Wondering how to increase or maximise your loft space? This guide gives you some simple, actionable tips that actually work!
The loft space is a hugely overlooked area of most homes, offering massive potential to declutter the habitable rooms below.
There are several factors to consider when looking to use your loft for storage. Including, correctly and safely boarding the loft, ensuring there is the correct level of insulation in the loft, improving the storage area and using the right tools.
Before deciding that your loft is too small, doesn’t have the required height or is unusable read on for ways to get the most out of every inch.
Creating and Maximising Loft Space
Firstly create a plan of your loft by measuring the available area and taking note of the head heights throughout. In modern homes with trussed roofs the usable area may be restricted to the central third of the loft where the head height permits movement up and down the loft. If there are areas that are accessible but have restricted head height do not discount them, include them in the plan.
Once complete, the plan will allow you to calculate the total storage area that can be achieved, identify hidden gems, as well as a better understanding of how to use and organise the space when created.
The loft plan will allow you to calculate the number of loft boards or chipboard sheets to use to create the floor of the storage area. If, like most home owners in the UK, you have mineral wool or quilt insulation, you will need to raise the boards above this to prevent it from being compressed. Current government guidelines recommended at least 270mm of quilt insulation (to acheive a U value of 0.16 W/m2 K) however some new build homes install much deeper insulation.
To raise the boards above insulation simply use our simple to install Loft Legs. You can calculate the number of legs required using the handy Loft Leg calculator (www.loftleg.com/loftleg).
Once boarded correctly, and safely, you’ll have plenty of room to store your occasional use items. You may also have access to previously unusable spaces.
Using the loft plan look at how you will organise the new space. Put all of your items into boxes with lids, group them into categories and place similar boxes close together. Locate regularly used items close to the loft hatch and rarely used items towards the back of the loft.
Adding as many shelves as possible between trusses (where applicable) gives you even more storage space and can make everything even easier to access. Our Loft Ledges make this step easy.
Use hanging rods and other tools to hang as many of your stored items as possible to maximise the potential of the vertical space. This frees up loft space on the floor.
Check here for more ways to maximise storage space.
Where to Get Help Maximising Your Loft Space
Storage space is a growing concern for many UK homeowners who want to remain in their homes and effectively use every inch of them.
Measuring then boarding your loft properly is a great first step. It helps you to know how much potential space you have and can help you maximise the available floor and shelf space. The next step is to organise and store everything in a methodical manner to make best use of the available space.
Having the right tools helps with every job, and that includes maximising your loft space. .
We have a variety of products designed specifically for this purpose, to help with boarding above insulation, shelving, using available floor space, and more.
Browse our range of loft products and contact us today for more information.