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The Storefloor loft boarding system allows more insulation material to be fitted under loft boards

Get a suspended loft floor and buy more insulation to save on fuel consumption this year

This is the third in our series of reports on this year’s Grand Designs Live. You can read more in the series like what DIY Doctor thought of Tree Tents and our report on clay plaster at the show. While I was at the exhibition I was looking for the unusual, the stylish, and the innovative.

This product by Loftzone comes in the last category, and is unashamedly useful. In fact you could say this system just floored me!

The Storefloor is a system of loft flooring that uses the strength of the existing roof joists to take a flooring ‘bracket’ that you can load with loft boards. The Storefloor system spreads the load of the boards, and whatever is on top of them, while also allowing enough space underneath it to let you add the recommended amount of insulation, with an all-important air gap to ensure the insulating properties of the insulating material are most effective.

Dave Ravel from Loftzone explained about the height of the flooring system: “It is sized to allow up to 300mm of insulation . . . plus an air gap above the insulation and below the boards. We asked the Buildings Research Establishment to advise us on the size of this gap, which helps to reduce any possible moisture build-up on the underside of the boards.”

The system is formed of sectional pieces that use the structure of the existing roof joists to builds a structurally sound floating or suspended floor that can be used for storage and occasional access, and can be strengthened if you want to walk on it regularly, or to allow you to store heavier items.

Compressed loft insulation material is only half as effective

What many people don’t realise is that if they squash the minimum recommended fibreglass wool insulation, it becomes less than half as effective as it would be with enough space for it to sit unmolested by loft boards. You know how it is, you need space to store Christmas decorations, old school books and your scuba diving kit, so you place loft boards on top of your insulation so then it is compressed down to the height of the joists and it has no air void between it and the loft boards.

When you consider that fibreglass insulation is one of the best loft insulation materials, in that it gives you the best energy saving returns pound for pound, plus the fact that nearly all of us have items stashed in our loft (whether it is properly boarded out or not), then it makes absolute sense to have this system.

Having effective loft insulation makes economic sense

We are all becoming increasingly aware of the costs of energy bills and the savings to be made by improving insulation in our homes. Energy ratings or EPC’s are now mandatory for any property that is marketed for rent or for sale, and so it is likely that systems like this will be taken up to satisfy the need for increased loft insulation while allowing us the convenience of having our loft boarded for storage.

It wouldn’t surprise us to find this system being fitted into new build properties by companies for whom eco building is of paramount importance.

However even if it isn’t already in the loft of the house you buy it would a such a simple job to retrofit, using simple basic DIY skills. The system is modular so you can even fit it without clearing your loft first. To read more about the Loftzone Storefloor system check out their website – and I know we are raving about it but I can assure you no money changed hands for the making of this post.

If it’s good it’s good…

The StoreFloor, raised platform loft storage system, fits to the ceiling joists to suspend the floor well above the insulation

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Mike Edwards Talking to Paul Fitzgerald about Clay Plaster at Grand Designs Live 2013

While visiting Grand Designs Low Impact Living Initiative area at Grand Designs Live last week, my attention was caught by the sparkle of mica in a wall surface on display. As I rocked backwards and forwards with my nose a few inches from the plastered board a kindly Paul Fitzpatrick asked me if I was OK.

When I’m not blogging I spend a lot of time immersed in tile grout, adhesive, and plaster so I was trying to work out what it was I was looking at (but without reading the  label obviously). Paul explained it was clay plaster and agreed that one of things he likes about the plaster is the interaction with light. He is a man who is really connected with his material, and he has used this ceramic plaster all over his own house in Cornwall.

It can be used in modern settings but it really comes into its own where is it is used instead of gypsum products. It is hygroscopic, so it breathes with the house and absorbs or releases moisture depending on the humidity in the room. It is less dust-forming and less prone to condensation (with the resultant molds) than Gypsum, which will absorb moisture quite happily but it will not let it out again. So clay plaster is very well suited to houses for people who suffer with asthma, or who have allergic reactions to more modern materials.

