How to Board a Loft | ADVICE | Homebuilding 

"Lucy's hats and scarves" clearly contained CDs. Bloody kids eh? Otherwise great video :-)

I’m just about to floor my loft, and I’m tremendously grateful for such a clear, straightforward and easy to follow video. Thanks!

If you intend to use a downlight cover cap and actually seal it into place (not seen them sealed into place before tbh) surely you should also include the wiring connector block and/or the transformer. If you don't, you won't be able to easily maintain or replace the lamp unit(s) from below, you would have to do so from the loft only and will therefore have to pull up the flooring and tear out the seal(s).

I really appreciate you guys explaining this, making something daunting much less scary that I originally felt it was. My house is only 2 bedrooms, and with my 4 years olds toys constantly increasing causing utter chaos after every christmas, i now feel i have the confidence to attempt this in the crawl space above my kitchen and in the main loft. Thank you 👌✌👋🤜💪

Saved. Straightforward explanation and no faffing. Perfect example of an instructional RU-vid video.

Wow, I've never heard or ever seen this way of boarding out a loft before, it's definitely given me food for thought, I knew the that the boards had to be a certain thickness for H&S purposes, but never seen this way of boarding out before, many thanks for this video it's definitely helped me alot, 👍👍👍

Great to see such a helpful, precise and well detailed turorial, Brilliant!

drink every time he says loft

what a great instructional video. kudos to the director.

Uffff, who put books inside Lucy's hats + scarves box? scandalous :P Great video guys.

If you want to fully floor the loft, raise the height to suit the insulation depth by laying, lapping lengths of treated timbers across the trusses, screw down to fix. Then lay & screw down square edged 25mm treated sarking the opposite way. This way you get the whole roof. Just check out sarking around truss/rafter intersections. Sarking is much easier to lift & access for future fittings like light cables, junction boxes, mains smoke detectors, water pipes or instal any of the aforementioned at a later date. It will give ever so slightly underfoot but it is the better solution. Keep the sarking to easy manageable lengths in order to lift. Form an apron with plywood around the loft hatch to finish neet to the sarking. The loft ladder can be fitted & stored better as well. Mark up services on the sarking surface that are underneath the sarking using an indelible heavy marker pen for future reference. I’ve done this in all the houses that I’ve bought/sold & lived in plus others. It helps distribution of the loads as well.

I wish my loft only had 2 suitcases and a box in it! 😳 going to take me a week just to empty it!

I think you should explain WHY you have to do this i.e. moist warm air comes through from below and will damage the joists as it gets trapped if you don't use loftlegs. A lot of people don't understand and simply board over cramming all the insulation in.

When I moved house I labelled my boxes in code. C1, C2, C3 were clothes box 1,2 and 3. Kitchen stuff was K1, K2, K3. You get the idea. Then I made a list on my phone of contents and which box to find them in. Not only did I know to put K boxes into kitchen when I moved, but I know which box to find to get the red mugs. And even then when I use the box for something else, my spreadsheet is updates to say job interview clothes are in K4 :) basically a mini warehouse system except the codes aren't necessarily logical but they sont have to be if you log your stock properly :)

VERY HELPFUL TO SEE IT DONE. THANKS

At 6:22 that board on the right is barely supported, sitting right on the edge of the leg.

Aren't the joints meant to be staggered for more strength?

That was a very clear tutorial...thanks!

Great easy to follow video! I think I’ll save myself a few hundred and do it myself following this!

Good Tutorial video for the Diy people very good. Justin @ Brickright 👍👍

Fab instructions, helped me do my first loft boarding. 👍👍

£60 of loft legs to do 2-3 sqm?! Ouch.

Super helpful video! Thank you

You should add some affiliate links for all the products you suggest :) Great video thanks

Very useful video. Thanks

Really good video - cheers! Given me more confidence to have a go and will check out your products to help me.

quick question. after using the loft stilts. the will be a raised gab between the loft entrance and the new raised loft floor (where you'll see the insulation) how does one cover the sides of the loft entrance as I don't see a way you could attach side panels to the stilts. do you have a video or could you explain how to do that.

Are you not creating point loads by using those legs?

I noticed the boards weren't arranged in a staggered formation in this video, but I've been told that a staggered formation is critical. Could you provide your view on this formation please?

I'm doing it today... don't forget to pre-install screws (little bit) into loft leg, it will save you a lot of time working in the loft.

This is a very useful and easy to follow video. Much appreciated!

Yeah I think I will get a man in :)

Such a great video, thank you :)

I did my loft with Loft Legs and (Touch Wood) all ok, but I have one question? I laid my boards down in the same manner across the truss but, cascaded like a brick pattern... is this ok?

Make sure the loft is well lit...so you can see the massive house spiders poised to drop down the back of your neck or run up your arm. From experience.

What if your loft isn’t big enough to use loft legs?.

Help advise please. Moved into new house 2023 im wanting to floor the loft can this be done and what problems could ventilation problems can occur if done? Do you have to use loft legs??

Can I screw the boards directly to the joist or do I need loft legs

Any one check if the truss cords are load bearing ones as some are not, most in fact are not unless speced when ordered.

Sorry but it looks like Lucys hats and scarves have been stolen and replaced with dvds?

My loft ladder folds and stores on top of the access hatch. How much unraised space should I leave around the hatch for initial access before raising the floor?.

