Attic Space- the bonus room above your present living area can be converted to living or storage area is one of the least expensive ways to gain an extra bedroom, storage room or special use room without adding on to the exterior of your home. they can be finished with or without adding a dormer or dormers on your roof. Dormers with windows will brighten up the room and make the room more usable for whatever use you are planning for the added floor area.

Things to consider when planning to finish your area are- access stairs, stairway, how to deal with sloping roof rafters, insulating, roof windows, framing, existing  rafter size, adding supports to the floor joists, electric service, circuits, outlets, lighting, heating/cooling.

Finished Attic or Loft- Adding Storage or Living Space to Your Home

Finished Attic Space- the bonus room above the present living area of your home can be a valuable space to remodel. Converting an attic to living or storage space is one of the least expensive ways to gain an extra bedroom, playroom, game room, sitting area, office, storage room or special use room without adding on to the exterior of your house. The attic can be finished with or without adding dormers to your roof. The benefit of adding dormers or roof windows are they will brighten up the space and make the attic more comfortable for living space.

If you are considering doing some improvements to your attic the first thing you need to do is make a list of what you would like to use the space for. Are you just looking to use the attic to store seasonal items and only occasionally go in the attic? if so, doing this can be as simple as installing folding attic stairs, a light fixture and a few sheets of plywood on top of the existing ceiling rafters to be used as a floor. If you are planning much more than this you will need to get up into the attic to survey the entire area and get dimensions and details with clearances and obstacles that may be in the way.

Things to consider when planning to finish your attic are; how to access the attic- stairs, stairway, how to deal with sloping roof rafters, insulation, roof windows, framing, existing  rafter size, adding supports to the attic floor joists, electric service, circuits, outlets, lighting, heating/cooling, windows or skylights and interior finishes.

I suggest calling a couple of contractors to get estimates for the construction and they also will survey the area and make recommendations to finish the space. Take a survey of the attic and note the important information and dimensions to accurately arrive at an estimate of the cost of finishing the room. Contact your local building dept. to get more information about building codes for this type of renovation to insure proper construction and the safety of your family.

• If you are capable, make a survey of the attic yourself before you call for estimates from contractors so you have an idea of the existing conditions.
• Check roof support rafters- are they individual rafters built on site when the house was originally framed or are they pre fabricated truss type joists with criss-crossed supports across the width of the attic. If they are truss type joists it may not be cost effective to go any further with the plan to finish your attic, as all of these joists would have to be modified to properly support the roof and open up useable space. If the rafters are conventionally framed and the space is open across the width of the rafters you have a good chance of being able to gain enough useable space.
• Check the size of the floor rafters- which are actually the ceiling rafters of the rooms below the attic. They may or may not be sufficient to carry the load of the new finished attic floor. If they are undersized you will have to add additional dimensional lumber or increase the size of every existing rafter. For instance, if the rafters are 2x6’s you may have to add a 2x8 next to every existing rafter to carry the load or add another 2x6 in between each existing one.
• If you are planning to use the attic for living space you will need a staircase to the attic from a room below. Modifications for this will have to be made in rooms below the space.
• Consider a spiral staircase if space is limited on the floor below, they can take up as little as a 5’ radius of floor space.
• Examine the slope of the existing roof rafters. Even though the rafters span the entire width of the house you will only be able to gain the space up to where the height will finish at about 5’ and above along the perimeter of the exterior walls. Example- if the actual attic is 26’ wide you may lose up to 8’-9’ on each side, giving the new room approx 10’-12’ wide of useable space due to the slope.
• Insulation- if the attic insulation is currently on the floor area you will need to insulate in between the roof rafters above the proposed finished space before you install the sheetrock
• Existing attic fans may have to be relocated of eliminated in areas within the new finished space.
• Existing electrical wiring may have to be rerouted to the exterior of the finished room and installed before the insulation is installed.
• Check for any existing plumbing vent pipe or flue vents that go thru the existing roof, relocation may be required, consult a professional.
• HVAC- existing ductwork may have to be rerouted before framing the new room.
• Plan how to heat & cool this new space, consult with a contractor for recommendations.
• Electric and lighting for the new space needs to be planned.
• Dormers should be considered to add space and windows to brighten the area during the daylight hours.
• Skylights or roof windows can be used as an alternate or in addition to adding a dormer.
• Plan how to feed the new building materials to the attic space. A larger temporary opening to the floor below may have to be made or the proposed staircase access can be used to feed the material to the area. Dormers can also be used to provide access for material before the windows are installed.
• Before demo and construction plan how to temporary cover roof areas that may be disturbed during construction.
• Before demo & construction install temporary dust barriers on rooms below that are open to the attic to control dust and air flow for heating and AC.
• Before demo, safe off or temporarily disconnect wiring to existing ceiling light fixtures below.
• During demo and construction install a temporary smoke detector in the attic and keep a fire extinguisher nearby during work activity.

This is a partial list to get you started in your planning to finish your attic and prepare you for some decisions and choices that you may encounter during the process.

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