Loft Boarding
Boards screwed straight onto the joists squash whatever is underneath them. You gain storage and quietly lose insulation performance in the rooms below. Raised boarding gives you both.
- Raised leg system
- Full insulation depth kept
- Stable storage deck
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What it involves
This is the job most people get wrong, usually because someone quoted them for the cheap version. A joist is typically 100mm deep. Current insulation depth is around 270-300mm. Put a board straight on the joist and you have just compressed 300mm of wool into 100mm of space.
The insulation does not recover. You get a floor and a colder bedroom.
Why a direct-to-joist board is a false economy
Compressed insulation loses most of its value, and it loses it exactly where you have put the boards, which is usually the middle of the loft over the main bedrooms.
It is also invisible. Nothing looks wrong from below, so the first sign is a room that never quite warms up and a bill that has not moved.
Raising the deck on legs costs a bit more and solves it completely: the boards sit clear, the wool underneath stays at full depth, and the floor is stronger for it.
How the job runs
Start to finish
- Free surveyWe check the joist depth, the insulation depth, the hatch, the head height and where you actually want to be able to walk and store.
- Insulation sorted firstThere is no point boarding over insulation that needs replacing. If it does, we price both so you can see it in one number.
- Raised legs set inFixed through the insulation onto the joists, at the spacing the span needs, so the deck is level and solid underfoot.
- Boards downFitted across the legs, the hatch and walkway left clear, and the offcuts and packaging taken away with us.
The price covers
What is in, and what is not
Both halves matter. A quote that lists everything and excludes nothing is usually hiding the extras until the invoice.
Included
- Raised leg system so the insulation is never compressed
- Tongue and groove boarding across the raised deck
- Insulation checked and topped to depth beneath the platform
- Hatch and walkway kept clear
- Waste and offcuts removed
Not included
- Loft ladders, hatch enlargement or lighting, which we can quote alongside
- Anything structural — if the joists will not take a floor, we will say so
Evidence-led work
Recent jobs, start to finish
Spray Foam Removal · SheffieldSpray Foam Removal in Sheffield: 50m² Loft Restored50m² · Five working days
Loft Insulation · ManchesterLoft Insulation in Manchester: 100m² Reinsulated to 300mm100m² · Two days- Loft Boarding · PrestonLoft Boarding in Preston: 74m² of Storage Without Crushing the Insulation74m² · Three days
Damp Proofing · ManchesterDamp Proofing in Manchester: Entrance Hall Taken Back and Replastered
Spray Foam Removal · BournemouthSpray Foam Removal in Bournemouth: Roof Reopened and Reinsulated
Loft Insulation · LeedsLoft Insulation in Leeds: Old Insulation Out, 300mm In, 15m² Boarded
Loft Boarding · NottinghamLoft Insulation and Boarding in Nottingham: Raised Deck Over New Wool
FAQs
The things everyone asks
Can I not just screw boards onto the joists?
You can, and it is cheaper on the day. It also squashes the insulation underneath down to joist depth and undoes a good part of what that insulation was doing. We will not fit it that way.
How much of the loft should I board?
Usually less than people first ask for. Boarding the area you will genuinely use, around the hatch, keeps the cost down and leaves the rest of the loft working as insulation.
Will it take proper weight?
A raised deck on legs is stronger than boards on bare joists, because the load spreads across more of the structure. It is storage, not a room, and we will tell you at survey if the joists are not up to it.
How long does it take?
Most boarding jobs are one to three days depending on the area and whether the insulation is being done at the same time.
Our other services
Free survey, and a price in writing
No obligation, no doorstep sales. If we are not the right people for the job, we will tell you that instead.