Loft Storage

[DAPPH]

I have just done the same job here, looked at all the options - ended up going with the loft legs from wickes.

The loft access position made it difficult to get any appreciable lengths of timber up into the space (6ft max) so it would have been tedious to put counter battens in.

I must admit i thought that they would be rubbish but am actually really impressed with them, put some additional supports in a few places to act as braces where the edges of the loft boards would have been unsupported and it has worked out really well.

Most of my roof void has been given the very latest super efficient insulation Nov 2021 where the solar control panel is at one end of the space they people doing the insulation set a walk way up on the B&Q stand offs and used their standard width treated green over lapping flooring boards . The boards are about an inch above the new insulation so it's not being compressed .


Overall we noticed steady reductions in our heating oil usage the roof void replacement for 17 yr old stuff has certainly helped .
When we first came here we were using three 1200 litre tanks of oil a year . Filled in all the 17 recessed halogen bulb holder holes and put in the very latest GU10 led lights inside the rooms , got cavity wall & fibreglass insulation about 13 years ago , dropping the oil consumed to 2 & a bit tanks worth over two years . Got tripple glazing with trickle vents new tripple glazed front door with no letter plate cut in it 18 months ago & the new replacement roof void insulation Nov last year . At the end of Nov we filled the tank with 1100 litres of heating oil .... making it that we have used less than one 1200 tank of oil in 12 months & a few days .
We have a trickle vent open in a back bed roo & one in the lounge opened abut 1 mm ..it's enough to keep the air fresh .
We put two timer controlled extractor fans connected to the Led light cluster in the wet room roof & an aluminium piped kitchen hob extractor in . ( next project is two new wet room fans & their digital voltage light controllers .. piped from an easy get to point fixed to the roof trusses , close to the trap door . So if one dies it's going to be an easy replacement ( using 3d printed pipe adaptors perhaps ? ) .

The is no mouldy cold spots in corners of rooms or the wet room any more. We've been able to turn the hallway sited central j=heating thermostat down to just below 18 oC 1.6 mtr of the floor , air temp in the hall at that height on a digital thermometer +- 1.5 % reads 21 oC .
If we close the lounge door the 50 inch LED TV alone is good enough to hold the lounge temp to 23 oC at a height of 1.1 mtr from the floor .

All the rooms have TRV.s save for the excess heat dump rad in the hall way which rarely ever gets warm let alone hot .

 

[DAPPH]

I like starting "clean". Not sure of my ability to put these direct onto the brick/block (possibly loose) wall keeping them all dead level and not hit a mortar joint etc.

View attachment 324610

Hence my favoured idea is a timber on the wall first with bolts into the wall to miss the hangers that get nailed to the timber.

The timber gives me that clean slate to run my square along and mark out.

Sorry to be a pain!

Use initial pilot holes then the full sized hole , use a tube to blow the dust out th hole and a tiny chain / bottle style brush to loosen any remaining bit then re blow the hole clean . Use a quality ( Not eBay ..... out of date etc ) chemical resin anchoring system such as the full redhead ones with nylon top hat mesh inserts , they make excellent stress free fixings on soft block work or bricks ... it won't matter if you put them in a mortar joint either so long as the joint was properly filled h not just " buttered " on the edges . , You'll find that out if you drill the joint and suddenly the drill goes in deeply with no drilling resistance.

Not long after I got my 3 D printer I made a cheap puffer /blow out bottle from a 1 litre pop bottle , drilled a hole in the cap to take a 3D printed adaptor that fitted a 5 mm OD fish tank air tube slipped some silicone sealer under the cap to adaptor face then pushed the adaptor into the cap ,screwed the cap on then pushed the air tube on the spigot . It's a lot better & cheaper than a six quid orange puffer bladder & tube device

 

[DAPPH]

its not that im a tactless prat

its because of idiots doing as they please including diyers and builders and professionals and bodgers

that councils have come down hard and demand certificates for all types of jobs in the home

need a certificate for electrics, plumbing, kitchen fitted new bathroom the list is endless

dosnt matter if it was the smallest velux he fitted in the roof or fitted a roof window he tried to fit something that wasnt there before

the fact he got away with fitting a floor in the loft good on him many do anyway

just dont push your luck by trying to make another room and thats what he did knowingly by trying to fit in a velux window because he wanted light in that area

as goes for saw no harm in it why do you think they have building regs

you either follow them or your the idiot simple as

by your own wording

a rather picky BC officer drove by and put a stop to it.
Caused a whole lot of bother, he had to take some of the boarding out avoid all sorts of issues with BC.

