Loft Boarding
Most homes have a whole room's worth of space sitting empty above the ceiling. Boarding it out is the cheapest square footage you will ever add to your house — no planning, no building work, no disruption, and usually done between breakfast and the school run. If you have searched for loft boarding near me and want to know what actually happens, it is straightforward. We survey the loft first, check the roof structure, the depth of the insulation and whatever is already up there, then give you a fixed quote before anything is booked in. On the day we cover the floors and stairs on the way up, build a raised frame wherever the insulation needs to stay at full depth, lay heavy-duty boards over the top and fix them down so the floor feels solid underfoot with a box in your arms. Everything that came out of the loft goes back in, the offcuts and dust leave with us, and most jobs are finished in a single day. It suits anyone whose cupboards are overflowing, anyone currently stacking boxes straight onto the joists and wondering whether that is safe, and anyone in a newer home who has been told the loft cannot be boarded at all. If the roof genuinely will not take a floor, we will say so on the survey rather than after you have paid.
In short — what loft boarding is
Loft boarding is the fitting of a solid, load-bearing floor across a loft so the space can be walked on and used for storage. Done properly the boards sit on a raised subframe above the insulation rather than directly on the ceiling joists, which keeps the insulation at full depth and avoids the cold spots and condensation that compressed insulation causes. Xtraspace Lofts boards lofts across Rainham, Medway and Kent from £350 for a part-boarded storage area up to £1,200 for a large fully boarded loft, and most jobs are completed in a single day.
What customers say
“Colin and his team recently installed boarding in our loft as well as loft ladder of our new build. They were courteous, quick, professional and very tidy. I was kept informed all along the process and the work was done to a very high standard. I thoroughly recommend anyone else to utilise this firm.”
“Really happy with our loft installation from Xtraspace Loft Boarding. Colin was professional, friendly and efficient, and the work was completed to a really high standard. We had our hatch enlarged with an easy to use wooden ladder fitted and the loft boarded with additionally shelving. Great service from start to finish - highly recommend!”
“Colin and team done a fantastic job of boarding my loft and ladder. Insulation removed and new stuff installed. Very clean and efficient. Would definitely recommend him”
Why we're different
The quickest way to board a loft is to screw boards straight down onto the timbers and walk away. It is cheaper, it is faster, and it flattens your insulation under every single board, which is how cold spots and condensation start. We raise the floor clear of the insulation as standard rather than selling it as an upgrade, because it is the only way the loft works as storage and the house still holds its heat.
We also look at the whole job rather than the floor on its own. A boarded loft with a wobbly ladder, a hatch you cannot get a suitcase through and no light is only half useful, so we will tell you what is worth doing while we are up there and what honestly is not. One team, one visit, one price agreed before we start, and the loft left tidy with your belongings put back where they were.
Part-boarded or fully boarded?
A part-boarded loft gives you a defined storage platform — typically around the hatch and along the central spine of the roof where headroom is best. It's the budget-friendly option and it suits most households, because the low edges of a loft are awkward to use anyway.
A fully boarded loft takes the floor out to the eaves wherever the roof structure allows. You get considerably more usable area, and it makes the space feel like a room rather than a crawl. We'll measure up and tell you honestly which makes sense for your roof — sometimes the extra boards genuinely aren't worth it.
What we board onto
In an older house with traditional cut joists there is often enough depth to board sensibly, though we still raise the floor where the insulation is deep. In anything built since the 1970s the roof is almost certainly trussed, and the floor must be raised to span the trusses without loading them — that's a different job, covered on our new build loft boarding page.
Either way we use heavy-duty boarding rather than thin loft panels, laid tight and fixed properly, so the floor doesn't flex or creak when you walk on it with a box in your arms.
Working around what's already up there
Chimney breasts, purlins, water tanks, cabling and the odd bit of pipework are all normal. We board neatly around them rather than pretending they aren't there, and we leave any tank or valve accessible so a plumber isn't lifting your new floor in two years' time.
Lighting and tidy cabling can be fitted while we're up there, which makes the difference between storage you use and storage you dread.
What loft boarding involves, and who it is for
Loft boarding turns an empty roof space into a solid floor you can walk on and store things on safely. It suits households that have run out of cupboard space, families hanging on to decorations, suitcases and baby equipment, and anyone currently balancing on joists with a torch in one hand.
Every job starts with a look at the roof type, the depth of the insulation and the size of the hatch, because those three things decide whether the boards can sit on the existing timbers or whether the floor needs raising clear of the insulation. On the day we cover floors and stairs, carry materials up through the hatch, fit the frame and boards, then vacuum through and take the offcuts away with us.
Loft Boarding we've fitted
Recent loft boarding projects
All projects
Chattenden, Hoo30m² loft boarding in Chattenden, Hoo
A 30m² boarded storage floor in a trussed roof in Chattenden, with a larger lined hatch and a timber loft ladder in place of the small original opening.
See the job
Kent30m² loft boarding with a deluxe wooden ladder
30m² of raised loft boarding in an older brick-built house, on a new timber subframe over fresh insulation, with a deluxe wooden loft ladder.
See the job
Canterbury20m² loft boarding in Canterbury
A 20m² boarded storage run down the centre of a trussed roof in Canterbury, with a loft ladder and lighting.
See the jobWhere we fit loft boarding
Based in Rainham (ME8) and covering the Medway towns and the wider Kent area. Pick your town for local detail, typical housing stock and prices.
Loft Boarding
Frequently asked questions
A small part-boarded storage area typically costs from £350–£500 fitted. A medium raised and boarded loft floor is £600–£900, and a large fully boarded loft is £900–£1,200+. A loft ladder supplied and fitted adds £150–£300 and a new insulated hatch £150–£350. Every job is a fixed price after a free survey.
A properly raised and boarded loft floor comfortably takes normal household storage — boxes, suitcases, decorations, baby equipment, tools. It is not a habitable room and should not be loaded like one. If you're planning to store something unusually heavy, tell us at the survey and we'll design the floor around it.
Not the way we do it. We fit a raised loft flooring system that lifts the boards above the insulation so it stays uncompressed and keeps working. Boarding straight onto the joists squashes insulation, loses much of its performance and can cause cold spots and condensation — we don't do that.
Most lofts are boarded, laddered and finished in a single day. We usually arrive around 8am, put floor covers down throughout the house, and many jobs are complete by early afternoon.
No. Boarding a loft for storage is not a material change of use and does not require building regulations approval or planning permission. That changes if you convert the loft into a habitable room, which is a different job entirely — see our loft boarding vs loft conversion guide.
Often fitted with this
Raised Loft Flooring
Raised loft flooring fitted across Kent — boards lifted clear of the insulation so it keeps working. Stops cold spots and condensation. From £600 fitted.
£600–£1,200 fittedNew Build Loft Boarding
New build loft boarding across Rainham, Medway & Kent. Raised floors spanning trussed roofs — insulation intact, no truss cut, warranty safe. From £600.
£600–£1,200 fittedLoft Ladder Fitting
Loft ladders supplied and fitted across Rainham, Medway & Kent. Timber, aluminium and concertina ladders from £150 fitted, usually in the same visit.
£150–£300 supplied & fittedGet a fixed price for loft boarding
Free survey, no obligation — an honest look at your loft and a clear price before you commit to anything.