Finish Off Attic Space

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.

Finish off attic space. For a finished attic to be to code it must satisfy the same living requirements of other rooms sometimes called the rule of sevens any living space in a home needs to have at least 7 feet 2 1 m of clearance from the floor to the ceiling and there needs to be at least 70 square feet of space available at least 7 feet 2 1 m in each direction. Any living space requires at least 7 feet of headroom over a floor area of at least 70 square feet measuring at least 7 feet in each direction. Stairs can take up a lot of space in both the attic and in the floor below so they are important considerations for planning. Building code also requires that the.

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. The botton story has an 8 ceiling with can lights. Finishing the attic into liveable space nets an average of 9 3 out of 10 joy score or sense of happiness the owners have upon completion on nar s renovation report. Just keep structure safety and purpose in mind as you plan out your new space.

Every attic is different but a few established norms and practices will guide your renovation. Follow the rule of 7s. Don t mash or compress the insulation into the space. In general stairs must be at least 3 feet wide and provide at least 6 feet 8 inches of headroom.

It needs a certain amount of loft to work properly. User 3093107 posted in construction techniques on september 16 2020 09 17pm i m building an outdoor office for my wife. 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. If building a knee wall for storage like karl did with this project make sure to insulate that area as well.

When done without proper planning or adherence to local building codes it can actually reduce the value of your home or stall a sale. At the lyons house this meant that only a portion of the attic was usable though some of the low clearance area was tapped for storage. The building is new 2 4 stud construction on a concrete pad. Finishing your attic can add space and utility and increase the value of your home as long as it s done properly.

For the right home and market a finished attic can feel like a cherry on top of the property. Step 1 check the ceiling height. Finished attics need stairs that meet all of the standard staircase requirements. Just because it seems like there is enough space in your attic to be converted into a finished room doesn t mean it s actually a good idea to try it.

The building is 20 x10. Staple insulation between the wall studs and ceiling joists image a. Finishing an attic space. So if you re planning to get a few years of use out of it the investment might make more sense.

At least 50 step 2 make sure the attic has a full size staircase.