Type of Flooring for Unfinished Attic archived

Trex is WAY too expensive, a decent CDX grade of plywood would be acceptable 5/8 is preferable over 1/2 inch! The climate up there should not affect the plywood!!

Yep, basic sheets of plywood will more than hold your weight plus stuff you put up there! If you can't get 4 x 8 sheets up there -- have then ripped down the middle so you have 2x8 sheets -- those will be easier to handle.

Trex is really unnecessary. If you're thinking something that size, b/c its easier to handle -- get the cheapest, basic, *untreated* pine you can get.

I would suggest 3/4th inch plywood to carry the weight. If getting the sheets up to the attic Home Depot will rip them in half for you. Use deck screws to fasten the plywood to the ceiling joists to avoid damaging the ceiling in the room below.

edited "weight for wait" - English is such a pained language.

You don't want to compress the ceiling insulation if it's above the top of the existing ceiling joists, that would affect the R value, make the insulation less effective. Plus, be careful to measure those joists, it they're 2x4s, you might not want to put storage on top of them.

If they're 2x6 or 2x8, you're probably ok, and I'd also suggest 3/4" plywood.

If the insulation is higher than the existing joists, you should consider sleepers, maybe 2x2s on top of the joists.

Ok, so Trex is out ... and either plywood or pine boards are in ... We might compress the insulation a bit, but not much when we put down the flooring.

However, I've got another snag:

One of the joists in the attic floor is shorter than the others -- maybe a 2x8, and the rest are 2x10, i haven't measured, exactly. But if I lay any type of floor, it will bounce .. especially since this particular shorter joist is at the "entrance" to this storage area.

Now I'm trying to figure out the best and easiest way to level the joists --- "increasing" the height of the shorter joist.

I don't think sistering is necessary, since this part of the attic will only be used for storage, and doesn't get much foot traffic (as compared to the rest of the house). The area is shaped like a tent, with the sides sloping steeply away from the center, which has max height about 6.5 feet.

Here's my idea: Glue a 2" tall (or whatever the height difference is) strip of lumber onto the shorter joist. Then use longer screws when installing flooring on that joist to bite into the original/shorter joist.

If you have other thoughts or ideas ... or think my idea has serious problems, then please let me know.

Thanks!

Or you could glue/screw that pc. onto the offending joist beforehand and then just fasten your flooring throughout the space using whatever technique you decide upon.