Up in the roof!

Well today I decided that today was the day and ventured up into my loft with the grand plan of converting it into a wargaming room..
Originally I was planning to convert the whole loft space (which is divided into two sections due to the roof support trusses) and I also planned to get a contractor in to do the 'dirty work' first. By dirty work I mean laying the flooring and putting a light up there for me.
Alas, as per usual with all the best laid plans this isn't to be. One of the downsides of being self employed is that when  the work dries up then so does your income!... and yes, you gussed it, just as I'm about to get the contractor in ... my work dries up to a trickle.....typical.
So what now?... After talking it over with the wife, I've decided (A) to convert half the loft space for now and (B) to do the work myself..
I'm lucky enough to be pretty handy with the old toolbox (thanks to my Father!) and have spent the past 18 months renovating our house doing such things as building partition walls, plasterboarding ceilings etc so the thought of doing out this space doesn't really phase me too much... It's just really, really, dirty work... The first stages are at least.
Here's a few pics to show you what I'm currently faced with....

Isn' it just lovely? ..... Anyway, first job today was to clear the half of the loft I plan to use of all the junk that my wife insists we keep hold of until our dying day... You know the stuff.... boxes of books you'll never read again, a 1980's VCR , a dismantled wardrobe... her Grandmother in a rocking chair..... 

So this was completed to day and I measured up for the flooring panels at the same time. Although the space is not huge I should still manage to get a 7' or 8' x 5' table in there. The first problem I can see is the actual loft opening. It's in an awkward place ... it would be right? .. but I think I may be able to get around this by constructing a panel that closes over the opening (flush with the new floor) while I'm up there. I may also have to put some kind of castor wheel set on my table so that I can move it around a little.... I need to think on that for a while before I actually build the thing (a long way off yet).

Next job is to sink the electrical cables which cross the joists so as they are not trapped between the new floor and the joists. .. After that comes the new floor.... Stay tuned to see how it progresses!