So many people neglect their lofts, but if treated correctly, they offer a lot of additional space that you should try to utilise to make the most out of your home.
Loft storage is possible in almost all houses, enabling you to stash away boxes, Christmas decorations and much more. If done properly, you can transform your unusable loft into a safe and accessible storage space in your home. But to facilitate this, you’re going to need to make sure it has the infrastructure to support it.
Sort out the flooring
The first step to making the most of your loft space is ensuring it is boarded effectively. There are numerous options available, but a raised loft board system will add up to 50% more floor space to your home, allowing you to really make the most of your loft space.
Loft flooring and boarding solutions give you access to practical space in your own home. As well as adding value to your home, raised loft boards are more robust than just placing traditional plywood over your insulation, allowing you to store belongings on it more safely.
Raised loft boards are suitable for almost all lofts, new and old, and can be professionally installed or bought as a DIY kit to do yourself. Once installed, you’ll start benefiting from extra, organised storage space immediately.
Understanding the importance of insulation in your loft
Lofts are a significant contributor to heat loss in the home. Therefore, it’s vital to have loft insulation to help keep your home cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Traditional loft boarding works by squashing or entirely removing the insulation beneath it. When you compress insulation with standard boards, you halve the benefits, and it can cause moisture buildup and dampness.
Raised loft boarding instead works by lifting the boards above the joists, allowing your insulation to work effectively while protecting any wiring and pipes. This works to reduce heat loss in your home and subsequently increases your energy savings. Raised loft boarding also creates an air gap that provides ventilation to prevent condensation.
Loft insulation should be checked every few years to ensure it is covering the correct depth and working well. If your boarding has been squashing it, there’s a good chance it’s not working optimally, and you may wish to substitute it for new thicker insulation before boarding your loft.
Accessing your loft
Suppose you’re planning on using your new loft space on a more regular basis. In that case, it might be worth enlarging the opening or installing a more convenient access ladder or stairway to make it easier to get in and out of the loft.
If you’re using your loft as a place to store your belongings, you must have some form of light to help illuminate the area when rifling through your storage, looking for the suitcase you were sure you put up there a year ago.
You can achieve this in a number of ways, either by adding windows or skylights to allow for natural light to make the space brighter and more inviting. However, this isn’t always an option for every home, so for a cheaper alternative, you could instead invest in automatic LED lighting to prevent you from feeling around in the darkness with a flashlight ever again.
Make it a functional space
After you are comfortable knowing your loft is energy efficient and easy to operate, next you can start looking at making the loft a more functional space. This doesn’t necessarily mean turning it into a bedroom or office but ensuring it works to fit its purpose.
If you have a trussed-roof loft, you can get additional storage space out of your loft by installing shelves that fit between the trusses. These shelves slot into place and can easily be installed yourself with screws included.
They are ideal at allowing for further storage space where you typically would not be able to place any items. If you invest in some clear boxes with lids, you can utilise the loft’s verticality by stacking these along the shelves.
Now that you’re equipped with these four tips, you should have some ideas on how to give your loft a new lease for life.