Attic space

[mrphil]

Hi all,

im thinking of boarding the attic out and kicking the spiders out and whatever ghastly creatures are up there, as at the moment, its chaos up there, things just thrown about on top of insulation and rafters etc...

so my plan was to looking in to either boards or deck boards whichever turned out cheapest...
but then im thinking of, if im doing it, do it tidy... maybe board the whole floor out, install a light up there, and if boarded tidy alot of the stuff can be stacked nicely within in the slopes / \ and the middle section nice and clear...

with the plan of maybe in the future, boarding a bit more, maybe a velux or two, i wouldnt be looking at changing the size of the attic entrance, to have stairs or anything, access would be on an extendable ladder...

could even turn it in to a batcave for my boys, bit of power up there, tv, xbox, some bean bags, as the space is not huge, just a slouchy space where they can go to get out the way when there a bit older...

so whats normally the plan on firstly planning to board it all out, its all freshly insulated, and have noticed wires obviously running throughout, over the joists, so i take i get my timber, and cut it and raise the floor by an inch or two, or notch out where ever the wires run, so i can board flat down on the rafters....

is there anything else i need to know, common sense sometimes prevails me, i have no idea about the structure up there, if it could be boarded out (floor area to start) if i need any permission for a velux or two in the future, how i go about wiring a light up there...

something im looking at doing as i just dont like the thought that whatever junk is in the attic could come through the roof anytime....

also how do you go about extracting the hot crappy air in the loft space, as its very stale up there and creating a nice breathable place when wanting to go up there.


thanks in advance!

[{{909}}]

I can really advise you on any of your practical questions but I would say that if possible, make it into a space for the kids.

In my old house in the UK the loft already had some wood flooring down and I was thrilled I had somewhere to stash my crap but thats pretty much all it was used for. When I had to clear the house this year, 90% of the stuff I had been saving up there went in the skip!

The kids will love having a loft room, but I would certainly seek professional advice on the matter, there are shit tons of things that could go wrong!

[Hippie on hill]

Check that the joists are thick enough to turn it into a room 1st.
Sometimes they use thin joists for the loft, which won't support much.

[TAR]

Never notch the existing timbers. If in doubt about it taking the extra weight, id suggest getting a expert in to advise u.

[Geko]

Never notch the existing timbers. If in doubt about it taking the extra weight, id suggest getting a expert in to advise u.

Why not? Lots of joists are notched in the floor of my 1st floor maisonette. I am not sure about the roof, but I know there's a notch out of one of the beams above a supporting wall.

I realise this will potentially weaken the joist, but.... I think they have been done for 20 years or so. And... It's still up and will hopefully stay that way until I sell it at least...

The people before me were a bit of bodgers.

[hoponbaby]

Notching the joist when it's an attic is one thing, if you are then planning on adding the weight of boards and people that's something else.

You can get joist stilts which raise the floor so cables can pass under and insulation doesn't need to be compressed but it depends on the roof height as to whether that's practical

[BertRoot]

I got mine done professionally and had two more joists in when it was done as there was no way it would support the weight of people. Put a velux in and a couple of walls to close off the useless space with doors in so I could use the two rooms as storage. I have my server up there and PCs and feeds the network for the whole house. Fuck the kids they have their rooms and I have mine which is mint.

[riget]

I did mine ages ago, the hatch is very small but I managed to get the boards up and put them around the centre, put an extending ladder on the hatch, used the old immersion heater socket for power, got a table up with a pc and let the kids use it as a playroom, the biggest problem was their was a beam that went across the middle, so I sawed it off and fixed it back further up, the roof's not collapsed yet.

[TAR]

Why not? Lots of joists are notched in the floor of my 1st floor maisonette. I am not sure about the roof, but I know there's a notch out of one of the beams above a supporting wall.

I realise this will potentially weaken the joist, but.... I think they have been done for 20 years or so. And... It's still up and will hopefully stay that way until I sell it at least...

