Boards in the attic - any tips?

[emkaren]

We want to put boards down in the attic to gain some much needed storage space. We're just not sure if the attic needs reinforcing for that - how can I tell if it's strong enough? We just want to store things like suitcases and baby stuff - and dozens of dh's car magazines...
Does anybody have any tips or experiences they could share with me? Would be much appreciated!
Oh, another thing: do you think it's easy enough to diy it, or would you get a builder in?

If your loft needs reinsulating, do it at the same time. If it needs reinsulating, get someone else to do it as it's messy and horrible. Also, have a think as to whether the upstairs lighting is OK as it's probably easier to sort this before a floor goes down.

You could always get a builder in to give you a quote and he'l tell you if it needs reinforcing or not. There is some way to tell based on the width of the joists but I can't remember what it is I'm afraid.

This is on our list of things to do and we'd get someone to come and do it although I think it's actually a fairly simple job for a competant DIYer.

you can buy special boards from diy places for around £5. theyr'e quite big.

Measure the distance apart between your beams. If they are standard you will find that the loft boards sold in DIY stores fit across them exactly and minimizes the need for cutting. The boards are tongue and groove edge and just fit together so you don't have to nail or screw them down or do any joining. If your beams are an odd distance apart the boards will have to be trimmed so that they meet in the middle of a beam. Stagger the rows of boards (like the way bricks are laid) as this adds to the strength. As long as your timbers are in good condition they should be strong enough to support the weight. (I guess if the house is really old or something you might have to check but most houses built in the 20th century were built with the expectation that people would be likely to use them for storage space.)

DH put boards down in our loft... he says "Just use chipboard", and if you have heavy items to store, try to put them over supporting walls or at least joists. In practice this means that our boxes of stuff in the loft tend to be arranged in lines & rows.

I'm getting a DIY chap in - he isn't boarding the whole loft (very big space) but about the same size floor space as a large double bedroom plus putting a proper loft ladder in for about £200 VAT inc