Fitting loft boards and increased storage space.

For a while I have been thinking about sorting out the loft space.  It has turned into a bit of a dumping ground for any old rubbish that we can’t be bothered to throw away but don’t actually need.  The idea came to us that we could arrange everything much better if the loft was actually boarded out.  This was casually mentioned to my dad and he agreed that it was a good idea and I thought no more about this.  After a few weeks my dad came to me with a proposal.  If I help him with the manual labour on his loft and we board that out then he will return the favour and help me with the technical bit on mine All of this sounded good to me and an agreement was made but the next time I saw him he has been to the DIY store and bought his first lot of boards and made a start.  As he is retired he was popping up the loft whenever he had a spare moment.  This was generally when I was at work so unable to help.  I did eventually lend a hand.  I passed a load of boards up to him once but the remainder of the work he did himself.  So, with one loft under his belt he was obviously eager to start on the second part of the project.  We agreed that we would start the following Sunday and he would come over and do a couple of hours a week until the job was complete so off I went to buy the first 6 packs of boards and we were all set to start.

Week 1 –

10.00 Sunday morning and there we were all ready to go.  All of the boards were in the loft in 2 piles, I had bought another 5 packs so we had a plentiful supply to keep us going.  The idea for this week was really to give us a good starting point so there was quite a bit of messing around as we had to work around the joists that go from floor level up to the top of the roof for support.  My dad had got us masks, gloves and some protective suits so we looked the part.  It didn’t take long to get the first board down and my dad proved that his skill with the Jig Saw is still strong as he had the section cut out in no time.  It is amazing how quickly time goes when you are working yet we still managed to get a full run of boards down, despite the fact that the joist we were using as a marker wasn’t completely straight.  We had to take a little off most of the boards to give us a decent line to work from but we were then ready to get the second run in place.

At 12.30 my dad left but we had made good progress and in order for us to get a good start the following week I was left to move the 2 piles of boards to the other side of the loft so that we had a clear run for the following week.

Week 2

First on the agenda this week was creating a level.  We had realised that one of the joists was a little higher than the others and would have caused problems.  It was time to bring out the plane.  My dad did all the tool work, I assisted by holding back the wires for the lights that were running over the joist.  After that running the second lot of boards down was relatively easy and we decided to tackle the next “Tricky Bit”,

around the hatch.  This is a fiddly bit because every board needs cutting as the hatch is close to the wall and there are plug sockets running on the joist that need to be avoided.

Again, 12.30 soon arrived and another satisfying morning’s works was complete, although we did hit upon a small issue.  One of the spotlights on the landing had been pushed out of the ceiling and it turns out that neither of us had noticed that we had placed a board on top of it.  This was to be the first job for next week; a section would need to be cut out.

In a similar way to last week, my dad then returned home and I freed up the middle section of the loft and moved the boxes that were being stored there onto the boarded section so we have a clear run at the middle section.  By now the loft was already starting to look really good.

Week 3

What a week…Maybe the Saturday nights drinking wasn’t that great an idea as this week I was working with a hangover.  Still, a good days work never hurt anyone so they say and this week a lot of progress was made.  The boards covering the light were removed and a hole was taken out to allow for the light. The next run was completed and now the chimney brest has been surrounded.  The plan for the day was to completely run out of boards and that is exactly what we did.  The first half of the job is now done and we can stand up fully in the middle of the loft.

I have to admit that this week was a struggle but the tireless efforts of my dad brought me round and helped me work through the headache and the beer sweats and I felt a real sense of accomplishment this week.  My dad was also encouraging me to use the power tools.  This is something I have always been a little nervous about but this week I was drilling the pilot holes for the screws and counter sinking the holes so that the screws will sit flush when they are in.  I have to admit that I am finding the work we are doing so rewarding…Looking at the way it is taking shape gives you a real sense of pride. We have found that we could have had somebody to come in and do the boarding and install ladders for about £300 but I am so pleased with the work we have done and the whole job will only have cost about £100 by the time it is completed and we didn’t have to remove all of the items we have stored up there.

Week 4 

As it was mother’s day this weekend my dad wanted to arrive early and leave at 12 to go an have a meal with my sister so at 9.30 he was at our house and ready to work. My wife had been to the DIY store in the week and had picked up some boards and I had already lifted these into the loft.

We managed to finish off the run that we had been working on last week and then there were a few boards that would need sections taken out as there were wires running over the joists or spotlights that we didn’t want to cover so while my dad was doing the technical stuff I slotted a few more into place on the next run and marked out the lines for the screws.  After the bits had been cut out and the boards were in place we added the next run and we had one section that was completely across the width of the roof.  Unfortunately time had beaten us so while my dad got ready to leave I marked out the boards we had just put in place, drilled the pilot hole, counter sunk the hole and screwed the boards in place.

There are now only about 3 packs of boards left so next week we should finish.  There is a small section that has a lot of wiring underneath so we will need a plan for that but I think if we use some of the boarding that was already in place then we should be onto a winner for creating a removable section.

Week 5

Another early start this week, my dad was ready for action at 9.30 and we were in full floe in no time, the first half board was set in place then the next row was started with 2 full boards. And we were at the point where we needed to fit the removable section.

This was actually pretty easy as the previous owner has laid some boards previously and they were big enough to cut down into the correct size.

There were a few issues.  My inexperience with power tools was obvious and I broke one of the drills by trying to create a pilot hole too close to the edge of the board and ended up drilling through the Grooved section.

By 11.30 we were all done and had used every single board.

A quick tidy up and we could see the full extent of the transformation.  It is huge, adding loft boards makes a significant difference to our storage space and we already have plans on adding some storage units to make it look like a proper room.  I have thoroughly enjoyed this project.