Loft Office Suitability Query?

wolfmansgotnards

sevenhills wrote: »

My loft is boarded out, it is draughty at times, but nothing will be destroyed by the natural elements.
Its cold, but nothing will be getting wet, why would yours be?

I assumed that in it's current state, the warm air would rise while the cold up in the attic would cause dampness and/or condensation. There are only boards on the floor in the loft at the moment. Would it be beneficial to board the walls and roof of the loft? Even without insulation?

sevenhills

wolfmansgotnards wrote: »

I assumed that in it's current state, the warm air would rise while the cold up in the attic would cause dampness and/or condensation. There are only boards on the floor in the loft at the moment. Would it be beneficial to board the walls and roof of the loft? Even without insulation?

I have read about people using 'Celotex' insulation board.


https://www.insulationexpress.co.uk/celotex-tb4000-insulation-board?gclid=CjwKCAjw6-_eBRBXEiwA-5zHaRQXj7J5S4XZZ4VcFkL_GavlD7CMM5BtLgRpaV2aBlIN8kxY1R8eZxoCINMQAvD_BwE


Not sure if the cost would make it unpractical for you.

Fire_Fox

wolfmansgotnards wrote: »

I assumed that in it's current state, the warm air would rise while the cold up in the attic would cause dampness and/or condensation. There are only boards on the floor in the loft at the moment. Would it be beneficial to board the walls and roof of the loft? Even without insulation?

Does the existing Velux window get condensation in very cold weather? That is a really useful 'barometer'.

Cold air is drier than warm air: any excess water should be dealt with through a combination of ventilation and heating. Otherwise it will settle on the coldest surfaces.

Your kit is at risk of condensation if air circulation/ ventilation is poor, if the warm air rising from the house is holding a lot of water (use extractor fans/ open windows downstairs), or if it does not do well in very cold conditions generally.

wolfmansgotnards

Thanks guys. The velux window doesn’t seem to have a lot of condensation on it surprisingly. Now and again, it’ll get the usual. In fact, it gets less than the widows downstairs. Wonder what that means.

Doozergirl

I'm confused.

Loft conversions cost a small fortune. The joists that would form the ceiling would have been designed small, only to hold the ceiling boards beneath. Putting flooring over it doesn't make it safe or suitable to sit up there. They need to be strengthened to support a floor for someone to sit at.

How long you use it for a day is irrelevant when it comes to Building Regulations - safety standards, amongst other things. If you're going to inhabit a room for any period of time, it needs to be safe/compliant. Some people only use their dining rooms at Christmas - it's still a habitable room.

Why you'd want to drag an extension cable up there and film in an unconverted loft is a little beyond my imagination. There's an entire world out there to film in and much of it is free. I watch one woman who films each day sitting in her car, another who films as she's out walking.

wolfmansgotnards

Regardless of where other people sit, this is my choice of location.

I am trying to find out about it’s safety too of course.

Doozergirl

It's not safe. That is what you should assume. You've seen nothing to suggest it's been strengthened and You need a structural engineer to look at it. The advice here about insulation is pointless if it's dangerous.

My point about other people filming in different locations is about budget. There is no cheap way of carrying out even a partial conversion. If you don't have the budget to create a proper space, there are plenty of other options available other than sitting in an unsafe, unconverted loft.

Fire_Fox

wolfmansgotnards wrote: »

Thanks guys. The velux window doesn’t seem to have a lot of condensation on it surprisingly. Now and again, it’ll get the usual. In fact, it gets less than the widows downstairs. Wonder what that means.

It suggests that - with the current balance of natural ventilation, heat and humidity - you don't have a condensation damp problem. Increasing usage of the space or attempting to reduce draughts could change things. Cold air is drier than warm air.

I think we are getting confused, and you are not getting the solutions you hoped for, because you are not being clear about what you have or what you are doing. For example what is in a traditional home office is nothing like what many home YouTubers have in the room they film in.

Similarly in your first post you say the room will have "lighting equipment and electricals" then later "no electricity required." An extension cable from a single socket on another floor is not safe. Nor is installing electrical equpiment in a space that does not meet fire regs.

Did you have a full structural survey when you bought the house? If so what did they recommend as regards you using the loft space?

wolfmansgotnards

Fire_Fox wrote: »

It suggests that - with the current balance of natural ventilation, heat and humidity - you don't have a condensation damp problem. Increasing usage of the space or attempting to reduce draughts could change things. Cold air is drier than warm air.

I think we are getting confused, and you are not getting the solutions you hoped for, because you are not being clear about what you have or what you are doing. For example what is in a traditional home office is nothing like what many home YouTubers have in the room they film in.

Similarly in your first post you say the room will have "lighting equipment and electricals" then later "no electricity required." An extension cable from a single socket on another floor is not safe. Nor is installing electrical equpiment in a space that does not meet fire regs.

Did you have a full structural survey when you bought the house? If so what did they recommend as regards you using the loft space?

Yes, I will indeed have lighting equipment and electricals in the loft when I will be in it. This will be removed when I leave the loft. No no electricals will be there when I leave the loft.

I also assumed the loft would have been safe enough to sit in for up to 1 hour since most of the items in the loft are twice my weight. If it can hold the items in the loft at the moment, I saw no issue with being in the loft for an hour.

Not knowing about these things doesn't make me an idiot. It just means I am unsure of the things most of you are sure about. Hence coming here for advice.

As I am getting conflicting information, my best guess is that there is no correct answer?

If no fire and safety regulations are required to sit storage items in the loft 365 days a year, I didn't see why things would change for me to be there for an hour every few days.

EachPenny

wolfmansgotnards wrote: »

I also assumed the loft would have been safe enough to sit in for up to 1 hour since most of the items in the loft are twice my weight. If it can hold the items in the loft at the moment, I saw no issue with being in the loft for an hour.

Unless the loft has been designed for sufficient strength for storage, then having even a single item twice your weight up there is likely to be a problem (assuming you are not extremely underweight, or a small child). Standard construction lofts are designed to take the weight of the roof (+wind +snow) and ceilings only. Adding the weight of the boards has potentially used up most if not all of the factor of safety. Then adding heavy items can take you into the territory where parts of the roof/ceiling structure could fail at any time. The fact it hasn't already failed could simply be the wrong combination of loading (e.g. snow) hasn't yet occurred.

wolfmansgotnards wrote: »

If no fire and safety regulations are required to sit storage items in the loft 365 days a year, I didn't see why things would change for me to be there for an hour every few days.

Nobody, apart from you, cares about the stuff you have stored in the loft. If the house catches on fire then the fire service will just watch the stuff in the loft burn if doing anything else would pose a risk to firefighters.

If you are in the loft the firefighters will risk their lives getting into a burning loft in order to save your life.

That is what changes between using the space for storage which you infrequently access, and using it as 'living space' which you access on a regular basis.