This is a really helpful video and answers a lot of my questions. What is the best way to finish off where the insulation and loft boards come up against the loft hatch to create a neat finish whilst making it possible to easily get into the loft from the ladder?

Will the warranty be voided in new built?HNBC

Hi, how strong are these legs and what are they made of? Can a quite heavy person (106kg) walk safely on such a floor?

Do you need need to stagger the boards to make it stronger to walk on or does it no matter?

This is more of a comment on the insulation than the loft legs. It’s correct that to use loft lids over the lights in the room below. Surely though it’s important not to bury cables in insulation. This can cause cabling to over heat.

What products should I look for in the USA?

nice video

Nice one! Wish me luck!

HELP! If joists are 600mm why are loft boards 1220mm!! It makes no sense - the joins will not meet at the joists. What is the solution here please?

If the loft is already insulated and the insulation is flat with the floor joists, do you still need to use the loft legs? or can you screw the boards straight onto the joists?

Do you really need loft legs? My loft already has insulation... Not as thick as here but I have no problems with heat in my house and if I put loft legs in I think I'd be taking alot of head height away... Can I just lay boards onto my joists that are already there?... P.s this is purely for storage... Thanks in advance

Is there a reason that there is no mention of the added benefit of staggering the placement of the boards and also lining the tongue and groove with wood glue? I’m halfway through my loft project and a builder made a mention of this. Also, can someone tell me that it is absolutely ok to walk on the boards once installed in this way? I’m installing 1220x320x18mm loft boards over joists that are 600mm apart.

So is it not recommended to screw the boards directly to the trusses? Do you have to raise the floor?

Do the boards not need to be connected in a staggered fashion? I read that not doing that causes weakness at the joins? Hoping to loft leg board my loft any help would be great!

Our loft has two different height levels. The original part of the house has a lower joist height and joist span than the extension part, which has taller joists. Should I not bother with the loft legs and just board each section and having two heights?

How much will the cost ?

i dont really get why you need loft legs?i’m an electrician and I don’t recall ever having been in a loft that has loft legs fitted.the boarding just gets screwed straight onto the top of the joists

Cheers for the video! What kind of weight can you place on the boards. I've got loads of vinyl, dj equipment I could do with storing. Thanks

I am interested in flooring my loft area as shown in the video. My loft has ‘fink’ style roof trusses. The existing insulation in my loft is barely as high as the bottom chord (a few inches) so additional insulation will be required to achieve the recommended depth. I have purchased new insulation but noticed on the packaging that it advises that one should not cover electric cables as doing so could cause additional heat and lead to fire. I have existing (flat grey) electric cables running along the bottom chord (where the loft legs will attach) part of the roof trusses, do you have any advice on what to do in this situation? Obviously safety is my main concern and would not like to do anything that might jeopardise that.

Hi, so we have quite an old house and the joists are only 30cm apart. Should I put the legs on every joist (30cm apart) or every other (i.e 60cm apart) joist? Using 320mm x 1220mm boards. Thanks!

How much HH did you loose?

Maybe you can help me. I am currently doing my loft and the middle is done now. Roof legs are brilliant. I would like to board the sides too though. However on my roof every single frame has that diagonal bracing. I have checked videos and pictures and have seen that usually it is not like that. I'd like to remove one each side to be able to crawl through easier. However as I am not an architect I am not sure if that could cause any harm at all. I'd think those were used when they put the roof structure in place 15 years ago and now it is not really needed but want to be absolutely sure. Just don't know who could help me to confirm :) I am talking about the bracing that is visible around the end of the video when that additional shelf like is being fitted. If you could asnwer this that would be greatly appreciated! In return a lazy DIYer tip: I prepared all the legs with the four screws in my garage, made it way easier to fit them while I was balancing on the frame trying not to kneel through my plasterboard ceiling :) Ahh yes and putting screws at the very last frame on the wall side is a bit of a challenge but a ratchet does the trick ;)

how much weight can it hold without damaging the celing

I'm using 14mm mdf. Would I need to double this up for it to be sturdy enough? My insulation is flush with the joists so could I just put the mdf straight down or would this cause issues in the future?

I’d rather cross batten with 4x2 and cover that rather than having a 45cm high floor.

Doesnt adding weight to the joists cause them to sag?

Superb

This is just an ad for Loft leg products, so I can't trust anything you say because you're just trying to sell something I don't need. Why would I want to put the boards onto "loft legs" and lose almost 1ft in height? Just put the boards directly on the joists.

The Northern Vince Vaughan

Done everything as on yours video. After 3 days all boards were wet from underside. Condensation between the loft,insulation and boards. Video doesnt tell the true.

I did find this helpful but one thing is not right. the box in the loft with a note saying Lucy hats & scarfs . its full of C.D,s. Someone needs to get her told.put it in the proper box.

We all know a tidy loft never lasts long

Should there be a gap between boards and insulation for any air flow?

lose a lot of head height with this method don t you think

That's an ad

Why do we need goggles for this job? I could understand if sawing open a loft hatch from below, but I'm confused about when else they would be relevant.

Is this something a novice could do themselves? And when I say novice I mean I can barely put a shelf up. Great video though and seems straight forward enough

I don't understand the benefits of this. Looks like waste of money to me