Finish Attic Space

Finishing the attic into liveable space nets an average of 93 out of 10 Joy Score or sense of happiness the owners have upon completion on NARs renovation report. Any living space requires at least 7 feet of headroom over a floor area of at least 70 square feet measuring at least 7 feet in each direction.

10 Important Things You Need To Do When Finishing Your Attic

Many older homes were built with steep pitched roofs and plenty of available height that makes attic conversion easy and inexpensive.

Finish attic space. Turning an attic into a room can add value to your home and additional living space for your family. Enforcement varies but codes typically say that at least half of a finished attic must be at least 7 feet high and that this area must be a minimum of 7 feet wide and 70 square feet. Most homes with a walk-up attic will have these larger joists.

To maximize headroom properly insulate your attic and ventilate the roof use a combination of dense batt insulation rigid foam sheeting and air chutes. Keep in mind that if you only want to use it for storage a pull-down staircase is fine But if youre going to use it for a living space youll need a permanent staircase. We built a big custom table in there with lots of storage and lots of built-ins around it.

How Much Space Is Needed for a Finished Attic. The area in the attic must be at least 7 feet wide. If your home is on a small lot and your family wants more space without moving finishing an attic could be the right move.

The attic must have at least 70 square feet of space or more of course. While your space may look big remember that youll be installing flooring wall and ceiling materials that reduce the dimensions. Flooring ceiling and wall materials and other elements will reduce headroom and floor space and its the finished area that matters.

Follow the rule of 7s. But there are smaller projects that will do that and save you money. Thats on one side.

Embrace the angled walls and convert your attic into a master suite guest room office or a custom hideaway. There are many things to consider before undertaking the work. For an attic to be structurally sound and able to transition into a habitable space you need 2x10 or 2x12 joists.

If youre finishing your attic insulating it to the proper R-value can cause a dramatic loss of headroom if you limit yourself to fiberglass batts. Turn your attic into a useful space thats not just storage. There are a couple of questions to consider when assessing the basic space requirements to finish your attic.

Finishing an attic crawl space requires completion of three areas -- the floor walls and ceiling -- all using a similar approach. At the Lyons house this meant that only a portion of the attic was usable though some of the low-clearance area was tapped for storage. So if youre planning to get a few years of use out of it the investment might make more sense.

However larger joists may. The other side is just. Smaller 2x6 and 2x8 joists are not safe for supporting furniture and people for a livable attic space.

Whatever the family needs you can finish that attic space. Finishing your attic into an additional living space will increase the value of your home. 27 Amazing Attic Remodels Looking for more square footage.

Determine if a permit is required Step 1 Visit your local municipalitys building services department with a plan for the finished attic. These design ideas will help you transform your finished or remodeled attic into a walk-in closet home office game room playroom. Ive got one that is a craft room for the family.

Finished is important to remember when youre measuring an empty attic space. The basic space requirements for a finished attic boil down to the sizes of the finished rooms. A contractor or a local building official can help you assess how the rule will apply to your attic and how modifications like dormers can resolve height shortcomings.

27 Amazing Attic Remodels Diy