How To Floor An Attic Uk

Joist dimensions are only part of the equation.

How to floor an attic uk.

First you ll need to measure the area you want to floor so you can calculate how much wood you ll require. Unless expressly built for use as a living space your attic floor may not be strong enough. To put a floor in your loft is not a difficult job. All attics joists can carry a minimal dead load weight i e 10 pounds per square foot.

They come in packs of 3 or 5 usually and a pack of 3 is enough to cover a little over 1 square metre. Mike embarks on a project to lay a floor in the attic loft space. It is made much easier by the production of special loft panel flooring. Often minimal live load requirements are four times that of dead loads.

In fact the horizontal rafter sections in your loft are there solely to hold up the ceiling for the rooms below. If your intent is to use the attic for a purpose other than storage you will need to consider a more finished look. A loft or attic floor is only designed to carry a load of 25kg per square metre. But live loads are a different matter.

The loft flooring is not designed to carry loads heavier than this. If you don t need additional storage think of flooring an area less than the entire attic such as a small section around the attic door opening. To floor an attic you ll need to install a sub floor for support before laying your plywood floor. These panels are 18mm thick 1 2m long and only 320mm wide.

Attic joists for live loads. Open the windows so there s good ventilation and use work lights so you can see what you re doing. Attic joists that are made from 2x8s may be acceptable for building your attic floor but because every room is variable there are no absolutes. You ll have to construct a wooden frame or sub floor with boards 16 inches apart to provide extra support for the floor.

Standard joist spacing for the installation of attic flooring materials is 16 inches on center oc meaning the distance from the center of one joist to the center of the next joist is 16 inches. To fasten the panels to the floor joists you ll be working on your knees so wear kneepads to protect your shins. This means they are easy to get through the loft hatch. 1 x 6 3 spruce is a step up from pallet quality wood but makes a fine usable floor in an unfinished attic space.

Mike embarks on a project to lay a floor in the attic loft space. Use 1 foot wide boards in pine or spruce to make quick work of putting down a floor.