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cullenswood
Frequent poster
Flooring an attic
Hi,
I was thinking of putting a floor in out attic for some extra storing space. I dont want to do a full attic conversion, just basically but some sort of a floor up there so I can stick all the stuff that gets in way downstairs up there for storage.
Has anyone else done this or has anyone any tips, or what would the likely cost be (Its a 4 bed townhouse)?
What type of wood should I use and what would be the best way to go about it?
Fingalian
Registered User
Flooring an attic
3/4'' chipboard is probably the cheapest option.They come in 8X4 AND 8X2 sheets , 'bout a tenner for the latter. Tip:measure your trapdoor!.....it will be wider on the diagonal which will give you some room to manoeuvre.
You may have to countersink some of the wiring where it goes over joists , then lay down the sheets and screw down with chipboard screws.
I'd say you could do it for about €200.
cullenswood
Frequent poster
Re: Flooring an attic
Would chipboard be strong enough? Dont want to be putting my foot through it!
Fingalian
Registered User
Attic Flooring
Yep , that chipboard is very strong and mostly used for flooring attics.
Two parallel cuts with a handsaw, pop out the waste with a chisel and drop in the wires.
Toby
Registered User
Re: Flooring an attic
We bought chipboard attic flooring in packs from either Atlantic or Woodies, it has grooves so the pieces just fit into each other so there is no screwing or nailing required. Really quick and does the job for storage.
nogser
Frequent poster
Re: Flooring an attic
The tongue and groove boards are easy to use. It is best to floor the whole attic as this keeps the level of dust down to a minimum. Try and keep the cuts in the joists small. If possible mark the floor boards where the wires cross a joist immediately below.
An important point is that the ends of each piece of floorboards whould sit on a joist. Each floorboard should run across the joists. make sure you leave enough room for the next board to sit comfortablely on the joist too. If you donn't do this you could end up with your foot through the ceiling.
If you don't already have a light in your attic now put this in first. I would recommend putting at least two seperate fittings. This helps to reduce the level of shadows when you are hunting around in the corners for the christmas decorations. It is also a good idea to put the light switch at floor level so you can reach it before you climb up. Just be careful that it is out of the way so you donn't trip on it.
Finally when you have all this done don't overload the floor. the joists are usually smaller than between the first and ground floors. Spread your items evenly around the attic.
Good luck
Nogser
legend99
Very frequent poster
I think in my case I am going to have to get 2X2 first to raise the height of the joists, as the insulation is actually covering all the joists and I don't want to squash it down...
askew70
Registered User
I floored our attic last year. I bought new insulation, which fluffed up to about twice as much as the old insulation, so I put down extra risers/battens too (can't remember what size they were, but probably about 2"x2"). I used 8'x2' tongue-and-grooved chipboard sheets which I bought in Homebase (they often seem to have packs of it reduced). I have seen the same stuff in Atlantic Homecare too, but I think Homebase was cheaper.
It was a pain trying to determine exactly how many risers/battens I needed as I was planning to cut them so that they all ended directly on a joist. However, I got my estimates slightly wrong so in some cases two of them butted together between two joists - in these cases I used metal brackets to join them together. I also had to be careful to space the risers so that the chipboard sheets ended on the risers - where this didn't work out, I added some more bits of the riser wood between the risers themselves for extra support. The risers also made it more awkward to put in the new insulation, but the effort was worth it - while the new flooring made the attic much more useful, the new insulation made a noticeable difference to the warmth of the house.
Things to bear in mind:
- as someone already mentioned, make sure the sheets of chipboard will fit through your attic opening. 2' wide sheets should be fine for most attic openings.
- you'll need a lot of screws (or nails, I guess) to attach the risers and the chipboard. I used two cordless drills - one for screwing holes for the screws, one for driving the screws. Having two drills saved me a huge amount of time and heartache. Running out of screws half way through completely wrecks your head so figure out how many you are likely to need beforehand. I got through a few boxes (2 hundred per box). Woodworkers in Mount Tallant Avenue (Dublin) were the cheapest for boxes of screws that I found - places like Homebase sell them in smaller quantities at much higher prices.
