Loft Storage
68 sources in the library on loft storage, 10 on this page cited in a published note. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 2 of 2.
- supplier figure RN-AMJOCX cited
Screwfix
Screwfix product page for the Manthorpe GL270F one-hour fire-rated, fully insulated drop-down loft door for a 562 x 562 mm opening, priced at £159.00 including VAT.
Cited in Loft Hatch Guide: Sizes, Fire-Rated Hatches & How to Fit One.
- supplier figure RN-LSS6PV cited
Selco Builders Warehouse
Selco's product page for an 18 mm, 1,220 × 320 mm chipboard loft pack. It says the panels are non-structural, for loft storage, and should not be used for flooring.
- supplier figure RN-H6BZN1 cited
Selco Builders Warehouse
Selco's product page for a 2,440 × 1,220 × 18 mm general-purpose hardwood plywood sheet, listed at £32.22 including VAT, inside the note's £25–£40 range.
- supplier figure RN-W1UJPH cited
Superglass
Home page of Superglass, a UK glass mineral wool maker. It states recycled glass content of up to 84% and a Euroclass A1 non-combustible classification for its products.
Cited in Best Loft Insulation: Materials Compared.
- supplier figure RN-D48430 cited
Thermafleece
The maker's technical data sheet for Thermafleece CosyWool, its standard sheep's wool loft roll, declares a thermal conductivity of 0.039 W/mK, the upper end of the sheep wool range given.
Cited in Best Loft Insulation: Materials Compared, Loft Insulation Guide: Types, Costs & Recommended Depth.
- supplier figure RN-R491K0 cited
Thermafleece
Product site of Thermafleece, a UK sheep wool insulation maker. It describes the wool's moisture buffering and notes that mineral fibre is still needed where a non-combustible rating is required.
Cited in Best Loft Insulation: Materials Compared.
- supplier figure RN-UYJZ23 cited
Toolstation
A national merchant's product page for the Loft Leg 175 mm 12-pack. It settles the current retail price of £20.99 a pack, about £1.75 per leg.
Cited in Loft Flooring: Boards, Costs & Installation, Raised Loft Boarding & Loft Legs: Why They Matter.
- supplier figure RN-VYDC7S cited
Trussed Rafter Association (product data sheet, hosted by Fforest Timber Engineering)
A Trussed Rafter Association data sheet on standard bracing of domestic truss roofs. It sets trusses at a maximum of 600 mm centres; hosted by a truss maker because the TRA's own copy is not openly linked.
- supplier figure RN-BU8LKQ cited
Unilin Insulation
Maker's product page for Unilin Thin-R foil-faced PIR boards. It gives a certified thermal conductivity as low as 0.022 W/mK, the typical figure for PIR insulation board.
Cited in Best Loft Insulation: Materials Compared.
- supplier figure RN-X5NPMZ cited
Wickes
A builders' merchant product listing for standard chipboard loft panels. It shows the common size is 18 × 320 × 1,220 mm; used because loft panels are sold unbranded and no maker's page lists the size.
Cited in How Much Does Loft Boarding Cost? (UK 2026), Loft Boarding: How to Board a Loft Properly.
- very strong RN-6YOSOS
Department of Finance (Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland's stair geometry, and the booklet to cite when a loft is being reached by anything other than a folding ladder. October 2012 guidance to Part H. Regulation 54 defines a ladder as a fixed ladder with a flight pitched at more than 55 degrees, which is what separates a ladder from a stair. Paragraph 3.5 sets the pitch rule: twice the rise plus the going, 2R + G, should be between 550 mm and 700 mm. A private stair should have a rise of not less than 150 mm and not more than 170 mm with a going of not less than 280 mm and not more than 425 mm; a flight should have not fewer than 2 rises and no more than 12 rises where the going is under 350 mm, or 18 rises where the going is 350 mm or more. Clear headroom is not less than 2000 mm over the full length and width, but for roofspace conversions where 2000 mm cannot be achieved, Diagram 3.2(b) allows not less than 1900 mm at the centre of the stair width reducing to not less than 1800 mm at the side. Table 3.2 sets minimum unobstructed flight widths: 600 mm for a private stair serving one room only, not being a kitchen or living room, or serving a bathroom and WC; 800 mm otherwise; 900 mm where it forms part of the entrance or principal storey circulation route; 1000 mm for a common stair. Landings must be not less than 1200 mm unobstructed.
