Floor level is lower at the loft entrance compared to the storage area.
How to fit loft floor panels.
Other areas of this loft use space blanket.
Furthermore squashing insulation down to fit joist height is a bad idea as this halves it s effectiveness doubling your heat loss.
A floor in a loft conversion must be designed to carry a minimum of 150kg per square m.
Pir foam board kingspan insulation has been installed around the loft entrance.
320mm wide non moisture proof loft flooring panels allow easy insertion through a loft hatch.
You can still board directly on to the joists if you want but it is worth noting that this would not.
Your sub floor joists should be at 400mm centres meaning the edge of the boards always falls on a joist too.
Unlike plywood the edges of chipboard panels are meant to lock together in a tongue and groove style.
Despite this tight fit however the chipboard.
This ensures easy loft access.
Loft flooring panels like these have tongue and groove fittings a notch or groove along one length and one width then a tongue to fit into the groove along the other edges this gives a more secure joint than a straight edge would do.
As above where for loft flooring or loft storage the ceiling or loft floor is designed to carry only 25kg per square metre.
Creating greater load bearing capacity in the loft.
Loft boards and loft panels are a great basis for a loft conversion whether it ll be inhabited and used a bedroom for example or whether it ll be uninhabited and used for storage.
By installing a simple inexpensive loft board floor you no longer need to worry about stepping on battens or falling through the ceiling of the room below.
Below is an image of a loft entrance.
Step by step putting down boards to convert your loft into a usable storage space is a simple task which does not normally require any planning permission and should be affordable and manageable even for a diy beginner.
The best solution is to build a raised loft floor above the insulation details of which are shown below.
This makes for a tighter fit across the floor.
Continue to lay chipboard flooring across the joists for the rest of the floor ensuring the joints along the 600mm edges are staggered always avoid joining on the same joist wherever possible.