How to make a loft hole help??

[lostboy87]

I have lived in my house 6 years and have never been that bothered that i didnt have a loft hatch.I have no storage what so ever and now i need somewhere to put things out of the way.My house is an inner terrace and built in the early 1900s.I have tapped on the ceiling but cannot hear a noise change so i dont know where my joists are.Im a little worried about just making a hole in case i make a mess,also im a little worried about the state of it up there!! I have no idea what i might find! Please could i have some advise.

[mrpeter]

The ceiling in a terrace of that age is more than likely a lath and plaster ceiling. If you sure that you want a loft access then first find a suitable area where you could gain entry for either a loft ladder or just a step ladder to be placed Presumably on the landing or in a bedroom. Clearance in the loft is also required for a loft ladder so allow for the slope of the roof. You can now locate ceiling joist by pushing something like a screwdriver through the celing until a joist is found. Do this in an area that would finish up in the loft hole.Now locate three joists in this area. The two outside ones will be the opening and the one in the middle will eventually have to be cut twice to the required width. The two floating ends of this joist now have to be supported with a new joist at right angles to meet the other two joists. This is done when the hole is made large enough to work through. You now have in effect the rectangle of the opening. Do not remove more ceiling than necesary as it will only mean more tidying up at the edges. When you now poke your head through the hole you may be surprised to see that your part of the loft above your rooms is not private and that you can see all along the length of the terrace above neighbours property. To make it private would require party walls to be built up to roof height unless neighbours either side have already done it. For storage in the loft would require loft boards to be put down but beware of overloading the ceiling joists. Hope this helps a little. Perhaps speaking to neighbours to see if they already have access to their loft might be a good start.

[heathfield]

To find the joists...Laths are nailed to the joists. If you get one of those beam/metal/electric cable detector thingys you'll be able to find the nails and so mark where the joists run. Follow mrpeter's advice. There are some handy instructions here.