Putting A Room In The Attic

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

Putting a room in the attic.

There are many things to consider before undertaking the work. Measure the space around. Measure the space where you want to lay the floor. To be classified as a livable space your floor to ceiling height will have to be at least 7 feet.

Other options include creating more open flex spaces if you have a large open attic. However most require that at least half of the attic has a height of 7 feet 6 inches. Don t forget to factor in the inches you will lose with flooring and ceiling coverings. The first is your ceiling height.

Turning an attic into a room can add value to your home and additional living space for your family. Whatever you do likely your attic space is bonus space. There are projects that you can build into your renovation to meet building code which qualifies your attic for conversion into a living space. Building codes may make permits impossible to get if certain safety and structural requirements are not met.

Standard joist spacing for the installation of attic flooring materials is 16 inches on center oc meaning the distance from the center of one joist to the center of the next joist is 16 inches. If you prefer generating income from your home or would like a family member to stay with you if your attic is large enough you can turn it into a cozy apartment. You must make sure that your ceiling trusses will. Building codes vary on headroom and space.

In addition the living space must equal at least 70 square feet with a minimum width of 7 feet.