Building Out An Attic To Usable Space

Carpet tiles are also a brilliant choice for playrooms.

Building out an attic to usable space.

Reclaiming the space under your roof also avoids many zoning and easement concerns common chores when adding onto a house. If your home is smaller than other homes in your area or simply lacks the necessary amount of storage or living space for your family finishing your attic is a relatively inexpensive way to increase your usable space. Habitable attic space must satisfy the same requirements that govern rooms in the rest of the house. For maximum comfort create a separate zone within your hvac system for the finished space.

A straight run stair will chew up 10 to 14 feet of floor space. Have at least 7 feet of vertical clearance in the majority of the room be a minimum of 7 feet wide and have at least 70 square feet of space available. If your attic is a playroom pile on vibrant colors to make the space bright and happy. The hunt for extra square footage in your home never stops.

Your attic has a climate of its own. Converting an attic to a living area yields a modest return on your investment. However if you can clear building and electrical code hurdles attic conversions are a good way to increase space without spending a lot of money. There s a chance you ll need to enlarge the system if your attic wasn t heated or cooled previously so call in a pro to make sure it s up to snuff.

When converting an attic to a living space it must meet the same building requirements as the other rooms in your home. A stair designed with an intermediate landing and two runs needs about 8 feet on the lower level. Warmer in both summer and winter if it s well insulated. Whether you want another bedroom or just extra living space there is some major value to adding an extra room.

While local codes vary many communities will not permit the ceiling in a finished. Figure out how you re going to get up and down from the finished attic space. Some homeowners decide to build an addition onto their house. To meet most building codes your attic should.

Enlarging an existing stairway or adding a new one will affect spaces below. Considering usable floor space. An attic bedroom exploits roof space previously devoted to high school yearbooks and nesting sparrows. Attic conversions allow homeowners to build up rather than out for a renovation that maximizes space.

To pass code there must be at least 70 square feet where the ceiling height is 5 feet or. Floor space and dimensions. Space regulations are often a deal breaker for many homeowners. At least 50 of the usable floor space should have a ceiling height of 7 5 ft.

Converting your attic into usable finished space can increase the value of your home by maximizing the available square footage.