Finishing Attic Walls

The location of the top of the knee is marked and after checking the level long boards are attached to the ceiling joists.

Finishing attic walls. I tried linking panels with spray foam instead of taping. At least 50 step 2 make sure the attic has a full size staircase. It needs a certain amount of loft to work properly. Staple insulation between the wall studs and ceiling joists image 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. Low cabinets and bookcases fit snugly in the space under slanted ceilings. Step 1 check the ceiling height. I ve attached a few before and after pics.

Step 1 framing of the top and sides of the knee wall. In rare cases especially in new construction homes the attic may have been built unfinished with the correct flooring in place with the idea that the homeowner could later on finish the space. Every attic is different but a few established norms and practices will guide your renovation. I have a very similar attic wall to yours.

Now let s read about the steps for properly finishing the attic walls and ceiling. A contractor or a local building official can help you assess how the rule will apply to your attic and how modifications like dormers can resolve height shortcomings. Follow the rule of 7s. I used xps because it was on sale for crazy cheap and i haven t put up the ignition barrier yet.

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. Finishing an attic turns the finished parts into standard living spaces making them subject to all of the same rules that apply to other living areas of the home. I sealed all the gaps in the wall with canned foam and the xps is glued around the perimeter. In most cases though the joists cannot support live loads and may not even be covered with boards.

Building code also requires that the. There are no special exceptions just because it s living space in the attic. Finishing the attic my preference is to push the knee walls close to the eaves creating as much floor space as possible. Use r 30 insulation for the ceiling and r 13 for the walls.

Knee walls and flat ceilings running plumb from the roof rafters to the attic floor joists knee walls eliminate some of the roof s slope at the expense of less square footage of floor space in the. 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.