How To Fit Loft Floor Panels

Creating greater load bearing capacity in the loft.

How to fit loft floor panels.

Step by step putting down boards to convert your loft into a usable storage space is a simple task which does not normally require any planning permission and should be affordable and manageable even for a diy beginner. A floor in a loft conversion must be designed to carry a minimum of 150kg per square m. This ensures easy loft access. This customer wanted the very best insulation above his cold bathroom.

320mm wide non moisture proof loft flooring panels allow easy insertion through a loft hatch. Loft flooring panels like these have tongue and groove fittings a notch or groove along one length and one width then a tongue to fit into the groove along the other edges this gives a more secure joint than a straight edge would do. Other areas of this loft use space blanket. Despite this tight fit however the chipboard.

A loft can be a cramped and dusty environment to work in therefore gloves and a face mask are also advisable. Unlike plywood the edges of chipboard panels are meant to lock together in a tongue and groove style. By installing a simple inexpensive loft board floor you no longer need to worry about stepping on battens or falling through the ceiling of the room below. You can still board directly on to the joists if you want but it is worth noting that this would not.

Below is an image of a loft entrance. This makes for a tighter fit across the floor. Continue to lay chipboard flooring across the joists for the rest of the floor ensuring the joints along the 600mm edges are staggered always avoid joining on the same joist wherever possible. Furthermore squashing insulation down to fit joist height is a bad idea as this halves it s effectiveness doubling your heat loss.

Pir foam board kingspan insulation has been installed around the loft entrance. Floor level is lower at the loft entrance compared to the storage area. As above where for loft flooring or loft storage the ceiling or loft floor is designed to carry only 25kg per square metre. Your sub floor joists should be at 400mm centres meaning the edge of the boards always falls on a joist too.