The short answer
You need to clear and protect enough of the loft that the roofers can work and nothing is ruined. Move fragile, valuable and sentimental items out of the house, and cover whatever stays with dust sheets. Leave a clear route along the eaves and to any chimney or water tank. Boarded storage close to the roof edge usually has to come up.
Why the loft needs attention before the strip
When a roof is stripped, the covering comes off from the outside, but a fine rain of grit, old mortar, soot and the odd tile fragment finds its way inside. Old roofs without a proper underlay let dust fall through every gap. Even a modern roof sheds dust when nails are pulled and battens are lifted.
Most of the fall lands on whatever is sitting just under the rafters. Boxes of papers, suitcases, old furniture and stored clothes are all at risk. A dust sheet helps, but plastic left over cardboard can trap damp, so the better course is to take valuable things out.
The roofers also need the space for themselves. Battens are often replaced from outside, but timbers, the wall plate at the base of the rafters and the inside face of any chimney are checked and sometimes repaired from within. If those are blocked by stored goods, the job takes longer and the checks are less thorough.
What to move and what can stay
A sensible rule is to move out anything you would be upset to see covered in dust, and anything that blocks a working route. In practice, this means three groups.
- Out of the house. Photographs, documents, electronics, textiles, anything fragile or sentimental. Take them downstairs, not just to the other end of the loft.
- Moved to the middle. Furniture and heavy boxes that cannot go downstairs. Stack them away from the eaves, under the ridge, and cover them with sheeting held down with tape or weights.
- Left in place. The water tank, if there is one, and the insulation between the joists. We cover the tank lid and protect the insulation rather than removing it.
If your loft has a boarded floor or a fixed ladder, tell us at the survey. Boards over the joists can hide wiring, and we may need to lift some sections to reach the wall plate. A boarded loft room that has been converted is a different case, and any plaster ceilings and finished surfaces under the slopes will need dust protection as well.
Insulation, ventilation and the things you cannot see
Many lofts hold insulation, and a re-roof is the right time to look at it. Mineral wool laid between the joists gets covered in dust during the strip, but it can usually stay. Insulation that is damp, flattened or crushed under stored boxes loses its value and is better replaced.
Ventilation matters because a cold loft needs air to carry moisture out. Marley's guidance, based on BS 5250, describes continuous ventilation at the eaves, with a 25 mm gap for some underlay types at low pitches and 10 mm above 15 degrees. Older roofs often had gaps and draughts that did the job by accident, and a new, tight covering changes that. We check how air will move before the roof is closed up, and adjust the eaves details if needed.
Do not push insulation into the eaves, because it blocks that airflow. Our survey photographs show the current state, so you can see what is there before it is covered or replaced.
Spray foam is a separate case. If your loft has it, tell us at the first visit, because it hides timbers and changes what we can inspect.
Electrics, tanks and access on the day
A few services pass through a loft and are worth knowing about. Cables for lighting sit across the joists. A cold water tank may have pipes that need lagging in winter. Extractor fans and flues may run up to the roof. None of these are a reason to delay, but tell us where they are.
Access also matters. Roofers rarely enter through the loft hatch, but someone has to go up and look at the timbers. A clear path from the hatch to the eaves, with floorboards or a safe walking line, saves time. Turn off any loft lights before the start, and leave a torch at the hatch if the bulb is old.
On the day, we cover the area around the hatch inside the house too. Dust travels, and a few sheets on the landing keep it from the carpet. If you have a stairlift or a pet, we work out where the floor protection goes in advance, so nothing is a surprise when the strip begins.
Planning the clear-out around the rest of the job
Give yourself time. Clearing a loft takes longer than expected, and a few days of notice before the start helps. If you are still deciding whether the roof needs more than patching, repair or replace will help you decide whether the work is needed in the first place, which is worth settling before you move anything.
Leave room for the paperwork, too. When a re-roof is notifiable, the inspector may want sight of the timbers and insulation before they are covered, and a clear loft makes that quick; see the completion certificate for what is issued. Stage payments, if you are paying that way, are set out in paying for a new roof.
At the survey we spell out how much needs to move and send a short list before the start date. For the whole sequence, read our roof replacement page. When the job ends we sweep up and remove the waste, loft debris included.
