This is our preferred method to be honest, and involves raising the level of the joists, on to which you can then attach the chipboard panels to create a solid storage surface.
The first way is to lay new joists at 90 degrees to the existing joists. This is relatively easy, but will mean purchasing new timber and also adding much more load essentially weight! In order to do this, you will first need to lay the insulation between the existing joists. Once this has been done, you will need to run joists along the length of the roof space at 90 degrees to the existing joists. You can then insulate between these and then board over.
The second method is to artificially raise the height of the joists — to do this you will need loft stilts which you can buy from us by clicking on the link below. To install the loft storage stilts, you first need to run the mm thick insulation between the joists as normal. If you have spotlights coming in to the roof, we suggest getting caps that sit on top of the fitting to help prevent them from overheating.
Once the initial layer of insulation has been laid between the joists, you then need to attach the loft storage stilts to the joists. They need to be spaced no more than mm apart to ensure that there is enough of them to support the weight of the chipboard and the items that are being stored.
Once these are all in screwed into place, you can then lay the next mm thick layer of insulation at 90 degrees to the existing joists and then screw down the chipboard into the stilts. The top platform of each of the stilts is mm wide, allowing you to support either 2 chipboard edges on the stilt or 4 corners.
The final method for insulating the loft is to use a chipboard product with a non compressing insulated backing. With these, we recommend still filling between the joists will mm insulating wool as normal and remembering to cap any light fittings that protrude into the roof space. Once that has been done, you then simply lay these boards ensuring that each individual board is supported by 3 or more joists. They fit together very much like a puzzle with the tongue and groove and can then be screwed in to place to give you a really firm supporting surface.
Finally we want to ensure that you only undertake this type of work if you are DIY competent. If you have any doubts, we strongly recommend getting in touch with a professional to help. Not only is falling through the ceiling between the joists embarrassing — it is also rather dangerous and expensive! Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Is it necessary to leave a gap between the top of the insulation and the underside of the boards?
The legs I have installed come up to the height of the insullation but no higher, so the boards will be sitting right over the wool although not compressing it.
Will this be ok? This is really useful. Very useful, been wondering how to store stuff without putting it straight on the insulation, more becuase that insulation stuff is itchy as hell! Hi Binky, you should try alternatives such as hemp or sheep wool. We used sheep wool when we rennovated our home and it is a pleasure to work with, not itchy at all! Loft floor rolls — these are the traditional option, and, as the name suggests, are rolled out along the floor of the loft.
This makes them easier to lay than insulated floor boards, and require fewer tools and take less time. They can be boarded over using stilts to create a raised platform for storage. Insulated loft floor boards — these are a two-in-one combination of polystyrene insulation and a rigid top layer made from chipboard.
They provide a flat and secure surface area - great for storage space and for easy access — but not a structural floor finish to make your loft a liveable room. The top layer could be a combination of the two boards where necessary and rolls elsewhere. Configure and calculate the amounts needed based on your loft requirements. Be sure to check the steps for further detail to avoid buying unnecessary items.
Be sure to read and check you have everything you need to safely start insulating your loft floor. Many homes have some existing insulation, but it may not be very effective.
Some older properties can have as little as just 25mm deep on the loft floor. Just add one or more new layers on top of it to reach the recommended amount. More on how much is recommended later in the article. In the loft, measure the depth of the existing insulation using a tape measure. Measure the spacing between your joists. To do so, start at the mid point of one joist and measure to the mid point of the nearest one. This distance is often or mm. This joist spacing will determine what width of loft roll you can use.
The required thermal resistance of the insulation. The depth of loft insulation in mm equates to an R-value rating. This is a unit of thermal resistance and rates the insulating properties of the material. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulation. A minimum R-value of 6. Use the table below to work out how the depth of your existing loft insulation translates into an R-value. This is just for glass mineral wool insulation - the most common and popular material.
Other types have slightly different thermal properties, so check the online product page or product packaging for details. Start with the target R-value of 7 and deduct the R-value of the existing insulation. This will give you how much more R-value is needed.
