Building My First Raised Loft, Advice Needed

[AlphaAl]

Hi lads, I'm just drawing up plans for my new & first racing loft & trying to figure out things in my head. It will be up on blocks. So I'm going to build a 3 x 2 frame paint it with some sort of wood preservative sit it on the blocks, were its touching the blocks I'm going to put damp proof under the frame. Then I'll be screwing wbp plywood probs 3 quarter inch to the frame, this will be my floor. Im wondering do I need to or should I paint the under side if the ply with wood preservative ?? Their will be air flow under neat as I will be putting vents in the block work. Any tips or advice on building a raised loft would be great cheers, ill try and get a pic up of my design

Al

[Guest chad3646]

Hi lads, I'm just drawing up plans for my new & first racing loft & trying to figure out things in my head. It will be up on blocks. So I'm going to build a 3 x 2 frame paint it with some sort of wood preservative sit it on the blocks, were its touching the blocks I'm going to put damp proof under the frame. Then I'll be screwing wbp plywood probs 3 quarter inch to the frame, this will be my floor. Im wondering do I need to or should I paint the under side if the ply with wood preservative ?? Their will be air flow under neat as I will be putting vents in the block work. Any tips or advice on building a raised loft would be great cheers, ill try and get a pic up of my design

Al

 

 

i dont think you would need to paint underside of floor ,but if you have plenty of preservative

 

why not

[andy Burgess]

i have built up in the past Al and had "block towers" not continous , with mesh inserts , so the air could flow beneath .if i were to do it again , i would paint beneath with black bitumous paint , will preserve and keep out and any damp. good luck.

[AlphaAl]

i have built up in the past Al and had "block towers" not continous , with mesh inserts , so the air could flow beneath .if i were to do it again , i would paint beneath with black bitumous paint , will preserve and keep out and any damp. good luck.

 

 

Yeah some of it will be up on block towers & have wood pannels with vents in between that I can open & close to store stuff underneat like baths & stuff. But that's a good idea with the bitumen never thaught of that, cheers

[hotrod]

A wee tip from a joiner here , do the base frame in 4x2 instead of 3x2. Bouncing floor, , plus sheet the floor in 18 or 22 mm thick t@g chip board flooring 8x2 the treated stuff that means it does not need to be painted ,the big plus when scraping out it doesn't tear the veneer if it was ply , trust me , oh and the base frame get the tantalised / treated timber then you wouldn't need to paint that either . Also if you catch the strong winds where you are / the loft is anchor the loft down , the way I would recommend is when setting out your concrete blocks dig out a foundation approx 12/14 inches down and insert steel angle iron into the found at the four corners and fix the loft to this steel . Good luck

[AlphaAl]

A wee tip from a joiner here , do the base frame in 4x2 instead of 3x2. Bouncing floor, , plus sheet the floor in 18 or 22 mm thick t@g chip board flooring 8x2 the treated stuff that means it does not need to be painted ,the big plus when scraping out it doesn't tear the veneer if it was ply , trust me , oh and the base frame get the tantalised / treated timber then you wouldn't need to paint that either . Also if you catch the strong winds where you are / the loft is anchor the loft down , the way I would recommend is when setting out your concrete blocks dig out a foundation approx 12/14 inches down and insert steel angle iron into the found at the four corners and fix the loft to this steel . Good luck

 

 

Some good advice their, so I think I will use the 4x2 treated for floor frame. I shouldn't need to anchor it down, as I'm using my 2 block garden side walls & back wall, so basically just building a front & a roof, none of my internal fittings or nest boxs etc will be touching either walls, cause I'll be putting 2x1 with damp proof on the walls first & screw fittings to that so wil have air flow around the whole loft. With the floor I was thinking of putting lino on top of ply floor ? Would the t@g not hold dirt in the groove ?

[andy Burgess]

Some good advice their, so I think I will use the 4x2 treated for floor frame. I shouldn't need to anchor it down, as I'm using my 2 block garden side walls & back wall, so basically just building a front & a roof, none of my internal fittings or nest boxs etc will be touching either walls, cause I'll be putting 2x1 with damp proof on the walls first & screw fittings to that so wil have air flow around the whole loft. With the floor I was thinking of putting lino on top of ply floor ? Would the t@g not hold dirt in the groove ?

a friend has lino in his loft (was ex-canary house) ,and i certainly wouldnt use it ,his loft is a lot cleaner than mine ,but you cant access below it once its down ,ideal hiding place for mites, bugs ,grems etc. as Hotrod said , put some chipboard down .

[AlphaAl]

Good point andy about what lives under the lino. But the whole chipboard thing I can't get my head around that, are we talking about the same stuff here, chipboard is the stuff that is used in some fitted kitchens & stuff, yeah. I taught when that gets wet after a while it just falls apart ?

[Guest chad3646]

Good point andy about what lives under the lino. But the whole chipboard thing I can't get my head around that, are we talking about the same stuff here, chipboard is the stuff that is used in some fitted kitchens & stuff, yeah. I taught when that gets wet after a while it just falls apart ?