he wasnt been picky

your brother caused the whole issue in the first place
thats the price that they paid because he never read the building regs and pushed his luck with bc by fitting in a velux in a roof

if he hadnt of done he would still have had the whole floor but no wasnt enough

I have to support GAZ here but for a different reason .
If the house is sold any decent surveyor will look in the roof void and if it is boarded out will usually report on the level improvements etc . The buyers conveyancer or solicitor ought to be on the ball enough to spot that if it has not been consented or approved to simply by paying to search the councils planning or small works requiring planning consent registers and so will either recommend the sale be declined or bring it to your notice and knock thousands of pounds off any selling offer.
Those regulations are there for your own physical & financial safety & to prevent Bodgit & Scarper & Co . from wrecking you homes .

 

[Onoff]

I have to support GAZ here but for a different reason .
If the house is sold any decent surveyor will look in the roof void and if it is boarded out will usually report on the level improvements etc . The buyers conveyancer or solicitor ought to be on the ball enough to spot that if it has not been consented or approved to simply by paying to search the councils planning or small works requiring planning consent registers and so will either recommend the sale be declined or bring it to your notice and knock thousands of pounds off any selling offer.
Those regulations are there for your own physical & financial safety & to prevent Bodgit & Scarper & Co . from wrecking you homes .

Again it's not a room in the roof it's a boarded area for storage. Access will be up through a hatch approx 2'x2' with no possibility of a staircase. Doing it like this just to take the load of the existing roof strengthening. It'll still have the purlin supports criss crossing the area.

 

[Onoff]

I have to support GAZ here but for a different reason .
If the house is sold any decent surveyor will look in the roof void and if it is boarded out will usually report on the level improvements etc . The buyers conveyancer or solicitor ought to be on the ball enough to spot that if it has not been consented or approved to simply by paying to search the councils planning or small works requiring planning consent registers and so will either recommend the sale be declined or bring it to your notice and knock thousands of pounds off any selling offer.
Those regulations are there for your own physical & financial safety & to prevent Bodgit & Scarper & Co . from wrecking you homes .

Again it's not as room in the roof it's a boarded area for storage. Access will be up through a hatch approx 2'x2' with no possibility of a staircase. Doing it like this just to take the load of the existing roof strengthening. It'll still have the purlin supports criss crossing the area.

Use initial pilot holes then the full sized hole , use a tube to blow the dust out th hole and a tiny chain / bottle style brush to loosen any remaining bit then re blow the hole clean . Use a quality ( Not eBay ..... out of date etc ) chemical resin anchoring system such as the full redhead ones with nylon top hat mesh inserts , they make excellent stress free fixings on soft block work or bricks ... it won't matter if you put them in a mortar joint either so long as the joint was properly filled h not just " buttered " on the edges . , You'll find that out if you drill the joint and suddenly the drill goes in deeply with no drilling resistance.

I have the grey Rawlplug puffer and tend to use Fischer FIS V 360S.

 

[JMS1972]

I have to support GAZ here but for a different reason .
If the house is sold any decent surveyor will look in the roof void and if it is boarded out will usually report on the level improvements etc . The buyers conveyancer or solicitor ought to be on the ball enough to spot that if it has not been consented or approved to simply by paying to search the councils planning or small works requiring planning consent registers and so will either recommend the sale be declined or bring it to your notice and knock thousands of pounds off any selling offer.
Those regulations are there for your own physical & financial safety & to prevent Bodgit & Scarper & Co . from wrecking you homes .

Most surveyors won't go up a ladder these days not even the ones doing energy surveys. You have to give them a photo of the loft to prove the insulation depth.

 

[Onoff]

Most surveyors won't go up a ladder these days not even the ones doing energy surveys. You have to give them a photo of the loft to prove the insulation depth.

Indeed. Many years ago I got the bco round to look at a loft when I was changing from slates to concrete tiles. He just popped his head up into the loft and said "Are those 5x2s?" Didn't go any further, didn't measure anything.

"Yes" I said. Measuring later they were in fact 4x2s...

