"David Hearn" wrote in message
...

"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



And if you cut to the length of the spacing of the joists, how much of each
board do you loose ? Quite a bit I'd imagine. So if you keep all the
tongue and grooves together, no matter where the joint ends up, you be able
to board out the whole loft, right up to edges, and it should all be strong
enough for you to use as storage space.

When one board ends up with an overlap on one joist, then the other board is
banged in against the edge of it, it will still have enough strength to take
the weight of an average bloke, even if the joint ends up in the middle of
the gap in the joists, because of the construction of the boards.

Try placing a board between a couple of bricks on the ground and then stand
on it in the middle. You should find that the board will quite happily take
your weight, not jumping up and down on it of course, but it should be able
to bend to a hell of a lot before you can break it.

Sorry. Flooring grade blockboard and flooring grade chipboard are one in
the same item.