Loft boarding for dummies

[TerrificEchidnaSpikes]

Prompted by my Facebook feed being inexplicably full of keenly-priced local loft-boarding offers which we are finding rather tempting as we are heartily sick of having all the suitcases, Christmas decorations, camping equipment, cat carriers, etc etc stuffed into what should be wardrobes for clothing.

Background - House is 1920s detached. I have never so much as peeped through the loft hatch despite living here for 9 years. However, based on the surveyor's report when we bought:

• Loft is totally not boarded
• There is loose roll-type insulation.
• There is no roofing felt, just naked tiles.
• Roof is original to house and will need replacement sooner rather than later.

DH has some kind of knee-jerk emotional trauma reaction every time I have said that we should budget for a new roof. But now he's saying that we simply must get the loft boarded for storage and is urging me to get in contact with some of these local companies.

So, questions:

• Main one is, is it even worth making loft storage when I know we will need to get the roof re-done at some point and meanwhile our stuff could get ruined by the weather?
• If we do go ahead, is it usual to board the whole loft or just part of it? The FB offers usually say e.g. 200 square feet or something. I can't envisage how that will work practically.

I got a new roof done first and then got one of those loft building companies. They didn't just board onto the rafters though, they built a wooden floor first and then boarded that.

I bought floor panels from B&Q and done it myself, not the whole space just enough for a bit of storage. it's pretty straight forward and you'll save a few quid

I mean you should be checking the loft anyway on a regular basis for water damage/ingress. For all you know your roof could be leaking water that is shortly about to start coming through your ceiling. Or having animals nesting in it. or have a horrible condensation problem.

The other thing is good loft insulation is one of the cheapest things you can do in terms of making the house more energy efficient. I would be looking to get a boarding solution that is consistent with the amount of loft insulation I would want - there are some solutions that raise the boards on stilts to improve the insulation depth.

I think it probably makes more sense to get your roof done first before you insulate and board. The reason is twofold. One you will have to move all the stuff out probably to have it re roofed. The other is that if there is damage to the roof and water is getting in anywhere it might damage your belongings and the boards/new insulation you might want to put in.

If you are happy with the roof as is maybe just store the stuff in there that you might normally store in a shed. So maybe stuff like tents and outdoor gear.

Maybe even if the new boarding and insulation gets wrecked by a poor quality leaking roof, it might not worry you that much as re roofing is bound to cost ££££ more than reboarding which will be trivial in comparison. So if you have to rip it all out in 5 years or so it wouldn't cost that much.

We had 100sqft boarding and a wooden ladder fitted for around £1k inc vat. The boarding is more than plenty for Xmas Decs, spare bedding, suitcases and other boxes. We fitted lights ourselves as there is a socket up there, we hung work lights to the apex that are plugged into a smart plug so we voice activate the lights on/off.
I was surprised when viewing how many houses didn't use their lofts for storage, we've always used it. In this house we moved the new boiler up there too which creates more space in the kitchen.

Defo worth it! But the dust (the DUST!) that is involved with a new roof is unreal. So, go ahead and board away. But everything that is stored there when the new roof goes on will need to be stored somewhere else during this time

I agree it would make more sense to do the new roof and then do the loft boarding. Problem is (apart from DH weird aversion to new roof) that we can easily find £1K to do a nice loft boarding, but it's very hard to find £10-15K to replace a roof.

You don't see the link between it costing £15K to do a new roof and your DH's aversion :) ?

I totally get that part but am questioning whether it's a waste of time/money/effort to board the loft first if we just end up having to redo everything.

Is this your forever home? Maybe don't get the roof if not. You could just get the storage done and cover all your stuff in a plastic cover.

No idea if it's a forever home! I didn't imagine we'd be here 9 years later, so maybe we'll never leave...