Boarding loft - small or large boards?

dunroving

I am in the process of boarding half of my low ceiling-height loft, just to facilitate storing crap without falling through the ceiling. A poorly drawn plan is provided below (hope the link works):

https://imgur.com/a/Z5MUARF

There are essentially two runs of 610cm x 158cm that need boarding. The 158cm is the width between two raised joists, and the boards will be placed onto ceiling joists that run below, and perpendicular to the raised joists. The gap between the ceiling joists varies between 40cm and 45cm. If I use the smaller boards (112cm length; see below), they therefore would only span two joist spaces/three joists, with a 30cm piece of cut-off waste each time.

Two common board sizes are 240cm x 60cm and 122cm x 32cm. I've listed below the advantages and disadvantages of each, but would appreciate any opinions, or any issues I am not thinking of with regards to this specific question (which size to go with).

Smaller boards – greater materials cost, more waste, and probably longer to install (? More screwing?) BUT easier to work with, reduced labour cost (doesn’t need a second person to lift boards into attic), and easier to remove if wiring needs inspection, etc. (removing smaller boards rather than larger board). Another thought: probably easier to work around obstacles, because trimming a small piece within the attic is easier (and/or board is easier to mark up and then bring downstairs to trim if needed). I do have a lot of fiddly bits and pieces to work around.

Larger boards – higher labour cost (needs second person to lift boards), more inconvenient to get into the attic, less convenient to remove if wiring needs attention (whole board needs lifted), BUT fewer boards to install, less waste, lower material cost. As per my “another thought” above, I think the bigger boards will be harder to work with in terms of trimming/cutting out to work around the various obstacle.

d0nkeyk0ng

I boarded an area I think 2-2.5 times larger than what you're proposing. I used the smaller boards. It was easier to take them up, it was easier to move them around in the loft, and it was easier adjust things without having to cut. I did all myself without any additional help. Screws - I just bought a 100-pack of screws from screwfix and that was more than enough.



I bought the boards from Wickes and they had an offer of 3 for 2 at the time (on packs of 3) which brought the cost down a little too.

Gloomendoom

I used 8 by 2 tongue and groove flooring sheets. I did it all myself, no need for two people. There was very little waste as anything cut off the end of one run was used to start the next.

I did all trimming work up there. Once the boards went up, they didn't come down.

Incidentally, if you use tongue and groove boards, they don't necessarily have to finish exactly over a joist. You can have a join mid-span where they are supported at the sides by adjacent boards or where one side is tucked away under the eaves.

PasturesNew

If your preferred option is 2 people ... and if you're doing it yourself ... put a shout out on Facebook for anybody local that wants to do it too on the basis of you both help each other to do both at the same time and split materials costs. Must be loads of people who'd like it - but have no skills - but are quite happy to "work under instruction" and hold/handle/lift things as required.

dunroving

An additional problem is that I have a complicated fracture to the elbow, so am already paying for help from one person.

Because the loft is pretty tight, with a low roofline/pitch and complicated arrangement of various types of roof timbers, I'm leaning more towards the smaller boards.

In my previous house, the loft hatch was cavernous and the attic space was higher and more open/uncomplicated so I used the bigger boards there. But I think my new house will be much more of a challenge in terms of space, maneuvering the boards around, wielding a saw, etc.

Gloomendoom

dunroving wrote: »

An additional problem is that I have a complicated fracture to the elbow, so am already paying for help from one person.

Because the loft is pretty tight, with a low roofline/pitch and complicated arrangement of various types of roof timbers, I'm leaning more towards the smaller boards.

In my previous house, the loft hatch was cavernous and the attic space was higher and more open/uncomplicated so I used the bigger boards there. But I think my new house will be much more of a challenge in terms of space, maneuvering the boards around, wielding a saw, etc.

You are probably right. My attic is fairly tall and unobstructed.

Best of luck with your elbow. I smashed mine over twenty years ago and it still occasionally gives me gyp.

traineepensioner

dunroving wrote: »

I am in the process of boarding half of my low ceiling-height loft, just to facilitate storing crap without falling through the ceiling. A poorly drawn plan is provided below (hope the link works):

https://imgur.com/a/Z5MUARF

There are essentially two runs of 610cm x 158cm that need boarding. The 158cm is the width between two raised joists, and the boards will be placed onto ceiling joists that run below, and perpendicular to the raised joists. The gap between the ceiling joists varies between 40cm and 45cm. If I use the smaller boards (112cm length; see below), they therefore would only span two joist spaces/three joists, with a 30cm piece of cut-off waste each time.

Two common board sizes are 240cm x 60cm and 122cm x 32cm. I've listed below the advantages and disadvantages of each, but would appreciate any opinions, or any issues I am not thinking of with regards to this specific question (which size to go with).

Smaller boards – greater materials cost, more waste, and probably longer to install (? More screwing?) BUT easier to work with, reduced labour cost (doesn’t need a second person to lift boards into attic), and easier to remove if wiring needs inspection, etc. (removing smaller boards rather than larger board). Another thought: probably easier to work around obstacles, because trimming a small piece within the attic is easier (and/or board is easier to mark up and then bring downstairs to trim if needed). I do have a lot of fiddly bits and pieces to work around.

Larger boards – higher labour cost (needs second person to lift boards), more inconvenient to get into the attic, less convenient to remove if wiring needs attention (whole board needs lifted), BUT fewer boards to install, less waste, lower material cost. As per my “another thought” above, I think the bigger boards will be harder to work with in terms of trimming/cutting out to work around the various obstacle.

If they're from the same manufacturer you could always use a mixture of both, just make sure the tongue & groves align. BTW, You do not need to cut the board to each joist if you use T & G boards.

2 X 60cm width and 1 x 32 cm width would give you 152cm...more or less the required width with no wastage. Just make sure that you stagger the boards, ie use the cutoff to start the next row.

You only need to lift the boards into the loft once they're cut if you start with the full boards and use a tape measure for the required cuts.

Szczesciarz

I recommend smaller boards.  I have just finished renovating my attic. Here the cork board sheets and panels for wall   have been the best solution. Such cork board tiles can be left alone without any finish. They can also be finished in any way possible. Cork wall tiles can be painted over with any paint, lacquer or wood stain to enhance or cover up the cork’s structure.

Le_Kirk

I guess the OP has finished boarding it by now, having posted in November 2018.  The date sometimes catches me out.

bowlhead99

Le_Kirk said:

I guess the OP has finished boarding it by now, having posted in November 2018.  The date sometimes catches me out.

Generous   You can see from the high quality in-depth nature of the new poster's other posts across multiple sub-forums in quick succession that they are likely not serious and probably just trying to build a post-count on their account before starting to give us spam links or act as a shill for some company or business endeavour. 

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Mistral001

I would go with the smaller boards as it is quite a big area, but I would buy a single board first and do a trial run at getting it into the loft.  It might be more difficult that you think.