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My advice, whilst you’re doing this, is make the loft hatch as big as you sensibly can.
Once you’ve got that space, believe me, You’ll find all sorts you want to store up there. Best case you’re able to store something that you otherwise wouldn’t have been able to, worst case you just make your life getting shit up/down a bit easier. Given that the hatch will (I presume) be a bit of ply/mdf cut to size you can make it any size you like.
Also, I don’t know what you’re overall plan is (and sorry if I’m teaching granny to suck eggs) but I would double up the timbers around the opening e.g if you’re framing it out with 4x2, double them so it’s effectively a 4x4. That opening takes a lot more stress that then rest of the ceiling.
Last thing! Don’t forget to account for trim (architrave probably in this case), where you’ve cut back the ceiling on the right of the last picture looks like it’s right upto the wall.
ThePeginator-
thanks! the photos are a bit out of order - so the second one is the new hatch (albeit filthy from the lath and plaster above), the biggest one available from screwfix, though time will tell as to whether the biggest of the suitcases squeeze through..!
The previous owner of the house had made the cut out up to the wall and just covered with ply (no hinges, just screwed), so I’ll pack this out with plasterboard and filler and try to make good as well as I can. No architrave to worry about at least!
Appreciate the reminder about doubling up - will be sure to do that as I definitely have a tendency to say ‘meh, good enough…’ - did use l-brackets as well as screwing through to reinforce at the mo, though
hvsds
loft progress - gone unexpectedly smoothly for the most part, was hoping for the area inmediately around where the ladder is stowed in, I could just board on the ceiling joists, but wiring and a cross-beam slightly higher means i’ll cross batten this bit to raise it a touch.
for the main storage area I decided against cross-battening with timber and have gone for the LoftZone kit (3.6*3.6m) as with the homebase first order discount it was about the same price the wood, but way lighter and hopefully less hassle to deal with.
then just a bit of plaster and paint to tidy things up as the previous hatch (read: hole in the ceiling) was bigger than a proper hatch.