Over the weekend my Dad and I finished off the little project that we started two weeks ago. Two weeks ago we had managed to get about half of the area insulated and covered with floorboards.
Having practised two weeks ago, the process of laying the insulation and floorboards was a whole lot quicker. By the end of the Saturday we had completed the outer part of the loft. Even after having to negotiate over our water pipes.
On Sunday, we began the day by moving the light switch to the rafter just above the hatch. This was a pretty simple job. The trickiest part of the job was getting the wires back into their respective places in the switch and the junction box.
Once the lights were back on we pressed on with laying the insulation and putting down more floorboards. We had saved the trickiest part till last, boarding around the loft hatch. The problem that we had was how to board over the water pipes that had been routed near to the hatch.
After some thought my Dad and I decided that stepping the floor up in this area would be the best thing, as we needed to make it strong enough to mount the loft ladder. We measured hatch and then my Dad cut the floorboards to size while I fixed the batons around the water pipes to create the step. Once the batons were in place we fitted the floorboards to them, and it all fitted together, which was a relief.
After installing the floorboards we fitted the loft ladder which would give us easier access to the loft. This was a fairly straightforward job, the only problem was that there were not enough screws in the pack. That’s always the way though isn’t it? After a couple of minutes trying to find suitable replacements the ladder was installed.
The loft is now finished, with the exception of modifying the loft hatch, which we’ll try to do before Christmas. We need to attach some hinges so that we can open it from the landing, instead of having to use the step-ladder.
Thanks again to my Dad for all his help. I’m sure it would have taken me ten times as long without it.
