Brick work in lofts Re-generate an old or tired space and give it a fresh breath of life. Click here for answers, information and tips

[Jamesr]

Hello,
I'm hoping to board my loft to have a place to play some music in peace. The house is mid terrace, unfortunately there are two gaps at the front and back of one side of the loft leading into our neighbour's property - each about a meter wide. What's the best way of filling these gaps and ensuring reasonable soundproofing?

Thanks
J

[thedoctor]

Firstly using a loft as a room comes under the heading of living accomodation and requires building regulation approval to do so. Please see our project on loft conversions, we are required by law to tell you this. A loft floor is there to hold up the weight of the ceiling and possibly a suitcase or two for storage, it is not designed to be walked on or used to house anything heavy at all. The chances of the trusses breaking are of course, quite slim, but the ceiling will crack as you move about and should there be a fire or anything else as a result of the work you do in the loft, as well as dying up there because there is no proper escape route, you would not be insured.

[Jamesr]

Thanks
Having read up on this I realised planning permission would be required. However, in terms of secure storage and efficient insulation, what would be the best way to sort out these gaps in the eves?

Thanks
J