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.
Finish short attic.
Affix rigid foam insulation to the attic side of the hatch or door.
Converting your attic into usable finished space can increase the value of your home by maximizing the available square footage.
Reclaiming the space under your roof also avoids many zoning and easement concerns common chores when adding onto a house.
To meet all three goals insulating your finished attic ventilating the roof and maximizing headroom use a combination of dense batt insulation rigid foam sheeting and air chutes.
Enlarging an existing stairway or adding a new one will affect spaces below.
Attic hatch or door.
Emre can pexels does a finished attic add resale value.
A bedroom dressing area and master bathroom.
A stair designed with an intermediate landing and two runs needs about 8 feet on the lower level.
An attic bedroom exploits roof space previously devoted to high school yearbooks and nesting sparrows.
Pull down stair or ladder.
Figure out how you re going to get up and down from the finished attic space.
Every attic is different but a few established norms and practices will guide your renovation.
Follow the rule of 7s.
A contractor or a local building.
Converting an attic to a living area yields a modest return on your investment.
Learn how to finish an attic s walls and ceiling with these easy step by step directions.
A straight run stair will chew up 10 to 14 feet of floor space.
Building codes vary by location but most require at least a 7 foot clearance for attic expansions.
That s measured after you finish the ceiling if you don t have enough height you ll have to raise the roof line and that adds a lot to your construction costs.
Yes especially when you compare to the value of a finished basement which will appraise for about 30 less in value than above ground space high above ground level your finished attic space will be more valuable in the eyes of the appraiser explains berg who was an appraiser for 14 years before he became a.
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.
Cost skill level start to finish 2 days.
If you re finishing your attic insulating it to the proper r value can cause a dramatic loss of headroom if you limit yourself to fiberglass batts.
In a tight attic space finishing the walls and ceiling is especially important.
Nail gun level.
Add weatherstripping around the perimeter and a sweep to the door of a walk up attic.
First check for head clearance.