DIY attic conversion into a music studio and mancave.

Fully boarded out to the eaves. Polystyrene insulation on top of rafters, 6mm plywood on top of that. Walls have 40mm vertical battens, then insulated/soundproofed, with more 6mm ply to finish. Floor covered with 12mm interlocking EVA foam sections, and carpet added to central area. Eaves have curtained off storage areas. Hot and cold water tanks boxed in (though can access easily) Vertical bike and tyre storage, and shelving for tools and wheels built into wall.
Only job left is to sort out the ladder.

Whole job done for about £800 – and yes, I did strengthen the joists.

nice work, man.

i/we finally started the process of getting our band online:

http://www.facebook.com/TheDraynes

hopefully…local gigs>national tour>opening slot for one direction (or harry styles solo) will follow… 😉

How do you get the bikes into/out of a loft on a ladder!? sounds like a recipe for a fall!

I organised & led a coach trip for 30 Beavers, 3 Cubs, 2 Scouts & 12 Adults to RAF Cosford. 😕
Not too stressful.
And we came back with the correct children, despite there being 10 other groups there that day. Bonus.

@Stato – nice big hatch, and wheels off. Only one bike up there at the mo’. Others are in the shed.

@Phatstanley – cheers dude :D. good luck with the band. I’ve been in various groups over the years – currently with these reprobates…… Melosa Still hoping for a slot on one of the small stages at Glasto this year, had some interest…..so, fingers crossed 😉

How do you get the bikes into/out of a loft on a ladder!? sounds like a recipe for a fall!

needs a fire escape door and a big ramp 😀

finally rode the little ladder drop which broke my wrist two and a half years ago.

Managed a diy upgrade of my PC from Win XP to Windows 7 and still have a working system with no lost data at the end of it 😀

No biggy for the IT gods of STW I know but quite an achievement for a computer numpty like me.

Rear shock fully serviced including damper and IFP with a seal kit from Amazon and a few mill of oil. No bits left over and feels mint again. Quite pleased!

I did some filming for free for a charity on an educational resource designed to help with literacy – found out recently that the video has been really successful in improving literacy rates in parts of Nigeria and has been used by thousands of kids. Pretty cool!

OP, is it straightforward strengthening the joists? I have a space almost exactly that size in our loft … hmm

Learnt Swedish, had a kid, made a cheesecake 🙂

Taught my daughter to ride a bike.

@ DavidB

It’s pretty straightforward. How much you need to do depends on what you’re going to use it for
Check out what size the existing joists are – 2×4 will need a fair bit of strengthening, 2×6 or bigger less so. Also, how far apart they are spaced as that makes a difference.
You can sister the joists – i.e. attach new joists to the old ones side-by-side. The new lengths should preferably sit on the end walls/bricks same as the old joists.
You could also attach the new joists on top to make the old ones taller.

I went with sistering to strengthen the old joists (not all of them needed it – it’s a mid-period Victorian terrace and the joists went from 2×4 in places to 4×8 in others)
The heights of the joists were all over the place, so I added another set of joists at 90 degrees and built these up or chiseled bits away (of the upper lengths, not the old joists!) so they sat as level as possible. I then boarded it out with T&G 18mm chipboard screwed to the new leveled joists.

Seems pretty solid, a little bit of bounce in places, but no ominous creaking. Probably not up to current building regs, but it’s only going to be me up here, not planning on having a party!

Forgot to say, good work on the man cave! I have a little box room I need to do something similar with – got various instruments and bits of studio gear.

Raised the estimated pass rate of two disaffected Year 11 classes to 88%. Here’s hoping it actually comes to fruition.

Ambrose – are you finding that this year’s Yr11s are a slightly lacklustre bunch? Mine are a nice class, but it’s been nigh on impossible to get them to finish their coursework.
Very mixed class – FFTs ranging from As to Es in there, predictions are all above a C bar one.

Have a nice Easter holiday 😀

Gone past the 20 scientific publications mark. Quite happy that this has only taken me five years.

OP – hate to be a killjoy, but you sure you’re not setting up future problems by preventing air flow/creating condensation in around your rafters?

Boxelder – nope!
I used 50mm polystyrene sheets on over the rafters, not between them. The rafters themselves are 70mm deep, so there is more than the recommended 50mm breather space between insulation and the membrane under the tiles.
The eaves are ventilated, and I have left a small gap at the apex of the roof to help air flow.

I did lots of reading and research before starting (I’m a DT teacher, so got to do it properly! 😉 )

Good work Sir

Twas a 4 ft (ish) drop out our patio doors as the previous owners had decking (spit spit) Been climbing up and down what was a pile of breezeblocks for the past year.

Built myself two little walls, and made some wooden (decking, i know) lids. Storage for all that rubbish that accumulates in the garden, and no longer risking life and limb going out the back.

Not tooooo bad for a first attempt at teach-yo-self bricklaying.

And no wiring running near the polystyrene? Seen too many videos of polystyrene panel fires not to be wary! But if there’s nothing to start a fire in or near, great U value and clean too.

Nice looking space!

One wire running up along the rafter behind the polystyrene (and then through it at one point) to a ceiling light running a low energy bulb. The light is only on when I’m in there, so shouldn’t be an issue.

Rode up a 3000m volcano, from sea level.

Required a 3am start, took me 5 hours pedaling up, about 1hr tucked and occasionally pedaling to descend.

Not jaw dropping times but I’m proud because its pretty much my first ride back after herniating a disc 10 months ago, plus I was first up the mountain that day cos all the other lightweights started in daylight 8)

^ Bravo!

Good work 🙂

I created a new trail by clearing all the cut and left over branches and by digging the berms and jumps after all the trees had been cut down in the woods, and now just got the ok to organise a cross race in the local park.

Just drunk 3 pints of Sarah Hughes Surprise and i’m still awake!

does this count?

7 weeks on wednesday – not broken yet 🙂

I ran my first marathon yesterday, finished in 2:57:59

Feels like a good achievement, hurts today though.

A gap jump. Nothing particularly huge all told (about a 2ft take off and maybe 7-8ft gap) but a VERY big deal for me 😀

Got my first (and most likely last) podium on last week’s Singletrackworld Forumites Strava group.

A gap jump

Earning your forum name.

A gap jump
Earning your forum name.

Finally 😀