Over a few years, boarding the loft is usually the cheaper option, because you pay once rather than every four weeks. But it only stays cheap if it’s done without squashing your insulation, and a loft suits light things you rarely need. For bulky furniture, heavy boxes or anything you’d hate to lose to damp or heat, a storage unit is often the better home.
Board it properly, or it costs you in heating
Laying boards straight onto loft insulation, or piling boxes on top of it, squashes it, and squashed insulation keeps far less heat in. In tests reported by the National Physical Laboratory, compressing loft insulation cut its thermal resistance roughly in half. The usual answer is raised boarding: loft legs or a raised floor that sit above the insulation, with boards on top. It costs more than boards laid flat, but it keeps your heating bills where they were.
Before you book anyone, ask what they’ll do about the insulation, and get a written quote that includes it.
What a loft is good for
- light, rarely used things such as Christmas decorations, suitcases and spare bedding;
- anything you’re happy to fetch once or twice a year;
- boxes you can lift safely up a loft ladder.
Where a storage unit makes more sense
- Furniture and big pieces. Sofas, beds and wardrobes don’t fit through a loft hatch, and a unit takes them as they are.
- Heavy boxes. Carrying books or kitchenware up and down a ladder is a real risk, especially as we get older. With us you park, load a free trolley and wheel things to your door.
- Things that dislike heat and damp. Lofts can get very hot in summer and cold in winter. Our units are clean, dry and secure, with our indoor units purpose-built inside our buildings.
- A short-term need. For a renovation, a house move or a gap between homes, paying for storage for a few months can cost less than boarding a loft you don’t otherwise need.
Comparing the costs
On our October 2026 price lists, the middle price every four weeks was £85 for a 25 sq ft unit and £133 for 50 sq ft. Our prices vary by site and change often. A unit compares best when you need it for a set number of months rather than for good. The minimum stay is just two weeks, and when you’re done you give notice, normally 14 days.
If you’d like a hand weighing it up, call us on 0800 2545585, or get a price online.
Related questions
- How much does it cost to store furniture?
- How do I know what unit size I need?
- Do storage units get cold in winter or hot in summer?
- Is a loft or a storage unit better for storing things?
Further reading
- National Physical Laboratory, via EurekAlert!: research on compressed loft insulation (2013)