- I'd recommend insulating your water tank too, and putting a lid on it. I used some of the leftover chipboard as a lid and glued a 1" thick piece of polystyrene to the underneath of the lid. The water no longer gets as cold as it used to, so our electric shower has an easier time heating the water in the winter (which reduces running costs and means less reduction of water pressure by having to turn up the shower).
- put down any wiring that you want in place, first. I put in a light bulb and a couple of plug sockets. The light always gets used, the plug sockets are rarely used for are very handy when you need them. Also, take this opportunity to run wires down to any other room that you might be planning on doing.
- I added the same chipboard flooring, and insulation, to the wood which blocks the entrance to the attic, to get maximum benefit from the insulation. It seems to have helped with the retention of heat within the house, although it adds a lot of weight to the entrance panel.
- if you plan on putting in a permanent foldaway ladder to get into the attic, do this first.
- you may have to take many cuts out of the chipboard, to fit it around the supports for the roof, round water pipe valves, etc. A jigsaw is very useful and quick for this (and the plug sockets that I fitted proved very useful here).
- it is worth storing all of the wood in the attic for a week or so before you fit it, so that to adjusts to the temperature up there. It'll then be less inclined to expand/contract after it is fitted.
Good luck.
cullenswood
Frequent poster
Excellent,
Thanks a million for all the advise, some very helpful tips in there. I will have some fun this Chrimbo completing this job!
legend99
Very frequent poster
Unless you really need the entire attic for storage, you could just choose to do X square feet around the entreance hatch for now...
judge
Registered User
we floored our attic about a year ago. just did the easily accessible areas between the trusses (big enough attic). Bought 3/4" ply in B&Q in 8*4 FT sheets. Knew the beams were 2ft apart and so got the lads in B&Q to cut the sheets down to 8*2s (free service). Fit into the back of the car ok and up through the opening in the attic ok too. Great job, very strong, very happy.
finbar
Registered User
flooring
If chipboard flooring gets wet its ruined, I used plywood which came in 2ft by 8 ft sheets tongue and groove 9 euro a sheet. It fits up through the hatch , I screwed them down to the latts using a power screw driver.
cullenswood
Frequent poster
Flooring an attic
Hi,
I was thinking of putting a floor in out attic for some extra storing space. I dont want to do a full attic conversion, just basically but some sort of a floor up there so I can stick all the stuff that gets in way downstairs up there for storage.
Has anyone else done this or has anyone any tips, or what would the likely cost be (Its a 4 bed townhouse)?
What type of wood should I use and what would be the best way to go about it?
Fingalian
Registered User
Flooring an attic
3/4'' chipboard is probably the cheapest option.They come in 8X4 AND 8X2 sheets , 'bout a tenner for the latter. Tip:measure your trapdoor!.....it will be wider on the diagonal which will give you some room to manoeuvre.
You may have to countersink some of the wiring where it goes over joists , then lay down the sheets and screw down with chipboard screws.
I'd say you could do it for about €200.
cullenswood
Frequent poster
Re: Flooring an attic
Would chipboard be strong enough? Dont want to be putting my foot through it!
Presume this means just cutting a but down the joists and putting the wires in there??
Fingalian
Registered User
Attic Flooring
Yep , that chipboard is very strong and mostly used for flooring attics.
Two parallel cuts with a handsaw, pop out the waste with a chisel and drop in the wires.
Toby
Registered User
Re: Flooring an attic
We bought chipboard attic flooring in packs from either Atlantic or Woodies, it has grooves so the pieces just fit into each other so there is no screwing or nailing required. Really quick and does the job for storage.
nogser
Frequent poster
Re: Flooring an attic
The tongue and groove boards are easy to use. It is best to floor the whole attic as this keeps the level of dust down to a minimum. Try and keep the cuts in the joists small. If possible mark the floor boards where the wires cross a joist immediately below.
An important point is that the ends of each piece of floorboards whould sit on a joist. Each floorboard should run across the joists. make sure you leave enough room for the next board to sit comfortablely on the joist too. If you donn't do this you could end up with your foot through the ceiling.
If you don't already have a light in your attic now put this in first. I would recommend putting at least two seperate fittings. This helps to reduce the level of shadows when you are hunting around in the corners for the christmas decorations. It is also a good idea to put the light switch at floor level so you can reach it before you climb up. Just be careful that it is out of the way so you donn't trip on it.