We offer glass mineral wool insulation with R-values of 2. If using two layers of loft roll — combine loft rolls of different R-values to get as close as possible to the desired R-value. As a rule, we recommend a base layer of 2.
If using a top layer of insulated loft floor boards — aim for a base layer as close as possible to an R-value of 2. On top of this, the boards will provide additional insulation to bring the combined total up to the equivalent R-value of 6. The Government recommends a minimum insulation depth of mm. This is for glass mineral wool insulation only. We offer glass mineral wool insulation in three different roll thicknesses — , and mm.
Deduct the depth of the existing insulation from the target depth of mm. This will give you how much extra depth is needed. If using two layers of loft roll — try to get as close as possible to the desired extra depth by combining rolls of different thicknesses. If using a top layer of insulated loft floor boards — aim for a base layer of loft roll as close as possible to mm. On top of this, the boards will provide insulation to bring the combined total to the equivalent depth of mm.
This is because the insulation is rolled between these joists. There are two options — narrow or wide loft rolls. Narrow rolls work best in small spaces, while wider rolls can be more cost-effective and can be cut to size to fit unusual, or wider joist widths. To calculate how many packs of loft floor insulation are needed, measure the relevant loft space. Measure the length and width of the loft space to be insulated. Keep all measurements in the same unit — metres m.
This may be difficult or not possible in the loft area, so if the floor below is the same size as the loft, measure that instead. By deducting this amount, it calculates a more accurate area to be insulated for the base layer. Divide the area by the coverage per pack, this will be on the packaging and the online product description.
This will confirm how many packs are required. In some new build homes this can be even deeper to achieve even stricter thermal targets. This results in the insulation being significantly deeper than the joists or trusses, making a loft dangerous to move around in and make it more difficult to board for storage.
You may be wondering how to install boarding when deep quilt insulation in installed. Do you remove the insulation? Or is there a better way? Create a raised boarded area above the insulation.
The alternatives of closed cell foam, dense pack cellulose or even rock wool seem more logical except to those requiring a good short-term bottom line.
My most popular article of all time is 4 Pitfalls of Spray Foam Insulation , which describes some of the common problems with that one.
I sipped on the Kool-Aid, but I sipped on the Kool-Aid, but then decided to do the math before drinking the full glass. If I were the batt industry and I had been beat up for years about poor performance of poorly installed insulation, then I too would develop a chart or formula that shows little to no performance issues when the product was not perfectly installed.
And they are correct, to a point. One comment above was perfect. So I applied the formula to an R19 batt. Guess what? Here is what happens when you apply the formula to an R19 product installed into a 6.
But the chart above leads me to believe the formula may only apply to a little bit of compression. Then I am curious if the curve falls off to the point that spun glass starts to act like glass?
The R40 per inch is not likely so I contend that we still do not want to compress at will. Allison I agree with most of what you are saying but I would say it with a few more boundaries. I think it is important to qualify that a small amount of compression is not too bad and we should not point and shame when we see some normal, slight compression going on. Excellent point, Dan. Fair enough on the advice, Dan. I think maybe I just needed to put in some kind of context. I mentioned two examples of where compression is OK: around windows assuming you already have an air barrier material there and behind junction boxes.
Last year when I wrote about my bathroom remodel , I showed another one. I insulated the exterior wall with 0. As a result, the batt performs at about R instead of R Seen this post on insulation.
Dont know a lot about it. But it has to be better than nothing? Any help would be appreciated. I suspect the actual curve is a downward sloping and parabolic that ends at R JC, JC, Exactly!
My intention was to discredit the straight line relationship. I think we are all smart enough to absorb a real curve and I was hinting that that is what we should see before we start claiming that higher densities are better. This curve should come from a manufacturer. In reading the opinions and insulation applications from some of those in this blog, I am concerned that many are still looking at the straight line since that is all we have and stuffing the wrong product into the cavity.
I do not know what this curve looks like, but I would like to know, accurately, even for low compression percentages. Fun stuff! What about friability? As a What about friability? We are currently insulating We are currently insulating our attic space finished room.
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