FAQ · Roof storage & insulation
Storing things in the roof: no insulation takes the weight, so we board a platform above it on raised battens.
There’s no insulation you can stack boxes on without crushing it, and crushed insulation loses R-value just there. The fix is a boarded platform on raised battens above the insulation, or batts in the storage zone with cellulose everywhere else.
It’s a question I get from people who use the roof space for the Christmas tree, the spare suitcases and a few boxes, and it’s a good one. The obvious answer (“just pick a tough insulation”) is the wrong one. The real answer isn’t a product at all. Here’s why, and the two ways we set a storage roof up properly.
Real reviews, real jobs
What our customers say
Genuine Google & hipages reviews from Comfort Zone customers across SE Queensland.
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Angela M.
SE Queensland
“The fact that I can't even tell it's 6 degrees outside when I wake up in the morning speaks for itself. Have wasted so much money attempting to heat and cool an uninsulated home. Worth every $.”
- Phipages
P Peter
Alstonvale, 2024
“Connected with Comfort Zone Insulation and would recommend them”
- J
Jessa B.
Brisbane
“It dropped about 4 degrees straight away, and we added another 3 with the second job. I appreciate Peter's honesty, and the team showed pictures before and after.”
- Nhipages
Nola M
Birtinya, 2024
“They were courteous and competent.”
- I
Iain V-B.
Brisbane
“Quick and polite service. Great follow-up advice and photos sent for our records. Above and beyond what we expected. Would highly recommend.”
- Jhipages
Jennifer's E
Upper Caboolture, 2024
“Excellent customer service. Highly recommended. Has a profound knowledge of insulation products and has the best interest of his customer.”
- G
Gerry S
Fitzgibbon, 2023
“I used Comfort Zone and they have a done an excellent job.”
- Jhipages
Jennifer
Upper Caboolture, 2024
“Excellent customer service. Highly recommend. Has a profound knowledge of insulation products and has the customer best interest.”
- J
Jung K
Riverhills, 2023
“An experienced family operation. Highly recommend. Thank you for the great job!”
- Dhipages
Diane A
Ormeau, 2024
“Peter and crew did a great job I would definitely recommend them”
- D
David H
Sunshine Coast, 2021
“Completed the job as quoted and to a high standard. Great personal service. Would highly recommend Comfort Zone for ceiling installation work.”
- Thipages
Timea
Highland Park, 2023
“I was extremely satisfied with the service they provided. They gave a very thourough explanation of the materials used, the way the work will be carried out and the price I had to pay was the exact amount quoted, no hidden costs included. They arrived on time, well prepared and workwas carried out exactly how they said it would be, they were super efficient, well prepared and were kind enough to even clean up after themselves. The services they provided was second to none! I don't hesitate to recommend them for any insulation job!”
- B
Benjamin H
Carseldine, 2019
“Very good explanation about their works. Advice of existing problems with the roof. Clean work. Very professional.”
- Mhipages
Mark
Pottsville, 2017
“Michelle, we are done - Peter from comfort zone insulation was very helpful. very honest with his recommendations - in fact he told me that the product my daughter had if installed correctly was superb. Thanks Peter you are a champion and i would recommend you to any person that was wanting professional advice and old school service.”
- I
Ian G
Burnside, 2019
“Good information, communication and professionalism.”
- Jhipages
Jessica
Pottsville, 2016
“This business offers a fantastic product that other businesses did not. Pump in ceiling insulation. Knowledge of the industry second to none.”
- D
Danny D
Boondall, 2018
“He explained everything he was going to do and the different types of insulation they used. He talked through the different options but made a recommendation for the one most people use, which is the one I chose. He was very understanding towards what I needed and not about himself.”
- Jhipages
Jack
Pottsville, 2023
“Excellent communication and informative. Professional.”
- G
Graham R
Riverhills, 2018
“Comfort Zone. Turned up ahead of time, completed in about 2 hours, cleaned up. All good. Very motivated installation team.”
- Thipages
Tony P
Redland Bay, 2023
“Very knowledgeable about insulation”
- A
Alex B
West Ipswich, 2018
“Fast, friendly, efficient.”
- Shipages
Steve
Redland Bay, 2017
“Excellent job and reasonable price.”
- L
Luke D
Mcdowall, 2017
“Peter did a good job. It was a quick and clean service. I'm happy to recommend!”
- Bhipages
Bruce H
Kuluin, 2023
“Prompt and efficient quoting.”