The people before me were a bit of bodgers.

Roof trusses are not designed to be notched. Normally the wood is 3"x2". They are alot smaller than joists. If you do notch them, this will weaken them. I wouldnt advise it.

[mrphil]

Cheers all, email didnt notify me of any replyys grrrr..

The weight up there now should bring the house crashing down lol, especially with 18stone walking around up there..

ive seen the stilts, turns into a very expensive job with them, as you need so many in a square foot or something... its going to be one of those bit every week or bit every month things... joists are 5 x 3 i think, if not 4x2 but 4x2 seems to small, so im going for the larger.... ill have to get some pics of the joists.

i think next door have theres boarded but just for the odd box and they have a light as theres a few bricks missing and i had a little nose through as i could see light, and i think my other neighbour has his boarded out, as many moons ago it was a cannabis farm and whoever had it underway boarded it out....

Failing the stilts i suppose i could by joists or wood, and make my own stilts, just nail them to the existing joist without compromising the strength of the orignal joist.... im going to have to get up there and see the headroom, and get some photos i think, start getting some plans on paper...

Is this a planning permission thing just boarding out, or does it really come in to play when inserting velux windows etc as messing with the structure.....

[MsDG]

We went through this in detail a few years back, so here is a quick run down....

There are basically two ways to do a loft conversion, the official way and the unofficial way.

Going down the official route you need to comply to building regulations (planning permission doesn't really come into it unless you fit dormer window that requires a planning requirement) Fitting a velux window wouldn't need planning in itself. However, doing a loft conversion to proper building regs would cost an arm and a leg to comply with all the regulations. The real crunch is that a proper loft conversion requires a proper stairway... so you could not do this anyway.

The unofficial route is not really as bad as it sounds. Obviously you should always consider making things safe (for own peace of mind). However if you do not follow any building regs the worst that could possibly happen is that someone could come around from the council and prohibit using from using it as a room (of any type). However, if you insist its just a posh storage area and not a room, there is not a lot they can do. In fact I am told (because of this) they don't bother. Please also bare in mind that this it a potential fire trap that could potentially be your tomb... so smoke alarms and a "last option" escape velux window is a must for peace of mind.

As for the floor... you must remember the loft beams are put there just told the ceiling up.... not to hold weight itself. Therefore you will almost certainly going to need beefing the joists up. Common practice to run bigger joists along side the existing beams. In our house we had two huge 12" inch roof support beams (one each side of the loft) that we were able to use metal joist hangers to hold new bigger joists. Other options are to lay the new joists on top of internal load baring walls.

[mrphil]

Thanks MsDG, that is going to give me a few reads to get in to my head and picture,
really i need to get up there and get some photos, and get a plan going, lots and lots and lots of planning and advice before spending cash, also what i really want from the space, velux i think is around £500 so would require either a nice sized one or 2 for the light,

what do i do for the air, as we all know, attics are quite a dirty dusty stale place!

[mrphil]

well been up, little dissapointed, the roofs arnt the highest, but im lucky to have 1.6m from joist to point of roof, so by the time the boards are up and floor, possibly looking at 1.5m, not bad if a midget,

but then again its a game room / storage, little 32 inch, xbox, dvd player, bean bags, your not standing up, so it would be like a bat cave...

so much shit up there i wont even upload a photo due to the fear of being ripped lol, the ccurrent joists are 4x2, with insulation bulging past the joists and wires everywhere.

my house is a pre 1960, i think 1930s build, no one in the local area, except 2 houses, down the road have velux windows, the one house looks alot bigger and has a different roof, and the other is down the road with same similar roof tiles, so i might walk the dog and have alook, and might even be worth cheekly knocking and asking some further information about the attic etc.

from what ive read, please quote me if im wrong, pre 1960 houses are built differently than todays houses where as most roofs are built on site and use thinner timber.... pass where i read it, it was late!

[akimba]

Please also bare in mind that this it a potential fire trap that could potentially be your tomb...

