The conventional method is to use chipboard, however I don't like the idea of losing access to the void without pulling up the whole floor.
In a victorian house the floorboards were 7" x 1" PAR timber which made access a dream.
7" x 1" seems very expensive, and more expensive per sq.m than decking which will also have been treated.Are there affordable sources of 7" x 1" or should I just go for decking!!??
Buy chipboard & a circular saw?
Look at gravel boards - 6x1 IIRC. Used one to replace a damaged floorboard in a 20s house
Malcolm
To add to this post.
Just plane the bottom side of the groove off, push the tongue into the first board and then drop the back over the tongue of the second - just leave the screws out of the board that that the tongue in fitting into to give you a bit of leeway. Always works for me.
Also. if things are a bit tight, and the floor is being covered with carpet (or suchlike), simply cut the tongue off the board as well as the back, bottom shoulder of the groove and drop the board into place and screw down.
Cash
What do you do with the lagging which must, if like mine be deeper than the void.
Brian
I do not like the idea of chipboard for boarding out the loft. This is because when having a clear out of my shed I chucked some chipboard offcuts onto a small bonfire and they burnt rapidly even though some were damp. Or was this just rubbish chipboard? Robbie
I used CB from Wickes as it's (was? - needs checking) water-resistant (remarkably so IME) then took off part of the T&G to make it liftable. Apart from cables under the floor (best to avoid having those if possible) the main fire-risk in a loft is from below. By the time a fire in a bedroom is through to the loft you're either out or dead.
Mine's only 75mm, but the board adds a bit and stops percolation. I might tack 35mm on top and use 100mm Celotex; more would be better but I'm already in negative headroom territory.
Would plain chipboard really be strong enough? I'm trying to avoid any T&G variety.
Mine currently has very little, so not a problem!!
Not sure, but the flooring stuff from Wickes had a very hard surface (countersink didn't like it) and a piece about 18"x24" supported about 18" apart deflected only a little under my weight (about 85kg). I decided to try it before doing the loft in collapsible flooring!
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