Finally when you have all this done don't overload the floor. the joists are usually smaller than between the first and ground floors. Spread your items evenly around the attic.
Good luck
Nogser
legend99
Very frequent poster
I think in my case I am going to have to get 2X2 first to raise the height of the joists, as the insulation is actually covering all the joists and I don't want to squash it down...
askew70
Registered User
I floored our attic last year. I bought new insulation, which fluffed up to about twice as much as the old insulation, so I put down extra risers/battens too (can't remember what size they were, but probably about 2"x2"). I used 8'x2' tongue-and-grooved chipboard sheets which I bought in Homebase (they often seem to have packs of it reduced). I have seen the same stuff in Atlantic Homecare too, but I think Homebase was cheaper.
It was a pain trying to determine exactly how many risers/battens I needed as I was planning to cut them so that they all ended directly on a joist. However, I got my estimates slightly wrong so in some cases two of them butted together between two joists - in these cases I used metal brackets to join them together. I also had to be careful to space the risers so that the chipboard sheets ended on the risers - where this didn't work out, I added some more bits of the riser wood between the risers themselves for extra support. The risers also made it more awkward to put in the new insulation, but the effort was worth it - while the new flooring made the attic much more useful, the new insulation made a noticeable difference to the warmth of the house.
Things to bear in mind:
- as someone already mentioned, make sure the sheets of chipboard will fit through your attic opening. 2' wide sheets should be fine for most attic openings.
- you'll need a lot of screws (or nails, I guess) to attach the risers and the chipboard. I used two cordless drills - one for screwing holes for the screws, one for driving the screws. Having two drills saved me a huge amount of time and heartache. Running out of screws half way through completely wrecks your head so figure out how many you are likely to need beforehand. I got through a few boxes (2 hundred per box). Woodworkers in Mount Tallant Avenue (Dublin) were the cheapest for boxes of screws that I found - places like Homebase sell them in smaller quantities at much higher prices.
- I'd recommend insulating your water tank too, and putting a lid on it. I used some of the leftover chipboard as a lid and glued a 1" thick piece of polystyrene to the underneath of the lid. The water no longer gets as cold as it used to, so our electric shower has an easier time heating the water in the winter (which reduces running costs and means less reduction of water pressure by having to turn up the shower).
- put down any wiring that you want in place, first. I put in a light bulb and a couple of plug sockets. The light always gets used, the plug sockets are rarely used for are very handy when you need them. Also, take this opportunity to run wires down to any other room that you might be planning on doing.
- I added the same chipboard flooring, and insulation, to the wood which blocks the entrance to the attic, to get maximum benefit from the insulation. It seems to have helped with the retention of heat within the house, although it adds a lot of weight to the entrance panel.
- if you plan on putting in a permanent foldaway ladder to get into the attic, do this first.
- you may have to take many cuts out of the chipboard, to fit it around the supports for the roof, round water pipe valves, etc. A jigsaw is very useful and quick for this (and the plug sockets that I fitted proved very useful here).
- it is worth storing all of the wood in the attic for a week or so before you fit it, so that to adjusts to the temperature up there. It'll then be less inclined to expand/contract after it is fitted.
Good luck.
cullenswood
Frequent poster
Excellent,
Thanks a million for all the advise, some very helpful tips in there. I will have some fun this Chrimbo completing this job!
legend99
Very frequent poster
Unless you really need the entire attic for storage, you could just choose to do X square feet around the entreance hatch for now...
judge
Registered User
we floored our attic about a year ago. just did the easily accessible areas between the trusses (big enough attic). Bought 3/4" ply in B&Q in 8*4 FT sheets. Knew the beams were 2ft apart and so got the lads in B&Q to cut the sheets down to 8*2s (free service). Fit into the back of the car ok and up through the opening in the attic ok too. Great job, very strong, very happy.
finbar
Registered User
flooring
If chipboard flooring gets wet its ruined, I used plywood which came in 2ft by 8 ft sheets tongue and groove 9 euro a sheet. It fits up through the hatch , I screwed them down to the latts using a power screw driver.
