Hi everyone,
I have recently moved into a terraced house in the Cotswolds. It's got a small but usable loft (big enough to put a small desk and chair and some storage shelving in it). I've done a fair bit of DIY and carpentry in the past, along with electrical work etc. but it has all been in Cyprus where both the regulations and building construction are different.
My question is.. what do I need to do to board the loft, that includes both regulation stuff as well as basic process.
Is it a case of build up insulation so it's level with the ceiling rafters. Then simply nail/screw down chipboard loft boards on top of it. Then lay carpet. Can I use standard plasterboard sheets to cover the roof joists (diagonal wooden roof supports) by screwing/nailing them to the joists?
How do you ensure ventilation for the wood rafters/joists if the loft is boarded up for use as a room?
I will not be using the loft as a bedroom or anything, so does it need to be declared in any sort of planning permission or elsewhere? This is my first house in the UK so like I said, I thought I'd best check here as to the beuraucratic implications of boarding up a loft.
Am I allowed to wire it myself by running it upstairs on by taking a supply from one of the first floor sockets/lights circuits? There won't be any great demands up in the loft. Any ideas on how much an electrician would charge to sort out wiring for lights and a socket up in the loft? I don't have a problem paying them if it's going to be a good job and it needs a qualified electrician and they have to connect it on a dedicated circuit/breaker.
If it's a case of paying someone just to lay down some electrical cable and making two screw-down connections on either end then I can do that myself (if I'm allowed to by UK elfs an safety!)
Has anybody had any experience with these loft skylight kits that are sold to make installing a skylight easy? Are they any good? How easy ARE they to install and what's involved? I understand that planning permission will need to be applied for as I'm in a conservation area and it would alter the front of the house, but given that the house two doors down in the same terrace has a skylight in their loft suggests to me that permission will be granted.
Pavel
I have recently moved into a terraced house in the Cotswolds. It's got a small but usable loft (big enough to put a small desk and chair and some storage shelving in it). I've done a fair bit of DIY and carpentry in the past, along with electrical work etc. but it has all been in Cyprus where both the regulations and building construction are different.
My question is.. what do I need to do to board the loft, that includes both regulation stuff as well as basic process.
Is it a case of build up insulation so it's level with the ceiling rafters. Then simply nail/screw down chipboard loft boards on top of it. Then lay carpet. Can I use standard plasterboard sheets to cover the roof joists (diagonal wooden roof supports) by screwing/nailing them to the joists?
How do you ensure ventilation for the wood rafters/joists if the loft is boarded up for use as a room?
I will not be using the loft as a bedroom or anything, so does it need to be declared in any sort of planning permission or elsewhere? This is my first house in the UK so like I said, I thought I'd best check here as to the beuraucratic implications of boarding up a loft.
Am I allowed to wire it myself by running it upstairs on by taking a supply from one of the first floor sockets/lights circuits? There won't be any great demands up in the loft. Any ideas on how much an electrician would charge to sort out wiring for lights and a socket up in the loft? I don't have a problem paying them if it's going to be a good job and it needs a qualified electrician and they have to connect it on a dedicated circuit/breaker.
If it's a case of paying someone just to lay down some electrical cable and making two screw-down connections on either end then I can do that myself (if I'm allowed to by UK elfs an safety!)
Has anybody had any experience with these loft skylight kits that are sold to make installing a skylight easy? Are they any good? How easy ARE they to install and what's involved? I understand that planning permission will need to be applied for as I'm in a conservation area and it would alter the front of the house, but given that the house two doors down in the same terrace has a skylight in their loft suggests to me that permission will be granted.
Pavel
