Flooring a roofspace

Money_Grabber13579

I was up in the roofspace the other day and I noticed that the ventilation pipe connecting the extractor fan in the bathroom to the vent in the roof had fallen off and so is now venting into the roofspace. Presumably I just need some silicone to reattach?

But anyway, the ventilation pipe is in a corner of the roofspace which isn’t floored and whilst I was thinking of flooring it anyway, this has accelerated my plans. So, the question is, what type of board do I need to use for this? So far, i’ve seen sheets of chipboard (MR p5), OSB3 board and Plywood. Can I use any of these or is there a particular one which is best for flooring? It obviously needs to support the weight of a person and I will ultimately store some things up there as well.

dunroving

Money_Grabber13579 wrote: »

I was up in the roofspace the other day and I noticed that the ventilation pipe connecting the extractor fan in the bathroom to the vent in the roof had fallen off and so is now venting into the roofspace. Presumably I just need some silicone to reattach?

But anyway, the ventilation pipe is in a corner of the roofspace which isn’t floored and whilst I was thinking of flooring it anyway, this has accelerated my plans. So, the question is, what type of board do I need to use for this? So far, i’ve seen sheets of chipboard (MR p5), OSB3 board and Plywood. Can I use any of these or is there a particular one which is best for flooring? It obviously needs to support the weight of a person and I will ultimately store some things up there as well.

If you Google "loft board", you'll find specialist boarding for the purpose, with tongue and groove edges.

Buildland sell a type that has shiny laminate coating. It is quite smooth, which would enable things to more easily slide along it - I used it for my low pitch loft because I slide things around (including myself!) because I can't stand up in the loft. In my old loft I used the regular loft boarding, because it had a much higher roof pitch and I'd walk around in there.

phill99

B & Q sell packs of loft flooring. T & Q Chipboard 600mm wide so it can easily fit through the lost hatch.

Money_Grabber13579

Thanks, the chipboard i’ve Found at my local builders merchants is T&G so that sounds like it would be ideal and i’m guessing it would have sufficient strength? It does say it is suitable for loft conversions and is 18mm thick ( in sheets of 600mm x 2400mm)

Lorian

if the pipe is just glued in place a spigot or plate can make a much longer lasing join. if it a solid pipe then a small noggin with a screw into the pipe can help strengthen it, and reduce vibrations (and noise).

. Also remember the vent pipe should be under or wrapped in insulation to stop back-flow of condensation in the pipe, which is a fan killer.

phill99

Money_Grabber13579 wrote: »

Thanks, the chipboard i’ve Found at my local builders merchants is T&G so that sounds like it would be ideal and i’m guessing it would have sufficient strength? It does say it is suitable for loft conversions and is 18mm thick ( in sheets of 600mm x 2400mm)

Just remember 600 x 2400mm is quite cumbersome to man handle on your own, so you will need some assistance.

Gloomendoom

I floored my loft with 600 by 2400 t&g sheets. It is possible to do it unassisted. That said, I'm quite a big bloke.

The size and position of the loft hatch might prove more of a restriction, not to mention the ability of the existing ceiling joists to carry more weight than just a ceiling. I had to carry out some pretty extensive reinforcement before laying the floor.

Money_Grabber13579

phill99 wrote: »

Just remember 600 x 2400mm is quite cumbersome to man handle on your own, so you will need some assistance.

Thanks, that’s a good point, will definitely need to consider how I get them up into the roofspace!

Mr.Generous

Much smaller packs of 18mm chip are available, something like 1200 x 450, a 3 pack costs about the same as a big sheet but is so much easier to handle and fit through the hatch. I'd put a couple of lights up too if you are boarding it out.

Money_Grabber13579

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I floored my loft with 600 by 2400 t&g sheets. It is possible to do it unassisted. That said, I'm quite a big bloke.

The size and position of the loft hatch might prove more of a restriction, not to mention the ability of the existing ceiling joists to carry more weight than just a ceiling. I had to carry out some pretty extensive reinforcement before laying the floor.

The strength of the floor is something i’ve been thinking about as I definitely don’t want the whole thing to come crashing down! Is there an easy way to find out what the load bearing capacity of the joists would be or is that something which can only be determined through many years experience? The house is about 8 years old and the joists are approx 30cm apart (I guess the grade of the joists would also be important but i’d have to go and measure that)

dunroving

Even if the loft hatch is large enough to fit the bigger boards, the angle and pitch of the roof, and the internal structure of the roof timbers, may make the larger boards difficult to manoeuvre. If so, you may want to consider packs of the smaller size boards, or to measure up carefully and draw a floor plan, and saw the larger boards down before taking into the loft space.

I combined larger boards for the main part of my loft space, and smaller boards for the narrow gap that was left along each side after the bigger boards were fitted.

I went with 18mm - this is enough if you are only storing stuff up there, and/or if the roof space won't take the stress of heavier boards.