Paul explained that the surface helps regulate temperature as well as humidity and it even absorbs smells (and the manufacturers literature claims it also screen electromagnetic radiation, but you will have to do your own research to verify that).

Clay plaster can be applied to cob walls, lime plaster, hemp and straw-bale houses and other breathable wall surfaces.

It is a natural product and comes in a base coat and a choice of top coats, which can be supplied in one of a range of premixed colours using natural pigments. The mica I was so admiring is an optional finish in the top coat. Once applied there is no need to paint because of the coloured finish. In this respect it is very like polished plasters such as Venetian plaster, Marmorino and Tadelakt. These are also designed to be left unpainted and will not need decorating for many years. You can read more about these sorts of plasters in our polished plastering project.

Clay plaster is applied much like ordinary plaster products – with a metal trowel, but the finish is achieved with a plastic trowel which smooths and seals the surface, or with a damp sponge to leave a slightly textured and open grained surface.

I did a bit of research into the product and production company Clayworks, on returning to the office. They are a family run business, based in Cornwall and they are dedicated to using natural finishes. They will supply the plaster in 25kg or 1 tonne bags and their products are a mixture of completely natural sands and clays, so the products are 100% biodegradable. Find out more about Clayworks here.

Paul Fitzpatrick specialises in traditional building techniques using sustainable materials and you can see more about him on his website. One of my favourite projects is his bus shelter – check it out on the Strawhaus website.

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The government are releasing up to 100 building plots in the 2012 Olympic village in Stratford, and some East Londoners are bidding to self-build on the site.

The London Legacy Development Corporation’s (LLDC) has called for expressions of interest for anyone wishing to build on the site, which was the former handball arena.

There is currently a group of twenty households who have expressed their interest in building their own homes on the site. The LLDC plans to allow some 8,000 homes on the former Olympic Site overall. While this is likely to

This is another indication of the Government’s policy to try to open up the idea of self-build to a wide range of budgets, and not just to affluent people. Their idea is to tackle the housing shortage by getting people to build the houses they want, and then presumably to settle in them long term, given that they are offering these tax breaks providing you stay for 7 years.

The news follows on from last month’s announcement by the Governments Housing Minister Mark Prisk, who plans to release £14million in grants over the next two year to bump start the self-build market along these lines. See the statement released by the Housing Department last month.

If you are planning a self-build project we have a section in our project pages with lots of information to do with building your own home, go to the DIY Doctor self build index page and browse through all the useful information including specialist mortgages, finding building plots, development processes, cheap materials, vat implications, planning costs, and how to design your own home.

You may also want to check out our blog about the new changes to VAT on Self Build Projects, by clicking on this link.

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DIY Doctor will be on the Tricks of The Trade Stage at the National Homebuilding and Renovating Show at the NEC in Birmingham next month.

The show starts on the 21st March and runs until the 24th March 2013. Mike Edwards from DIY Doctor will be running a series of talks and demonstrations including how to plaster, how to lay tiles and how to avoid cowboy builders.

Are you planning a build?
The National Homebuilding and Renovating Show organisers have asked us, to ask you, how you intend to use finance to fund your build, renovation or extension, for the coming year. So if you have a moment to fill in their survey, they are offering a chance to win 1 of 5 prizes of £100 worth of high-street shopping vouchers.

The National Homebuilding and Renovating Show have partnered up with Experian for this survey. The idea is to examine the use of credit and financing on the homebuilding and renovating industry.

For your convenience the survey has been designed to make it easy to fill in on what ever device you prefer to use. You can complete it using a PC, Mac, iPad and most smartphones.

It will be very interesting to see what the research reveals – so if you have the time Please follow this link to complete their survey.

We would also like to see you at the show – so if you want free tickets as DIY Doctor guests then please click on the image below.

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