Loft Boarding

ey_up

Hi all

Is 18mm tongue and groove chipboard (thinking 3 board packs from B&Q or equivent 2.4m x 600mm sheets from wickes) strong enough such that the panel joints can be off the joists at the end of each length? The space is for storage only but would need to be walked on to get things.

Thank you.

27col

Provided that the boards are T&G on all sides there will be no problem. All my upstairs flooring is of that type.

Johnandabby

You would have to stagger the boards and make sure they are pushed together properly - I would recommend ensuring that as many panels finish on the joist as possible, as they really arent very strong. The Wickes loft boards only have t&g on the long edge so doesn't really work staggered.

I actually laid them in rows ensuring that all panels are fixed to joists at both ends and in the middle. Have had to lift a few over the years so grateful I didn't lay them staggered.

ey_up

Thank you for your responses. I had neglected to think about them not being T&G on the long ends. I think I will aim to get them all joining on the joists. More work but not worth skimping on the effort.

Ectophile

So far as I can tell, the B&Q and Wickes boards are identical. But when I did my loft, the Wickes ones were cheaper.

I ended up cutting the ends off all the boards so that they either ended on joists, or only extended by a few inches.