"BigWallop" wrote in message
...

"David Hearn" wrote in message
...

"BigWallop" wrote in message
...

snipped
the ceiling and the new loft floor into a sealed unit with the
existing
insulation still between it.

The reasoning for not boarding right to the edges is two fold. The
boarding
is mainly for storage, and storage at the edges would be difficult to
access
(plus loading may be an issue when its in the middle of the spans - not
boarding saves me thinking I can put things on it!). The edges form a
significant proportion of the loft area, which means I could do it quite
cheaply if I just boarded the area I would store in. Of course, if the
area
I'm boarding is a small proportion, then the insulation benefits from it
wouldn't be so great.

Depending on the cost of the boarding, I may well board it all (or the
vast
majority).

The small packs I have already (2 packs of 3) say they're designed for
45cm
spacings. As I've got 30cm gaps (which should work out to be 35cm
centre
spacing), these would probably have to have a proportion trimmed off of
each, which would be wasted. I'm hoping to go for large boards and cut
them
to an appropriate size for my spacing. This should be cheaper than
using
pre-cut boards - shouldn't it? Any idea of the normal size of these
boards,
and their relevant costs (18mm thickness - unless I can get away with
less
as I'm using 35mm spacings rather than 45?)? I'll look at our new "The
Timber Store" which has recently opened in Guildford - hopefully that'll
be
cheaper than B&Q etc.

I've got a jigsaw which I expect I could use to cut down these sheets
(probably using a bar to aid as a straight edge). The other option I
have
is to invest in a circular saw - though I'd prefer to keep costs as low
as
possible. Do you think a jigsaw would be up to it?

Thanks for everyone's advice - its been very useful!

But if you use flooring grade blockboard, then the spacing in the joists
doesn't matter because the tongue and groove style means they fit together
anyway. As long as the tongue is in the groove of the other board next to
it, then the boards will take the wait of someone walking on them. So all
you're really cutting off is the end of a full row of boards. That's the
beauty of this type flooring system.

I take it that flooring grade blockboard is not the same as flooring grade
chipboard? From what I've read about the chipboard, the boards must join
over a joist? This would require cutting 27cm off a 8' board. Is this
actually the case with 18mm chipboard T&G flooring? If so, that would be
great. The flooring does have T&G on the short edge, not just the long
edge.

Thanks

D