Building Out An Attic To Usable Space

A stair designed with an intermediate landing and two runs needs about 8 feet on the lower level.

Building out an attic to usable space.

The headroom in the attic will determine how much usable floor space you have. Your attic has a climate of its own. Reclaiming the space under your roof also avoids many zoning and easement concerns common chores when adding onto a house. Considering usable floor space.

At least 50 of the usable floor space should have a ceiling height of 7 5 ft. 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. Warmer in both summer and winter if it s well insulated. To meet most building codes your attic should.

The hunt for extra square footage in your home never stops. Figure out how you re going to get up and down from the finished attic space. If one gets stained swap it with one in a less conspicuous part of the room. Some homeowners decide to build an addition onto their house.

Floor space and dimensions. While local codes vary many communities will not permit the ceiling in a finished. When converting an attic to a living space it must meet the same building requirements as the other rooms in your home. Habitable attic space must satisfy the same requirements that govern rooms in the rest of the house.

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. Converting an attic to a living area yields a modest return on your investment. Whether you want another bedroom or just extra living space there is some major value to adding an extra room. Attic conversions allow homeowners to build up rather than out for a renovation that maximizes space.

Converting your attic into usable finished space can increase the value of your home by maximizing the available square footage. A modular sectional makes a great place to snuggle and lounge. 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. An attic bedroom exploits roof space previously devoted to high school yearbooks and nesting sparrows.

A straight run stair will chew up 10 to 14 feet of floor space. Enlarging an existing stairway or adding a new one will affect spaces below. To pass code there must be at least 70 square feet where the ceiling height is 5 feet or. 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.

For maximum comfort create a separate zone within your hvac system for the finished space.