic new build 4m² storage area with ladder and light start from £330
The cost for a terraced or detached 4m² storage area with ladder, light and hatch start from £499

These are only examples and vary depending on the amount of boarding you need.

Recap:
1. Suitable strong fixed ladder
2: Suitable sized and hinged loft hatch
3: Good fixed lighting
4: sub-frame and boarding central area

Now all you need to do is call us for a FREE no obligation fixed instant quote
0800 8799967 and ask for Andrea

Read more about LoftZone raised loft floor by clicking this link

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Came across this brilliant device, a loft lift, to help you get your things up into your loft storage space without any carrying up the loft ladders.

What a great idea for less able bodied people.







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See what we can do to make your loft space in to a usable storage area

For more information please contact 0800 8799967

We cover the Northwest of England

http://www.loft-boarding-nw.co.uk

Last week I removed some loft boards and found mouldy insulation underneath

I was asked to survey a loft last week by a customer who wanted a new loft hatch and some additional boarding.
They already had some boarding three years ago by another company.

We always obliged with customers requests but I did mention that the existing boarding would have to be up to scratch for us to be able to build next to or attach in some way.

There could be a height difference as the way we do it we always raise our loft floors above the insulation with an air gap, and in my experience not many companies actually care about this and either remove or squash insulation down.

I arrived at the house and greeted by a nice couple who guide me upstairs to the tiny old wood hatch. As I looked up I noticed the hatch was not going to be right for the job as it needed to be bigger and hinged downwards so you can access the ladder and be able to use it safely correctly.

I climbed in to the loft and immediately noticed the existing boarding. Oh dear, I said as I glanced at the nailed down boards attached to the existing joists.

I explained to the customer what I was looking at and I asked them, Have you ever noticed a funny smell up here?. The husband said he had when he had been in the loft. Smells like damp I said, yes thats it the customer replied.

I asked if I could remove some boards to investigate, which I did and I found that the underside of the boards had black mould spots and the insulation was damp and also mouldy and it stunk.

This had been caused by not leaving an air gap underneath the boards and that the boards had been compressing the insulation so much it couldnt breath and its efficiency was very poor so instead of collecting air as it circulated it was like a sponge collecting moisture instead.

The solution was to remove all the old mouldy boarding and the mouldy insulation and replace with some new 200mm rock wool insulation and then create a raised boarded storage area over the top of the insulation allowing an air gap for circul

As I always say, anyone can board a loft for storage but its how its boarded that matters.

You must always allow room under the boarding for air to flow, this allows good loft air circulation preventing damp and condensation and for your insulation to work at its most efficient. The combination of all of these things will save you money on your fuel bills when its done right.

I have seen incorrect boarding time and time again.
I advise you get an expert loft storage company in that knows what they are doing. See what sort of products they use to raise up a storage floor, if they even bother. Sometimes just a bit of battening is no where near enough height to allow good air circulation under the boards.

The only product we would recommend and use is the LoftZone 270mm high raised loft floor solutions. 

ation, a total height of 270mm.

Get more info on this product from here