 

[brightspark]

all my attic is insulated and boarded out .dont need permission or regs as its only for storage and a fold-able wooden ladder for access

 

[Onoff]

Again it's not as room in the roof it's a boarded area for storage. Access will be up through a hatch approx 2'x2' with no possibility of a staircase. Doing it like this just to take the load of the existing roof strengthening. It'll still have the purlin supports criss crossing the area.



I have the grey Rawlplug puffer and tend to use Fischer FIS V 360S.

Edit: I meant to say "Doing it like this just to take the load OFF the existing roof strengthening". (Not "of").

 

[Gritineye]

Indeed. Many years ago I got the bco round to look at a loft when I was changing from slates to concrete tiles. He just popped his head up into the loft and said "Are those 5x2s?" Didn't go any further, didn't measure anything.

"Yes" I said. Measuring later they were in fact 4x2s...

A client of mine bought a house, survey said the roof was insulated with spray foam.

When I actually went up in the loft it was obvious that the foam spraying cowboys must have known how surveyors work, because the only areas that actually had any foam clinging to them were the ones that could be seen by sticking ones head through the hatch.

Torch light doesn't go round corners!

 

[Onoff]

@Parm , morning. What sort of a respirator should I be looking at for messing around clearing old insulation from a loft? Thinking more for my boy rather than me. Both glasses wearers btw. Something for SF or TS etc.

 

[dobbslc]

I've got a couple of these.

JSP Force 8 Medium Mask Respirator with Press-to-Check Filters P3 - Screwfix

Order online at Screwfix.com. Twin cartridge half-mask with Typhoon valve provides superior low breathing resistance. Features a fully adjustable, 4-point cradle suspension harness with quick-release buckles, ensuring an effective fit. Durable thermoplastic rubber for a superior fit to most face...

www.screwfix.com

They seal very well and won't steam up your glasses (unless you're a beardy hipster)
Then they won't seal around your sexy oiled face rug...

 

[gaz1]

elipse half face mask

Elipse P3 Dust Respirator Mask SPR299 / SPR501

The GVS Elipse P3 Respirator Mask offers protection against a wide range of harmful dusts, including asbestos, coal, silica, manganese, lead and chromium. Lightweight in construction at just 130g, the Elipse P3 can be worn comfortably for extended periods and fit around existing PPE such as...

www.tradesuppliesonline.com

it has many uses

 

[Parm]

@Parm , morning. What sort of a respirator should I be looking at for messing around clearing old insulation from a loft? Thinking more for my boy rather than me. Both glasses wearers btw. Something for SF or TS etc.

Any type that has P3 filters, either FFP3 which is the disposable type or P3 which is an elastomeric non disposable

You will also need to be thinking about some description of Tyvec suit to prevent skin irritation

Before you crack on do you know what type of insulation you have ?

I have seen loose lay asbestos in residential settings, this could be a game changer

 

[gaz1]

Any type that has P3 filters, either FFP3 which is the disposable type or P3 which is an elastomeric non disposable

You will also need to be thinking about some description of Tyvec suit to prevent skin irritation

Before you crack on do you know what type of insulation you have ?

I have seen loose lay asbestos in residential settings, this could be a game changer

on further note to parms comment

loose lay can be vermiculite only certain types was safe there has been a number of cases where vermiculite was sold contaminated

the older type insulation is a git for itching the newer sort not so bad

best advice i can give you is dont itch when fitting wash your hands and wrists when your done in warm to hot water

can be done in normal scruffs but take them off and swap to another set of clothes

 

[brightspark]

just wear a decent white throw away coverall. wear gloves goggles and a decent throw away face mask

 

[Onoff]

Any type that has P3 filters, either FFP3 which is the disposable type or P3 which is an elastomeric non disposable

You will also need to be thinking about some description of Tyvec suit to prevent skin irritation

Before you crack on do you know what type of insulation you have ?

I have seen loose lay asbestos in residential settings, this could be a game changer

No ideas what type. It's green, on a roll and has gone very "flat":

 

[gaz1]

it looks like the older sort thats a bit coarse you will soon find out once you get a cut or scratch

the newer stuff is finer dosnt cut as bad either

 

[Parm]

No ideas what type. It's green, on a roll and has gone very "flat":

View attachment 338611

Difficult today what it is from the picture

 

[brightspark]

No ideas what type. It's green, on a roll and has gone very "flat":

View attachment 338611

worked in loads of attics filled with that stuff. just get well covered up with all the gear as in earlier post i put