Boarding Loft Space

[Wisi248]

Hi all,

First post so go easy! I'm wanting to board out the central section of our loft for some extra storage. It will only be used to store light stuff like xmas decs and other bits we rarely need.
It's a terraced house from roughly 1910 and the ceiling joints are 4x2's that run from the eaves to a supporting wall in the middle. The central area I want to board is approx 4mx3.5m. Some pictures to help (please don't judge, it's a bit of a mess at the moment!)

[GALLERY=media, 104872]20200708_185937 by Wisi248 posted 8 Jul 2020 at 8:02 PM[/GALLERY]
[GALLERY=media, 104871]20200708_190131 by Wisi248 posted 8 Jul 2020 at 8:02 PM[/GALLERY]
[GALLERY=media, 104870]20200708_190208 by Wisi248 posted 8 Jul 2020 at 8:02 PM[/GALLERY]

I was thinking of running 4x2 battens at right angles to the existing joists and then boarding over that so that I can beef up the insualtion and avoid the cables running through the space. Is that going to be safe to do, or should I be concerned about the extra weight of the battens/boards? They will weigh more than anything I'm going to store up there.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wisi248]

Does anyone have any ideas on this? I appreciate it has probably been asked loads before but I couldn't find the answer to my particular question when I looked.

Thanks

 

[Mutley56]

Hi there, I did this a couple of years ago. No problems since. I wouldn’t worry with light loads stored there. Pictures of job in progress but unfortunately not of the underlying timbers. Was able to double the insulation thickness under the boards. Also marked the run of the electrical cabling and ensured it wasn’t covered in insulation.
Mutley56

 

[Wisi248]

Hi Mutley,

Thanks for the reply. That's good to hear, looks good too! Did you do what I'm thinking of and cross lay the battens? I've heard of people adding battens to their existing joists and essentially doubling them in size.

 

[Mutley56]

I put down new timbers across the existing ceiling joists and secured them with Loads of brackets evenLy spaced and alternated either side of the timbers. Back filled with insulation. Pictures show one of the new timbers and a bracket with insulation pulled back. Pictures have rotated themselves. In shot is Also the loft hatch Frame so don’t confuse this with the boarding timbers.
Hope that helps.
Mutley56

 

[Wisi248]

Thanks Mutley, looks pretty much like what I have in mind for ours. Thanks for the help