Another loft question - loft hatch and ladders!

moneysaver1978

Now that the weather is getting cooler, I am going to get back to the loft and continue with fixing the loft legs along with new insulation.

I was planning to put something (level with the new board) on the lip of the hatch to allow the loft ladder to be attached (currently attached to the joists). However, I'm now questioning myself if I can do it!

So I am wondering if it would be sensible to purchase a few PIRs just for where the ladder can rest or am I overthinking?

What has your experience been when fitting loft ladders?

flashg67

I fitted a concertina type loft ladder that has an upright mounting board. A few pieces of 3x2 wood across the joists and plenty of long screws and it's solid so far!

Murmansk

I don't know what you mean by a "few PIRs" - I don't suppose you mean Passive Infra Reds but I'm not at all sure what you do mean?

Loft ladders need a decent bit of wood to be screwed to so if you had loft legs raising some loft boards up to allow insulation underneath, you'd need to screw a substantial bit of timber under the boards near the hatch to give the screws holding the ladder something decent to screw into rather than just the chipboard or OSB loft board edge.

Also, when installing a ladder you may find you need to fit "stops" to the ladder so that it rests at the correct angle when in use - having the ladder attached to your new raised loft floor might mean you need to adjust the stops to suit

FreeBear

Murmansk said:

I don't know what you mean by a "few PIRs"

At a guess, PIR means Celotex/Kingspan type rigid insulation boards. Should be fine used in the staging area around the hatch.

Ganga

I fitted a new loft hatch and loft ladder after falling out of the loft using step ladders ,fitted extra brackets to the loft joists for strength then realized that the ladder rested on the floor so did not pull downwards on the loft structure

Murmansk

Ganga said:

I fitted a new loft hatch and loft ladder after falling out of the loft using step ladders ,fitted extra brackets to the loft joists for strength then realized that the ladder rested on the floor so did not pull downwards on the loft structure

Indeed but I still wouldn't want to just screw my ladder's brackets into the edge of a bit of chipboard. 

FFHillbilly

moneysaver1978 said:

What has your experience been when fitting loft ladders?

what would help is a make & model of the ladder you are trying to install and a clear explanation of the area in which it's to be installed (or pics)