I received a call the other day from a woman that was very excited and needed advice.
Do i need a permit to finish my attic upland.
Finished is important to remember when you re measuring an empty attic space.
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.
Finishing your attic can add space and utility and increase the value of your home as long as it s done properly.
Finish my basement or attic do i need a permit.
Here are some must do tips to follow when finishing your attic.
When done without proper planning or adherence to local building codes it can actually reduce the value of your home or stall a sale.
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.
In most cases though the joists cannot support live loads and may not even be covered with boards.
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.
Flooring ceiling and wall materials and other elements will reduce headroom and floor space and it s the finished area that matters.
The basic space requirements for a finished attic boil down to the sizes of the finished rooms.
If your attic joists won t bear the weight necessary to finish out a living space but the engineer cleared them to support floor decking for light storage you can install inch plywood or.
With the idea that the homeowner could later on finish the space.
After almost completing her attic with a contractor the contractor never returned ignored her calls repeatedly and finally when she caught him on the phone he responded that he had no more time to complete.
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.
Converting your attic into usable finished space can increase the value of your home by maximizing the available square footage.
Beware the following mistakes when finishing your attic.