- B
Brendon
Brays Creek, 2016
“Peter supplied and installed roof insulation for me. He was very informative and provided good advice.”
- Ghipages
Gerry S
Fitzgibbon, 2023
“I used Comfort Zone and they have a done an excellent job.”
- T
Trevor G
Brookside Centre, 2016
“Excellent tradesmen from Comfort Zone Insulation. They were punctual and cleaned up after. Highly recommended.”
- Thipages
Tamara
Underwood, 2023
“Peter is honest, hard-working and came on time. Knew excally what he was talking about and answered my questions. Would 100% recommend”
- J
John G
Beaudesert, 2019
“Peter is an honest person who provided me with the information I wanted then performed a good job with great results for the benefit of myself and my family.”
- Shipages
Sterling G
Ashgrove, 2023
“Comfort Zone were very knowledge with great communication and follow up”
- Ghipages
Graham R
Riverhills, 2018
“Comfort Zone. Turned up ahead of time completed in +- 2 hours cleaned. All good. Very motivated installation team”
- Jhipages
Jung K
Riverhills, 2023
“An experienced family operation. Highly recommend. Thank you for the great job!”
- Khipages
Kathy A
North Lakes, 2023
“We connected with Peter through HiPages and he was prompt, professional and even came back after the job was complete to assist with a question we had. We would highly recommend Peter for further insulation works.”
- Dhipages
David H
Sunshine Coast, 2021
“Completed the job as quoted and to a high standard. Great personal service. Would highly recommend Comfort Zone for ceiling installationn work.”
- Shipages
Sue H
Sunshine Coast, 2021
“Incredible customer service”
- Ehipages
Eileen C
Cedar Vale, 2021
“Quality work, good customer service, prompt”
- Chipages
Craig M
Woody Point, 2021
“Called within 5 minutes of request. Very knowledgeable and explained job in great detail, provide great advice in prior preparation for works required. Very friendly and helpful.”
- Jhipages
Jenny C
Plainland, 2021
“Although I did not hire Peter I was impressed with the initial contact and the knowledge he was willing to impart. I was treated with respect which I appreciated. I would have hired but I received a lower quote.”
- Qhipages
Quinton
Coomera, 2020
“Professional installation without any short cuts. True to their word with high integrity. Response from Comfort Zone Insulation”
- Ghipages
Gary P
West Kempsey, 2020
“Came & Gave a free quote”
Why you can’t just stack boxes on insulation.
Start with how insulation actually works. It traps still air in millions of tiny pockets, and it’s that trapped air, not the fibre itself, that slows the heat down. The depth and fluffiness is the R-value. So the moment you walk a path across it or stand a stack of boxes on it, you squash those air pockets flat, and that compressed patch insulates at a lower R-value than the rest of your ceiling. It’s not the whole roof that suffers, just the squashed footprint. But a decent stack of gear can leave a fair-sized cold patch right over a bedroom.
That’s not me talking the product up. It’s in the official guidance. The Australian Government’s yourhome guide lists “compression of bulk insulation” among the things that reduce a ceiling’s total R-value. It applies to every bulk insulation there is: fibreglass batts, polyester batts and pumped-in cellulose alike. Loose-fill cellulose at least springs back better than a flattened batt, which stays squashed. But no insulation gives you its full rating once it’s packed down under weight.
“People ask which insulation they can store on. The straight answer is none of them, so we don’t crush it, we lift your storage up off it. Set it up right and you keep both.”Peter Johnson, Comfort Zone Insulation Team
Option one: the one we usually like
A boarded platform on raised battens, above the insulation.
The neat way to store things in a roof is to lift the storage floor above the insulation instead of resting it on top. We lay timber battens across your ceiling joists to raise the level, so the full depth of insulation can sit underneath uncompressed, the way it’s meant to. Then we board a small platform over those battens for your boxes.
The insulation keeps its depth and its R-value, and you get a tidy, walkable spot up there. We work the size and position out with you on the day, around your manhole and what you actually need to store, usually a modest platform near the access hatch, not the whole ceiling. It’s a small bit of carpentry that protects the insulation you’ve paid for, instead of you slowly flattening it every time you climb up.
Comfort Zone insulation.team
Family-owned insulation manufacturer, making comfy homes since 1986
Option two: the simpler middle road
Batts in the storage zone, cellulose everywhere else.
