Loft cleaning and boarding

csrivats999

Hi all
I live in a 1930 style semi detached house and have lived here for 12 months now. I wanted to start using the loft to store away suitcases,books,cds etc
So i opened up the loft to see the state and I was shocked to see the amount of junk the previous owners have left behind.
I also noticed the poor insulation currently in there which explained my high energy bills last winter.
I tried to cleanit myself but gave up after 15 mins or so as I started getting concerns abt my health considering the dust in there.
What is the best way to get the loft cleaned?
ANy help is greatfully accepted

Thanks

greyteam1959

Buy a dust mask for .60p & do it yourself or pay somebody £200.00 to do it for you.
If you pay somebody to do it make sure that they have insurance cover !!

27col

Simple! You either do it yourself or you get someone else to do it for you. If someone comes up with a different scenario I would love to know what it could be. If you decide to carry on yourself, buy a good quality dust mask and some disposable overalls. Presumably the scouts don't still do bob-a-job any more.

SailorSam

It's a case of doing it bit by bit, go up there with your dirtiest clothes and start moving things pillow to post. When you've got one corner clear put some insulation down with boards on top of it then start to move the rubbish there until you've cleared another corner.
When i did mine, i like you didn't really want to use it as a room just wanted to store things, so i never went out and bought proper floorboards but just begged; borrowed; and stole any wood that would do. I've got old doors, kitchen and bedroom units anything, not very good if you were constantly walking over it but iif you're only wanting to get suitcases or Christmas decs a couple of times a year and there's 6" of insulation below them, i think it's safe enough and cost nothing.

Poppycat

We had same problem. It took us a whole day to remove previous junk no wonder the previous owners didnt want us to have a look when asked before we bought. We also removed two large old water tanks but had to cut them up. Wish I had sold them for scrap now before taking then to tip.

We had loft insulated by warm front for free which made a big difference to the house. I didnt board the loft up as it would mean we have to raise the height of the joists in order to fit insulation (mineral fibre) in. You can get kanuf boards that have insulation but there are really expensive

SailorSam

Poppycat wrote: »

We also removed two large old water tanks but had to cut them up. Wish I had sold them for scrap now before taking then to tip.

How did you manage to cut up those tanks Poppycat, i gave up on mine and pushed it back into a corner.
I tried with a hacksaw but was scared that if i got some sort of electric cutter the sparks would burn the house down.

macman

It's simply not necessary to remove the dust/grit. Remove the junk that you want to clear, then lay the new insulation over the dirt between the joists.

WLM21

SailorSam wrote: »

I've got old doors, kitchen and bedroom units

OK if these are real wood, but I don't think I'd be putting down thin chipboard doors.

Full sized doors would be better, as they will span several of the joists. Careful of overhangs, if you put your foot on it, there's every chance a new ceiling plaster patch will be needed and you could end up in A & E

Wickes used to sell decent priced roof packs, I think each was enough to overboard 1 m2, using tongue and grooved chipboard .. but this is better screwed to the joists

27col

There is absolutely no reason to remove the old tanks. I certainly would not waste time trying to cut one up with a hacksaw