Most of us need more storage space, as the stuff we accumulate over the years constantly expands. Short of moving to a bigger home, which can be prohibitively expensive, the best solution is to board over your loft to create a whole extra level for storage.
Boarding your loft
The simplest way of turning your loft into easily usable storage space is to lay boards over the joists and attach them with nails or screws. This will provide you with a stable floor that can spread the weight over the joists, as well as give you easy access to your possessions.
However, it’s not always that easy. In an older house, the joists are unlikely to be high enough to fit in the recommended depth of insulation (270mm) without dangerously compressing it. The best solution here is to raise the flooring, and there are several raised-floor systems available. We always use the LoftZone StoreFloor system, which is recommended by the government.
How much space do you need?
How much space you actually need in your loft depends on the size of your roof space and the amount you need to store. Your loft floor will normally be approximately the same size as the footprint of your house – somewhere between 40 and 50 square metres for a typical semi-detached house. You’ll also need to take account of headspace since there’s little point boarding an area you’d have to crawl into.
You won’t need to board your whole loft for four or five boxes, so before you decide estimate how much you have. Calculate how many boxes or storage units you’ll need and how big they are. Then roughly double the figure you come up with – remember, you’ll need to be able to move around the loft easily.
What else do you need?
The best storage space can be useless if it’s difficult to get into your loft or to find your way around it. You’ll need both a large enough hatch to fit through comfortably and an easily usable loft ladder. There are several types of ladder available, and the best one for you depends on how much space you have, how often you need to use it – and how well it matches your home.
You’ll also need light in your loft to find your possessions. This could mean either putting in loft windows or installing electric lighting, or else you could do both. If you need advice on how to create storage space in your loft, feel free to give us a call.
If you’d like to know more about boarding your loft space we’ve put together a comprehensive loft boarding and flooring guide that you should find very useful!
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