Follow the building regs for this reason alone :-(

[Goldberg]

Just boarded out part of my loft at the weekend. Wickes do a product called Loft Legs. They are screwed into the joists and you then screw your boards onto them.
The idea is your insulation is still at full height underneath and works to it's maximum potential.

They are not recommended for heavy loads, but we are only storing a few bags/boxes up there. We did toy with the idea of doing it all out, but to be honest, it's probably more hassle than it is worth at the moment. By the time you have boarded it etc then you will not be left with much space.

Possibly in the future but for now I am happy having it as storage. We actually have two sections to the loft (house is sort of an L shape), the second section has a window whcih provides light to the landing via a skylight. We have recently discovered this is leaking.. It is the original frame so it has lasted 100+ years.
Had a decent quote to weatherproof it, I think if I seal it now I might get this winter out of it before getting the work done next year.

[Mystical_2K]

Hi,

Me and my dad converted my loft about 5/6 years ago, ended up needing 2 roof windows to get enough light in and had a staircase going from my bedroom up into it, overall cost was around £1,500, have included some pics below of what we went for, sorry i havent got any better ones handy, ignore the games and stuff

SDC11687.JPGSDC11689.JPGSDC11693.JPGSDC11690.JPG

1st Pic - This is the bottom of the stairs in the bedroom
2nd Pic - Top of stairs
3rd Pic - Right hand side of the stairs as you go up - 1 window here (you can just see it on the left)
4th Pic - Left hand side of the stairs as you go up - 1 window here on the right (cant see it pic but its above the table on the right)

What you cant see in the pics is the sides properly, basically theirs a doorway on each side that allows you into the actual attic, not alot of room but it goes all around the back and sides so is ideal for storing boxes etc. out of the way

Fortunately my dad is a Builder so didnt have to pay for labour and got everything at trade prices and below

From the top of my head:
Roof Windows - Around £250 each
Staircase - around £250
Flooring - around £300
The rest: Fittings, Side doors, Carpet, Paint, Wooden posts etc. - around £400

Personally i think if you can afford to have it done its very worthwhile, i only use mine to store my game/console collection but it would be a great little home theatre, play room for the kids, study or additional room if you have people staying

[Goldberg]

Forgot to mention, when I was boarding mine out at the weekend and pulling some sat cable through, I came across not 1... not 2... but... wait for it...

THREE mini wasp nests!!!!!! About the size of birds eggs... Might post some photo's later just so we can be clear on what they are.

[XBOX4LIFE]

Hi,

Me and my dad converted my loft about 5/6 years ago, ended up needing 2 roof windows to get enough light in and had a staircase going from my bedroom up into it, overall cost was around £1,500, have included some pics below of what we went for, sorry i havent got any better ones handy, ignore the games and stuff

SDC11690.JPG

Nice collection of old tech mate
Aint seen a vic20 or speccy for years, sure I see an old Amiga ST aswell, ahhhh the memories of typing 800 page programs just to see a syntax error at line 18342

[mrphil]

thats sweet lol,
so would i be ok with my current 4x2 and the height being 1.5m maybe 1.4 after boarding out is complete lol?
i could do the centre bit so if your stood in the middle you get about 1.5m, im 1.75m so wont be standing straight up there but as i said its a lounge, you will spend most of it on beanbags etc (if i was to go ahead)

also need to look at the strengthening of the joists if its needed.... i really need to pester my neighbour and see how his is boarded up and if he will let me bring a board up if hes not sure whats underneath!

[Mystical_2K]

Nice collection of old tech mate
Aint seen a vic20 or speccy for years, sure I see an old Amiga ST aswell, ahhhh the memories of typing 800 page programs just to see a syntax error at line 18342

yes you are correct, sadly those are now gone as i had that much stuff i just had to get rid of some of it but only the stuff i never used, if i think on i will post up some better pics tonight to show the side bits of the loft etc. and a better show of the windows