Boarding the loft - need to reinforce floor?

[dogwoodinthegarden]

I'm in the final stages (fingers crossed!) of buying my first home, and I'd love to get the loft boarded ASAP upon completion because I really need the storage space. A friend has advised me that I might need to reinforce the floor, which could make it expensive. Does anyone know if this is usually necessary? Or how I could find out whether it is - would whoever I get to quote for this be able to tell me, or would I need to ask a structural engineer?

I've also read about DIY options for boarding the loft so I'd be happy to look into that but I'm not very experienced with DIY, and also concerned I wouldn't know what to look for in terms of whether the floor needs reinforcing or not. The loft would just be used for storage so I'm hoping it doesn't have to be too complicated.

Finally, I would ideally like to convert the loft eventually, but I won't be able to do this for at least 5 years and probably longer while I save up. Would this mean undoing whatever I've done to board the loft once the time comes? Guessing that's the case but I'd appreciate any thoughts on whether there's anything I should keep in mind regarding my future plans as I do this.

Do you mean reinforcing the beams?
I had an attic room done up which involved taking out an internal wall. This meant that the beams were able to flex over quite a long distance - like 3 or 4 metres. The builder reinforced the beams by bolting extra bits of wood to the sides of them. They still bounce a bit when you walk on them.

As far as converting in the future - it depends what you want to do. If you are planning on having a waterbed or bath up there then you should get a structural engineer to advise you, but if it is just going to be a bedroom or something then I can't see that you would need to re-board the floor as long as you take future plans into account when you do it now. As in, don't put down the minimum thickness boards if you will have to put thicker ones or extra over the top later on.

I would get a plasterer to do the walls if needed when you convert, but you could put up plasterboard yourself or leave bare bricks for now.

I don't think it is a very complicated job to board a loft, loads of advice on YouTube etc. You can buy specific loft boards that are narrow enough to go up through a hatch, but you could just use ordinary plywood.

If you're just using it for storing household things like christmas trimmings etc then you can get boarding kits at DIY shops and you really shouldn't need to reinforce the beams. This might be different if the house you're buying is very old or of unusual construction. The conversion is a way down the road so do you need to worry too much about that now?

Did you have a survey on the house you're buying? Could you call the surveyor and ask their opinions?

Thank you both - appreciate the advice. Good shout on asking the surveyor - will reach out to him!

Check the loft insulation before boarding, 270mm is the minimum recommended. Then the boarding needs to be above that. The loft will be cold in winter so be careful what you store there.

Yes, definitely look at getting as much insulation in as you can - put in more than the minimum if you can. If you are going to convert then you need it in the roof and it will be easier to put it in before any conversion works.

Hello, based on personal experience I believe this is highly necessary. I once had a friend who ignorantly opted not to reinforce his loft floor and ended up falling through and breaking his neck in 3 different places. Notice how I said 'had a friend'. He's not my friend anymore, I'm not friends with idiots. Unless you're a fool, reinforce it!