 

 

alphaa it is similar but far more superior the t g you arewondering about is similar to flooring that has t g and it is in hundreds of lofts

 

if you are hesitant about it i know of a few top lofts that have it

[AlphaAl]

I'm not hesitant at all, I'm open to all advice & tips cause I want to do it right from the start,i just can't picture what your talking about, maybe someone here has it done & could post a pic of it to give me an idea. Cheers

Al

[Fly_caster]

Sent you a PM !

 

 

Steve

[peter pandy]

alphaa it is similar but far more superior the t g you arewondering about is similar to flooring that has t g and it is in hundreds of lofts

 

if you are hesitant about it i know of a few top lofts that have it

Supposedly water resistant and have no problem with it after 3 years.

[Guest chad3646]

I'm not hesitant at all, I'm open to all advice & tips cause I want to do it right from the start,i just can't picture what your talking about, maybe someone here has it done & could post a pic of it to give me an idea. Cheers

Al

 

 

you cant picture what we are talking about it, s no rocket science

 

 

the sheets come in i think the size is 8 feet by 2 feet

 

they are t and g you just put them together simple as

 

 

is this a wined up

[Guest chad3646]

aalpha i forgot to ask you what year are you thinking of flying in

[andy Burgess]

Good point andy about what lives under the lino. But the whole chipboard thing I can't get my head around that, are we talking about the same stuff here, chipboard is the stuff that is used in some fitted kitchens & stuff, yeah. I taught when that gets wet after a while it just falls apart ?

similar Al , but not the same .used for flooring in modern houses, as put above around 2ft wide x 8 ft long .if youve fitted kitchens , you will fit this stuff with ease .depending on section size you should only have 2 or 3 joins ,run some PVA down the gap .saying gap ,it should be that tight you would barely fit a stanley blade between them .its pre treated so even if you spilt the drinker on it then mop it up ,it wont blow like a kitchen carcasss .

[AlphaAl]

you cant picture what we are talking about it, s no rocket audience

 

 

the sheets come in i think the size is 8 feet by 2 feet

 

they are t and g you just put them together simple as

 

 

is this a wined up

 

What you mean wind up mate ? I'm a novice trying to get some helpful advice on building a long lasting loft. I don't think iv seen the sheets you're talking about, so how is that rocket science, if I was trying to explain something to you that you've never seen before wouldn't a picture help you out !

 

aalpha i forgot to ask you what year are you thinking of flying in

 

I'll be flying YBs this year once all my training go's well. I have lofts/aviaries already but they were built for fancy pigeons & white racers that I had for fun & were converted from sheds, so that's why I'm looking to build a purpose built racing loft. They'll do for a small young bird team this year, but want to start the new one sone, Cheers

[andy Burgess]

similar Al , but not the same .used for flooring in modern houses, as put above around 2ft wide x 8 ft long .if youve fitted kitchens , you will fit this stuff with ease .depending on section size you should only have 2 or 3 joins ,run some PVA down the gap .saying gap ,it should be that tight you would barely fit a stanley blade between them .its pre treated so even if you spilt the drinker on it then mop it up ,it wont blow like a kitchen carcasss .

wanted to add the section i have it in along with the sections with ply in ,i have put quadrant around the wall edges ,so no gaps for nasties again .

[AlphaAl]

wanted to add the section i have it in along with the sections with ply in ,i have put quadrant around the wall edges ,so no gaps for nasties again .

 

 

Sounds like good stuff. I'll ask around in a few hardwars/builder providers & see if the stock it or know what it is, cheers for the help lads

[peter pandy]

Sounds like good stuff. I'll ask around in a few hardwars/builder providers & see if the stock it or know what it is, cheers for the help lads

B&Q, 8ft x 2ft x 18mm thick Tongue and Groove Waterproof Chipboard £9.32 per sheet. Silicone along the joint, had them down 3 years and no sign of wear.

[AlphaAl]

B&Q, 8ft x 2ft x 18mm thick Tongue and Groove Waterproof Chipboard £9.32 per sheet. Silicone along the joint, had them down 3 years and no sign of wear.

 

thanks Peter that's perfect now I know what to look out for, cheers

[andy Burgess]

B&Q, 8ft x 2ft x 18mm thick Tongue and Groove Waterproof Chipboard £9.32 per sheet. Silicone along the joint, had them down 3 years and no sign of wear.

i bought some from there , some the tongues were damaged ,reduced to £2 a sheet .ideal , dont see the toungue when fitted anyway.

[hotrod]

Chipboard flooring , scraper friendly , yes you could use silicone along joint ,or PVa wood glue , but to be honest you not need anything , just a block ,cutting of 4x2 to chap them together tight , oh and don't put Lino on your floor. IMHO

[Guest bigda]

try and get your loft positioned to get the max amount of sun shine that will help keep your loft dryer and stop moss from taking root

 

 

[Guest chad3646]

try and get your loft positioned to get the max amount of sun shine that will help keep your loft dryer and stop moss from taking root

 

 

bigda if you read his post he cant move it anywhere he is building it between two walls

[aye ready]

http://www.wickes.co.uk/t+g-chipboard-flooring-18x600x2400mm/invt/164516/

click on link

 

this will give you a rough idea what your looking for but as andy says if you can get to a timber mercant or something similar they may have damaged sheets at a fraction of their normal price,i have had this in my stock loft for 7 years and still as good as the day it went' down great for scraping all the best in your search