Advice needed please re boarding the attic space

My attic is fully boarded and has the correct amount of insulation added. I had it done in 1994 when I moved here, emphasising that I wanted the airflow undisturbed. It has worked well. I keep my attic empty because each move has cost a fortune, moving junk from one house to another.

At the time, the cost was reasonable, but be careful nobody takes you for a ride financially.

My heating costs are lower which is a plus.

There are people who advertise in those local magazines they push through the door who just do attic boards and ladders for a standard price in my area.

You can get raised loft flooring that leaves room for the insulation.

loftboardingcompany.com/

Mine is part boarded down the centre, close to the eaves is left open, we use it for Christmas stuff etc, NOT junk

Ours is partly boarded with a guard rail round the hatch. We just keep suitcases up there. Beware of adding too much weight to the beams.

We boarded the loft in our last house and a long, hot dusty job it was too. My ‘top tip’ is to ask for boards to be screwed down rather than nailed. It makes it much easier to deal with any wiring/piping issues should the need arise.

My OH also marked the position of any wires/pipes on the boards themselves. Luckily it was a precaution we never needed to resort to, but we hope it’ll be useful for owners in years to come.

When we moved here to the bungalow we agreed that the loft should remain empty, and it has. Many things that we thought we ‘couldn’t do without’ haven’t actually been missed at all!

Luckily we have a garden shed big and dry enough to hold our few Christmas decorations.

Thank you all for your comments and tips. I’m going to mull it over some more. My budget won’t stretch to a professional company for the job and perhaps a makeshift job by a handyman might be a bad idea in case it results in condensation.

I’ll need to be ruthless and offload some more possessions. I can’t help thinking once “stuff” is in the attic I’ll not give it another thought and when I pop my clogs my daughter and son will have the job of emptying it.

What I really need to do is stop telling myself “hold onto that as it might come in handy” 😆

You and me both Grannynannywanny!

And me third !!

In our previous house we insulated right up to edges and caused condensation and everything smelling musty.
Three years ago we downsized and had all the ‘fluffy’ type insulation removed and replaced with insulated panels between the beams which we are told are much more effective- but not blocking the ventilation. We then had boards over the middle section where we walk. We can put light weight stuff on the insulated panels. Everything is fine - no condensation or musty smell. House well insulated too

Surely, unless the boarding completely covers the loft space there shouldn’t be a problem? Perhaps an area 2 metres square would suffice for what you plan on putting up there.

This is all you need.

www.wickes.co.uk/Chipboard-Loft-Panels---320-x-1220mm---Pack-of-3/p/116420

And if you are not bothered about a bit of space round the edges no need even for any cutting. cost for these at wickes is £12.82 per square metre.

I am not recommending wickes. This is just an example - if you browse a bit you can find higher and lower costs and specs

So all you need is someone who can take them up and fit them together in the loft (tongues and grooves), No need to be balancing on the rafters either unpack them up there and spread them around outwards from the loft hatch and that gives a safe work surface to do all the joining up

Thank you alastairlyon , they look perfect for the job. As Astitchintime suggested, probably an area around 2 sq metres might be sufficient. Do you reckon an area that size wouldn’t require the boards to be raised above the insulation to avoid condensation developing under the boards?

We downsized similarly. We really needed the loft boarded for Christmas stuff and suitcases. We had a firm who charged £1300. They lagged the loft ( made a big difference to warmth) & put shelves on the rafters at the sides. It’s easy now to go up & get stuff. They did a good job. Of course once I’m in my dotage I won’t be shimmying up the ladder so be careful you don’t put too much up there!

My daughter had hers done professionally (hatch needed extending and she wanted a decent ladder). But the best thing were the shelves they added between the roof supports to give a second tier of storage. It would be perfectly possible to do this as a DIY job. Also, they put battery lights up there - the batteries last for ages and it saves trailing wires, or main cables.

When I moved from large 3 bedroom house to 2 bed bungalow in 2019. Decided nothing was going into my loft. My old house loft was boarded out my husband did it when we moved there in 1985 was stuffed boxes that had been there since before my husband died I just sent to the charity shop if I hadn't needed it in all that time I didn't want it. Had brought a new Christmas 🎄 which I keep in one of the children's bedrooms should say they left in 2006. Boxes of children's cuddly toys had gone funny so went to the tip. They sorted out and keep a few of there toys that where ok and my grandsons play with them . Furniture up there was given to friends or charity.
Had all the old insulation removed here and new put down and a proper loft ladder fitted it already had a light. As I have a combi boiler the water tank is empty. I store things under the beds in boxes including the Christmas tree in a Christmas 🎄 bag . And use collapsible fabric rectangle boxes with hard sides and bottoms to store extra bedding and change of clothing winter coats etc. in my 2 wardrobes. I have a garage but that only has gardening things in it .