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Posted by mm on December 12, 2006, 10:12 pm
>
>No, it isn't for storage- it is to give a place to get in and out of the
>access hole without stepping through the ceiling. 15 Sq. Feet is 3x5, not
>counting the access hole. 3/4 particle board is lousy decking material.
>Heavy, fractures with no warning, soaks up water like a sponge, etc. Builder
>used that because they had scraps laying around. Use 1x pine or 1/2"
>plywood- the cheap stuff is often on sale. You'll probably need to rip into
>18" or 24" strips to get it up the access hole. Don't nail it down hard- 4
>or 6 roofing nails per board is plenty, and makes it easier to pull up when,
>not if, you need to get to wiring underneath. <Always> put the decking
>joints over a joist. Forget about decking if you have insulation higher than
>the joists- it'll cost you big time on your heat bill, from compressed
>insulation. Forget about decking if the joists are smaller than 2x8- you
>will get nail pops and cracks on the ceiling below, from flexing. If you
Although wouldn't the flexing be even more if one goes around the
attic just stepping on the joists. A piece of floor spreads his
weight ovef more than one joist. I had a lot to do up there when I
first got the house. Running electrical, phone, burglar alarm wires,
tv cable. Even putting in insulation requires one to move around. I
put some pieces in the middle and used 2 or 3 other 16"x8' pieces,
which I moved around, to reach outlying areas of my attic, sometimes
lying on my belly. I couldn't lie on my belly on tthe joists alone.
And yes, one phone wire failed, so I have to move the plywood.
I agree that particle board will just break some day. Even 3/8"
plywood, which is not enough for my weight so I have to put my feet
above a jooist, one piece cracked once, but only one layer, and it
still held. Later when I got more plywood, or T-111, I put a second
layer, so in that area I can stand anywhere.
>have trusses (attic looks like a forest, with lots of vertical members in a
>row), forget about more than a stripe down the middle to store empty boxes
>and Christmas decorations, and similar basically weightless stuff. Truss
>attics are not rated for heavy storage. They might hold, they might not, and
>no way to tell without an engineering survey.
>
>aem sends....
>
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