If you’d rather not build a platform, here’s the other option. We can run batts through the small storage zone and pump cellulose across the rest of the ceiling. You still get the seamless, gap-free cellulose blanket over the bulk of the house, with batts in the bit you climb on. Batts handle the odd footstep without scattering, where loose-fill would just need raking back into place afterwards.
I’ll be straight that it’s not as good thermally as keeping your boxes up off the insulation entirely. Anything you stack on the batts still compresses them where it sits, so that patch loses R-value the same way. But it’s a sensible middle road if a boarded platform is more than you want. The point is there’s a right way to do this either way, and we’ll talk you through which suits your roof rather than just defaulting to the dearer option. Whichever way we go, I sell all three products and quote you the one that actually fits the job.
- Cellulose pumped seamless across the whole ceiling for the best, gap-free thermal result.
- A small batt-lined storage zone, or a raised boarded platform, only where you actually climb and stack.
- Set out around your manhole and your real storage needs, not the whole roof boarded over.
How it’s done on the day
We’d rather set it up right than have you flatten your insulation.
The reason this matters is simple: you only insulate your roof once, and most people never climb up to see what storage has done to it over the years. A flattened track to the water tank or a stack of boxes quietly knocks the R-value down right where it’s squashed, and you just live with a warmer room and wonder why. Sorting the storage out at install time costs a little and saves you that.
Every job is photographed and the photos are checked before you’re invoiced, so you can see the platform or the batt zone is set up properly, even the parts you’d never climb up to look at. That’s our system, the same on every job, run by Comfort Zone franchise owner-operators trained to one standard and held to it. We’d much rather build your storage right than hand you back insulation you’re going to crush.
Comfort Zone insulation.team
Family-owned insulation manufacturer, making comfy homes since 1986
More on storage, compression and R-value
I want to store things in my roof. What's the best insulation?+
There's no insulation you can stack boxes straight on top of without a cost, so the answer isn't a product; it's a bit of setup. Every loose-fill and every batt gets compressed where you walk or stack on it, and compressed insulation loses R-value just in that spot. Squashing the fibres squeezes out the trapped air that does the insulating. The Australian Government's yourhome guide lists compression of bulk insulation as one of the things that reduces a ceiling's total R-value. So rather than flatten good insulation, we'd set up a small boarded storage platform on raised battens above the insulation, so your boxes sit clear of it, or run batts through the small storage zone and pump cellulose everywhere else. We'd rather build it right than have you crush what you paid for.
Does standing or storing boxes on ceiling insulation really wreck it?+
Only where you crush it, and only while it's crushed. Insulation works by holding still air in millions of tiny pockets; the depth and fluffiness is the R-value. Walk a path across it or stack boxes on it and you squash those pockets flat, so that compressed patch insulates at a lower R-value than the rest of the ceiling. The yourhome guide names compression of bulk insulation among the factors that reduce total R-value. It's not the whole ceiling that suffers, just the squashed footprint. But a stack of boxes can be a fair-sized cold patch right over a bedroom. Loose-fill cellulose springs back better than a flattened batt does. But no insulation gives you its full rating once it's been packed down under weight.
How do you set up a storage platform without ruining the insulation?+
We raise the storage floor above the insulation instead of resting it on top. The trick is battens, timber rails laid across the ceiling joists to lift the storage boards up so the full depth of insulation can sit underneath, uncompressed, the way it's meant to. Then we board a small platform over those battens for your boxes. The insulation keeps its depth and its R-value, and you get a tidy, walkable spot to store things. We work the size and position out with you on the day around your manhole and what you actually need to store, usually a modest platform near the access hatch, not the whole ceiling. It's a small bit of carpentry that protects the insulation you've paid for, instead of slowly flattening it every time you climb up.
Should I just use batts where I want to store things, instead of cellulose?+
That's the other option, and sometimes it's the simpler one. We can run batts through the small storage zone and pump cellulose across the rest of the ceiling, so you still get the seamless, gap-free cellulose blanket over the bulk of the house, with batts in the bit you climb on. Batts handle the odd footstep without scattering, where loose-fill would just need raking back. It's not as good thermally as keeping the boxes up off the insulation entirely, since anything you stack on the batts still compresses them where it sits. But it's a sensible middle road if you don't want a boarded platform. We'll talk you through which way suits your roof rather than just selling you the dearer option.
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Use your roof for storage and not sure how to insulate it? Call Peter on 0414 586 315 , I’ll work out the platform or batt zone with you, not just sell you a product.