- very strong RN-867DXN
Local Authority Building Control
LABC is the member organisation for local authority building control teams across England and Wales, and this is its homeowner entry point. It confirms that Registered Building Inspectors work in teams throughout all the local authorities in England and Wales, and it runs LABC Front Door with over 200 guides on home projects including loft conversions, garage conversions, bathrooms, extensions and self-build, plus completion certificates. Use it as the not-for-profit, independent counterweight to a contractor's account of what building control will accept.
- very strong RN-4Q310E
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Volume 1 (Dwellings), 2019 edition, is the fire authority for loft conversions. Paragraph 2.10 sets the emergency escape window at a minimum unobstructed openable area of 0.33 square metres, a minimum 450mm height and 450mm width, and the bottom of the openable area no more than 1100mm above the floor. Paragraphs 2.21 to 2.23 require, where a new storey creates a floor above 4.5m, fire resisting doors of minimum E 20 and partitions of minimum REI 30 throughout the escape route, with a sprinkler-based alternative. Paragraph 5.4 requires new loft floors to achieve REI 30 and the existing first storey R 30, relaxed only where one storey containing at most two habitable rooms and no more than 50 square metres is added.
- very strong RN-26UWTU
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The GOV.UK landing page for Approved Document K, published 3 January 2013, ISBN 978 1 85946 484 7, covering protection from falling, collision and impact, including the design of staircases, ladders, ramps, guarding and vehicle barriers; this edition absorbed Approved Document N on glazing and some overlapping Approved Document M guidance. Since April 2023 the Building Safety Regulator has a duty under the Building Safety Act 2022 to keep the safety and standards of all buildings in England under review, which includes advising government on Approved Document updates. The linked PDF sets the figures a loft conversion note needs: the maximum pitch for a private stair is 42 degrees (Table 1.1 note 1); the normal relationship for rise and going is twice the rise plus the going between 550mm and 700mm; means of escape routes need a minimum clear headroom of 2m except in doorways (paragraph 1.12); and paragraph 1.13 with Diagram 1.4 allows reduced headroom for loft conversions in dwellings where there is not enough space, satisfied at 1.9m at the centre of the stair width falling to 1.8m at the side. Archived editions of Approved Documents K and N are at the National Archives.
- very strong RN-YBOAP5
Scottish Government
What has to happen where a party wall meets the roof, which is the first thing exposed when a loft is opened up for storage or conversion in a terrace or semi. Standard 2.2 requires separation between a dwelling and any other dwelling in different occupation, and between a dwelling and common space, to have at least a medium fire resistance duration, with a short fire resistance duration for a garage; the actual periods in minutes are set in Annex 2.A rather than in the text. Where a separating wall forms a junction with a roof it must maintain that fire resistance, and where the roof substrate is combustible the wall should project through the roof to at least 375 mm above the top surface of the roof. A separating wall of combustible construction must contain no pipes, wires or other services, so a run of cable or a loft light fed through the party wall defeats it. A roof space above a garage need not be separated from the dwelling where the garage ceiling itself serves as a separating floor with the appropriate fire resistance. Cite it before anyone boards across a party wall line or cuts into it for storage.
- very strong RN-VW2AA1
Scottish Government
The Scottish rule that explains why boarding out and over-stuffing a loft causes damp. Standard 3.15 requires the building to be designed and constructed so there is no threat to the building or to occupants' health from surface or interstitial condensation. For a cold pitched roof with insulation at ceiling level, cross-ventilation of the roof space is required, and the handbook states that ventilation is vital for preventing excessive build-up of condensation in cold pitched roof spaces. Where a metal roof finish is used, a high performance vapour control layer is recommended near the inner surface with a ventilated air space on the cold side of the insulation. The numerical opening areas and the assessment method are not restated in the handbook: it directs the reader to BS 5250:2002 Code of practice for the control of condensation in buildings, naming Section 8 and Annex D for detailed assessment and construction methods, and to BRE Report BR 262 Thermal insulation: avoiding risks for acceptable insulation performance. Cite it alongside the roof ventilation figures when advising on boarding a loft or raising insulation depth.
