How do I organise a loft?

Lofts are the most misused storage in a house: people compress the insulation by boarding directly onto joists, store things that degrade in the temperature swings, and stack boxes where the eaves ventilation should be. Doing it properly costs a little more and avoids all three.

Safety

What you'll need

• Loft boarding and raised loft legs/battens
• Sealed plastic storage boxes
• Labels
• Head torch and a work light
• Gloves and a dust mask

Step by step

1. Assess the loft first: insulation depth, ventilation at the eaves, and any signs of damp or daylight.Deal with a leak or a damp problem before storing anything up there.
2. Board using raised loft legs so the boards sit above the insulation.Boarding directly onto joists compresses insulation and destroys most of its value — the trapped air is what insulates.
3. Keep the eaves clear so air can flow through the loft.Blocking eaves ventilation causes condensation and eventually rot in the roof timbers.
4. Store only in sealed plastic boxes, never cardboard.Cardboard absorbs moisture, collapses and is attractive to pests. Sealed plastic solves all three.
5. Label every box on the end that faces the hatch, and keep an inventory list by the hatch.Nobody wants to open six boxes in a cold loft. A list on the back of the hatch takes five minutes.
6. Put the heaviest boxes nearest the hatch and over load-bearing walls where possible.Both for your back and because joists are not designed for unlimited storage load.
7. Keep candles, photographs, vinyl, electronics, paint and anything with adhesive out of the loft.Lofts swing from below freezing to very hot. Those items all degrade in that cycle.
8. Fit a light and draught-proof the hatch.A loft you can see in is a loft that stays organised, and an uninsulated hatch is a significant heat loss.

Tips

• Check your loft's structure before adding significant weight — trussed rafter roofs in particular are designed for light storage only, and heavy loading is a real structural question.
• A loft is the worst place for anything you need often. Store genuinely seasonal, rarely-accessed items only.
• Photograph the contents of each box before sealing it and keep the pictures in a phone album.
• If the insulation is thin, topping it up while the loft is empty is far easier than working around boxes.

Common mistakes

• Boarding directly onto the joists — Compressed insulation loses most of its effectiveness, and modern insulation depths are deeper than the joists.
• Blocking the eaves — Stops the ventilation that keeps the roof structure dry, leading to condensation and rot.
• Using cardboard boxes — They absorb moisture, collapse over time and attract pests.
• Storing candles, photos or electronics up there — The annual temperature range in a loft destroys all of them.

Questions people ask