Thank you for the EXCELLENT video Mike - this was really helpful to me. I'm planning on adding boards to my loft in the next few weeks and will definitely follow your recommended method.
Good idea & concept. Why didn't you make the support legs 2" shorter & then use 2 x 2 " bearers? Instead of having to use self tapping screws that you have to pre-drill & countersink. Customers could then use all wood in longer lengths without having to cut aluminium. Let alone your tooling cost, extrusion cost, & cost of the aluminium! I'm sure there is a good reason. All the best.
+chris searis The metal bearers are cheaper than timber when produced in the quantities we need, they also overlap/interlock easliy when two bearers are required to sit on one leg making no fancy timber jointwork necessary. They are much lighter than timber which is a massive consideration for working in tight spaces for prolonged periods of time. You do not have to pre-drill the bearers, you can drive a screw straight through and the only thing that neds to be countersunk is the loft board itself, which you would need to do whatever it was sitting on. Hope this answers your questions.
Going through this thread and quite like the demo/product. Just wondering in what ways is this better than using loft legs. I'm assuming the aluminium bar kind of spreads the weight evenly across the joists and prevents point loading and damage to ceiling/joists. Is that correct ?
Yep, thats spot on Debanjan. Also with loft legs you have to be really precise with your placement an if the ceiling joists/rafters are even a tiny bit out of square it makes the installation quite trick and you can end up with gaps opening up between the boards. We were going to do a comparison video with loft legs but after an hour we threw them away, just no flexibility at all and going round the cold water tank was an absolute nightmare......Not under the tank I hasten to add, there should be no insulation placed under the cold tank.
I am an amateur DIY person. It all looks straight forward but what happens when there is no screw hole for where you want to position the aluminium beam going in to the support. It all conveniently fitted on your video. Are all loft beams the same distance apart then? I can see no problem with doing the end supports but it is matching up the middle support with the aluminium beam and the joists that worries me. What if the screw holes don't match up? I noticed there are not screw holes across the whole length of the aluminium beam. Hope this makes sense.
The screws make the holes in the beams Steven, it's not a case of matching them up, you just push the screws straight through them.This is one of the beauties of store floor, the beams give you a lot of flexibility so it is not a case (as it is with loft legs) of everything needing to be "matched up"
***** Yes Steven, the dark patches are slots intended for the screws and if the floor is set out as per instructions, the screws "should" go into these slots and into the plastic legs....However, it doesn't matter if they dont....BUT if they dont, double check to see why not.
More insulation in your loft keeps your home warmer in the winter cooler int the summer. Increase your loft storage and loft insulation #DIYDoctor buff.ly/169CaCF #Insulation #DIYVideo +LoftZone
Justin Wittock The point of the legs is to raise the floor the right amount to put the recommended amount of insulation + the required air gap. Lowering the legs would simply make the additional insulation much less effective.
hi just want to ask you if my joist not all on same height, because over the period of time some one told me, that some timber get slight bend so i am wondering how can i make sure that floor of loft is leveled properly. please help
+Vijay Patel At some point Vijay, to get a flat, level floor you will have to add packing pieces or somthing in the low areas to get things level. This is most easily done at the beginning by levelling up your ceiling rafters before you put the loft floor legs in. Have a look at our website page on levelling floor joists and this will give you the idea of what you need to do...Here is a link to our page on levelling floor joists www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/leveling_floor_joists.htm
No Glenn, as long as it is just for storge of suitcases etc. See this page for more info www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/loftstorage.htm If you are thinking of creating a room in the loft it would come under living accomodation and be subject to regs. See our project page on loft conversions to find out more www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/loft_conversions.htm
Thank you for the EXCELLENT video Mike - this was really helpful to me.
I'm planning on adding boards to my loft in the next few weeks and will definitely follow your recommended method.
Lou can come and fix my loft anytime!
Any tips for what to do around the loft hatch? Presumably you have to have a raised platform around the hatch?
Good idea & concept. Why didn't you make the support legs 2" shorter & then use 2 x 2 " bearers? Instead of having to use self tapping screws that you have to pre-drill & countersink. Customers could then use all wood in longer lengths without having to cut aluminium. Let alone your tooling cost, extrusion cost, & cost of the aluminium! I'm sure there is a good reason. All the best.
+chris searis The metal bearers are cheaper than timber when produced in the quantities we need, they also overlap/interlock easliy when two bearers are required to sit on one leg making no fancy timber jointwork necessary. They are much lighter than timber which is a massive consideration for working in tight spaces for prolonged periods of time. You do not have to pre-drill the bearers, you can drive a screw straight through and the only thing that neds to be countersunk is the loft board itself, which you would need to do whatever it was sitting on. Hope this answers your questions.
Going through this thread and quite like the demo/product. Just wondering in what ways is this better than using loft legs. I'm assuming the aluminium bar kind of spreads the weight evenly across the joists and prevents point loading and damage to ceiling/joists. Is that correct ?
Yep, thats spot on Debanjan. Also with loft legs you have to be really precise with your placement an if the ceiling joists/rafters are even a tiny bit out of square it makes the installation quite trick and you can end up with gaps opening up between the boards. We were going to do a comparison video with loft legs but after an hour we threw them away, just no flexibility at all and going round the cold water tank was an absolute nightmare......Not under the tank I hasten to add, there should be no insulation placed under the cold tank.
I am an amateur DIY person. It all looks straight forward but what happens when there is no screw hole for where you want to position the aluminium beam going in to the support. It all conveniently fitted on your video. Are all loft beams the same distance apart then? I can see no problem with doing the end supports but it is matching up the middle support with the aluminium beam and the joists that worries me. What if the screw holes don't match up? I noticed there are not screw holes across the whole length of the aluminium beam. Hope this makes sense.
The screws make the holes in the beams Steven, it's not a case of matching them up, you just push the screws straight through them.This is one of the beauties of store floor, the beams give you a lot of flexibility so it is not a case (as it is with loft legs) of everything needing to be "matched up"
Oh okay. Those dark markings on the aluminium bars looked like holes for the screws and the lady screwed right through them too.
*****
Yes Steven, the dark patches are slots intended for the screws and if the floor is set out as per instructions, the screws "should" go into these slots and into the plastic legs....However, it doesn't matter if they dont....BUT if they dont, double check to see why not.
More insulation in your loft keeps your home warmer in the winter cooler int the summer. Increase your loft storage and loft insulation #DIYDoctor buff.ly/169CaCF #Insulation #DIYVideo +LoftZone
losing a lot of vertical space there. do you have smaller tri-supports?
Justin Wittock The point of the legs is to raise the floor the right amount to put the recommended amount of insulation + the required air gap. Lowering the legs would simply make the additional insulation much less effective.
Boarding your loft to allow greater insulation buff.ly/1jhmTu5 #DiyDoctor #LoftZone
hi just want to ask you if my joist not all on same height, because over the period of time some one told me, that some timber get slight bend so i am wondering how can i make sure that floor of loft is leveled properly. please help
+Vijay Patel At some point Vijay, to get a flat, level floor you will have to add packing pieces or somthing in the low areas to get things level. This is most easily done at the beginning by levelling up your ceiling rafters before you put the loft floor legs in. Have a look at our website page on levelling floor joists and this will give you the idea of what you need to do...Here is a link to our page on levelling floor joists www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/leveling_floor_joists.htm
Do you need to get building regs to board out your loft??
No Glenn, as long as it is just for storge of suitcases etc. See this page for more info www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/loftstorage.htm If you are thinking of creating a room in the loft it would come under living accomodation and be subject to regs. See our project page on loft conversions to find out more www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/loft_conversions.htm