At usihome we design and manufacture roof trusses for all types of construction.
Converting your attic into living space.
A guide to convert attic space to living space.
Technical issues such as locating a safe staircase and the distribution of additional joists required to accommodate the new load bearing and stress factors.
Transform your unused attic.
Converting an attic into a living space is a great method of adding another room to the house but it is not a job for the average diy person.
More tips for converting an attic to a living space if converting your attic to a bedroom.
If your attic isn t 7 feet you could lower the floor or raise the attic height.
Regulated for a reason like basement remodels attic conversions have restrictions that make them less attractive for remodeling as they might first appear.
An attic conversion requires easy access from an adjoining second story room or a staircase to provide entrance to and exit from the room.
When we had our townhouse built we had the option to turn the unused attic into a functional living space.
Below you can see townhouses with and without a third floor.
In order to turn your attic space into living space the ceilings must be 7 feet from the floor.
Fire as a cause of injury and death is the main reason for these restrictions.
The international building code requires sleeping rooms below the fourth floor of a home or building to have at least one exterior emergency escape and rescue opening with a minimum size of 5 7 square feet.
This brings up the question of what remains below where the stairs begin.
Think of load as weight that additional load at the top of your house was not planned for structurally when your home was built.
An attic with a steeply pitched roof works best since it allows for enough ceiling height in the room.
Turning that attic into living space is going to add some previously unaccounted for load upstairs.
That third floor is how it would look with the unused attic space totally transformed.
Is there a good spot for them to start on the floor below.
One way is by working within the home s existing footprint and converting the attic into living space.
At least half of your attic space must be 7 feet high by 7 feet wide with a total of 70 square feet.
You ll need a skilled contractor for either project.
How much of that living space will be lost upon building the staircase.
Otherwise adding an extra room and optimizing the space at your disposal will be much more difficult.
Converting an attic has house wide structural implications.
We chose not to do it and i ve regretted it since.