- very strong RN-EP6MR8
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk)
The regulations that govern any roof or loft work at height. Regulation 4 requires work at height to be properly organised and planned, regulation 6 requires risks to be avoided where reasonably practicable, regulation 7 governs the selection of work equipment and regulation 8 its particular requirements, regulation 9 deals specifically with fragile surfaces, regulation 10 with falling objects, and regulations 12 and 13 require inspection of work equipment and of places of work at height. Nine schedules set the technical requirements for guard-rails, working platforms, ladders and fall protection systems. Cite this alongside HSE guidance when a note explains why roof and loft work needs a platform rather than a ladder.
- very strong RN-2AZXB8
Welsh Government (gov.wales)
WALES. Building regulations approval is required to convert a loft or attic into a liveable space, and the guidance covers houses no more than two storeys high, with more extensive requirements for flats, maisonettes and houses over three storeys. The regulations are applied to ensure the structural strength of the new floor is sufficient, that the stability of the existing roof is not endangered, safe escape from fire, safely designed stairs to the new floor and reasonable sound insulation between the conversion and the rooms below. A liveable space includes a spare bedroom used infrequently. On boarding out for storage, existing ceiling joists tie the pitched roof members together and support the ceiling below and were not designed for significant load, so laying flooring boards over them may itself require a building regulations application, a point an England-based note on loft boarding usually treats as exempt. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies in Wales as it does in England.
- strong locally RN-97J6HT
Wigan Council
A local authority building control leaflet that draws the line loft boarding notes need. It states that if you only intend to store light items such as suitcases and Christmas decorations, loose boarding is generally satisfactory, but that ceiling joists are only intended to act as a fixing for the ceiling below and are not designed for heavy loads, so any use other than light storage must be notified to building control. Under structural stability it states plainly that if the space is for other than light storage a new floor will have to be provided. It also confirms that adding a room to a two storey house creates a three storey dwelling, so all doors opening onto the stairway except a bathroom door must be fire resisting to FD20, with mains wired interlinked smoke alarms on each floor level, and warns that unauthorised loft conversions surface on sale and require opening up for inspection.
- strong RN-A1LC5G
BSI (British Standards Institution)
STATUS: WITHDRAWN on 30 March 2010. BS 6399-1:1996 was published 15 September 1996, replacing BS 6399-1:1984, and gave the recommendations for dead loads, minimum imposed loads by activity type and vertical loading on protective elements such as barriers, for new buildings and structures, alterations and additions to existing ones, and existing construction on change of use (but not maintenance or replacement without a change of occupancy). The 1996 revision reorganised floor load classes around activity rather than occupancy and clarified reduction of imposed load by building height and loaded area. It was superseded by Eurocode 1, BS EN 1991-1-1:2002 with its UK National Annex, so any note quoting the familiar 1.5 kN/m2 domestic floor load or a loft storage load to BS 6399 is citing a standard withdrawn in 2010 and should cite BS EN 1991-1-1 instead. Note BS 6399-2 (wind) and BS 6399-3 (imposed roof loads, now BS 8683:2021) were part of the same withdrawn family. Catalogue page confirms number, title, dates, withdrawal and scope.
