Ideas for a loft guard with hinged opening

[menousername]

Hi all

Appreciate any ideas here for some kind of swing hinge or pivot hinge so I can make my own loft hatch guard from timber.

Apologies no photos.

In my loft I have two sets of “V trusses” running left-to-right in line with the roof. Centre section between them is boarded for storage, and the loft hatch is here too.

The loft hatch “direction” is 90 degrees to the direction of the boarding and trusses, so you come up the lander and step left or right as opposed to forwards.

On the right is the bulk of the area for storage, on the left there is approx 1.5m to the end wall, which is where the boiler is situated.

I need a hatch guard to protect the boiler engineer. However, when I knocked up a U-shaped guard around the hatch it was too intrusive when trying to take things up and down myself.

So instead I want to run a timber batton across from one V truss to the other, boiler side, with some kind of hinged / swinging join so that they can open and close it behind them. That would leave the storage area for me unhindered.

Lots of hinges online but all appear to be designed for doors. So I am concerned they could pose a risk to fingers if the spring is too strong. Some are auto close which may or may not be good for an engineer with a tool box.

So I am hoping anyone can recommend anything to save me a painful process of buying and refunding a dozen hinges.

Anyone done the same before your ideas will be very helpful

Thanks!

[beambeam1]

Boiler gets inspected once a year? Would a board across the hatch not suffice? Have engineers stated that they will not carry out work unless you have guards or railings in place?

[menousername]

Apparently bit of a formal requirement for a boiler in a loft.

Happy to section it off as its so close to the wall. Just a but trumped on how to design the opening

[Snow and Rocks]

menousername said:

Apparently bit of a formal requirement for a boiler in a loft.

Happy to section it off as its so close to the wall. Just a but trumped on how to design the opening

Formal requirement from who? Is this a new install/new house/existing system?

I appreciate that you just want input into how to build the gate/fence but we've got quite a bit of "plant" in the loft and this is first I've heard of any sort of rules.

[menousername]

New install replacing what was in the house, but taking opportunity to move it to loft

Installing engineers said it was a requirement that a guard and ladder with rail be in place.

However - for peace of mind I would prefer not to see the next engineer fall out head first

[beambeam1]

I love that he installed without but wants one for subsequent visits.

[OutInTheShed]

beambeam1 said:

I love that he installed without but wants one for subsequent visits.

That's because you normally have to remove all this stuff in order to get something the size of the boiler through the loft hatch!

[Grey_Area]

Have the loft hatch open upwards, and when closing, go down into a recessed frame; that way it will support walking on whilst in the loft.

[sherman]

Would a retractable stair gate suffice ?

Trongle 0-140 CM Retractable Stair Gate for Babies and Pets, 85 CM Tall Stair Gates for Dogs, Silent One-handed Operation, Retractable Baby Gate for Hallways, Stairs, Indoor and Outdoor, Black https://amzn.eu/d/a5ZPTnL

[Aluminati]

We use these on scaffold towers, sure it could be adapted.

https://shop.leachs.com/products/leachs-ladder-tra...

[menousername]

Thanks

I think the loft drop guard / inward opening hatch ideas are good but too much reworking would need to be done unfortunately.

Retractable baby gate a good idea too but I would need to build out the main frame from the trusses to the centre to give it something to attach to, at that point I may be better off find a hinge option and use the same timber off cuts for a quick swinging / retractable bar across the gap.

To answer the other point, I think someone answered it above - but they would not have been able to do the install with the guard in place. Plus they did not envisage coming back for the annual service they are more focused on bigger installation jobs and I get them in on my smaller domestic job after having been let down quite a bit

[Baldchap]

Could you fit a handle to the inside and simply close the hatch that way?

Or alternatively, could you fit a hinged 'cover' to the hatch running parallel to it but far enough away to be out of your way when up? If that's too big, two half size covers, one each side.

[menousername]

Thanks for the idea

I might be doable. Im not sure and will need to give it some thought.

But the loft ladder retracts up inside the hatch with the help of a kind of metal hockey stick shaped….stick

So if I am following you correctly, I would need a decent sized step ladder to open the inner hatch, before lowering the main loft ladder



Think I may do a trial and error on some hinges first