"Dundonald" wrote in message
ps.com...
....
Thanks Colin, this is a good suggestion. My only concern is if the
batten would be strong enough to take full bodyweight if one were to
stand and put full pressure on that end of the board.

That will primarily depend on how you fix it. Large diameter screws at about
six inch intervals would be more than adequate IMO. I never use nails in a
loft, as I have alway lived in places with lath and plaster ceilings, which
tend to dislike you hammering above them and express their dislike by
dropping into the room below. I do, however, recoomend an electric
screwdriver if you are doing a large area that way.

I obviously have spare bits of floor board that I've cut so if I do
choose this method I could use pieces of them for the battens, though
they're not particularly wide.

They only need to be half the width of a joist to give the same support as
you would get by trimming the floorboards back.

Colin Bignell