- strong RN-PHQ2QN
Electrical Safety First
The single most common hazard created when a loft is insulated or boarded: the spotlights in the ceiling below. Electrical Safety First states that downlights must not be allowed to come into contact with, or be covered by, loft insulation or combustible materials unless they are specifically designed and rated for such conditions, and lists insulation-contact (IC) or fire-rated LED fittings as the type that is. It also recommends that for all downlights installed into ceilings, fire-rated fittings should be used to maintain the fire integrity of the ceiling, because a fire-rated fitting seals the opening it has made in the ceiling during a fire. The practical consequence for a loft project is that insulation must be held clear of any non-IC fitting, which is what loft caps and proprietary covers exist to do, and that laying a continuous quilt or boarding over unrated downlights both defeats the ceiling's fire resistance and risks overheating the fitting. The page is written for householders rather than installers, so it is the right citation for a consumer-facing warning.
- strong RN-4TB144
WaterRegsUK (Water Regulations Advisory Scheme)
What the water regulations demand of the cold water cistern sitting in the loft, which matters as soon as a loft is boarded, insulated or converted. Every cistern needs a rigid, close fitting and securely fixed lid or cover, of a material that does not shatter or fragment when broken, so that light and insects are excluded. Overflow and warning pipes must be screened with a mesh no greater than 0.65 mm opening, the screen fitted vertically and removable for cleaning. The minimum internal diameter of a warning pipe is 19 mm, and every cistern must have an overflow with a warning pipe to signal impending overflow. Cisterns over 1,000 litres should be capable of inspection and cleansing without being wholly uncovered. Storage volume should be sized to avoid stagnation, following BS EN 806-2. Both hot and cold pipework should be insulated so stored cold water is not warmed. The page names the applicable Schedule 2 paragraphs across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as 2 to 11, 14, 15, 16, 20 and 27.
- good RN-7DPKIS
Insulation Manufacturers Association
The UK trade association for insulation manufacturers, representing PIR and PUR and phenolic foams, XPS and EPS polystyrene, glass wool and stone wool mineral wools and natural materials including sheep's wool, which is exactly the material set a best loft insulation comparison needs to cover. It publishes accredited CPD courses, installation and best practice guides and resources on thermal performance, fire safety and water resistance, with separate regulatory guidance for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and it maintains reference pages on thermal conductivity, R-values and U-values.
- supplier figure RN-4YI68H
ROCKWOOL UK
Stone wool loft roll pre-cut to widths of 3 x 400 mm or 2 x 600 mm, supplied in thicknesses of 100 mm and 150 mm on pallets under a waterproof covering. Declared thermal conductivity 0.044 W/mK, product standard EN 13162:2012+A1:2015. Reaction to fire Euroclass A1 in accordance with BS EN 13501-1: 2018. Water absorption declared NPD.
- supplier figure RN-OJAZPY
Screwfix
Screwfix loft hatch listing showing the Manthorpe GL270F fire-resistant insulated loft door at £159.00 and a 562 × 726 mm fire-resistant door at £125.20, both including VAT.
- supplier figure RN-2CC4VS
Superglass (Etex)
Non combustible glass mineral wool loft roll supplied in a shorter roll length for ease of handling, partially perforated for use between joists or as a full width layer over them. Declared thermal conductivity (lambda) 0.044 W/mK. Fire classification Euroclass A1 when tested to EN 13501-1:2018 Reaction to Fire. CCPI Assessment Mark certificate 005800129/0227.
- supplier figure RN-21LSOA
Superglass (Etex)
Non combustible glass mineral wool roll, partially perforated for use between standard joist spacings or as a full width layer over the joists. Declared thermal conductivity (lambda) 0.040 W/mK. Fire classification Euroclass A1 when tested to EN 13501-1:2018 Reaction to Fire. CCPI Assessment Mark certificate 005800129/0227. Primarily for lofts and cold pitched roofs, also used between the joists of suspended timber ground floors.
- supplier figure RN-GC70RS
Superglass (Etex)
Non combustible glass mineral wool loft roll, partially perforated so it can be laid between standard joist spacings or as a full width layer over the joists. Declared thermal conductivity (lambda) 0.044 W/mK. Fire classification: deemed non combustible with a fire classification of Euroclass A1 when tested to EN 13501-1:2018 Reaction to Fire. Holds CCPI Assessment Mark, certificate number 005800129/0227. Intended for new and existing cold pitched roofs and lofts.