Hello World! Welcome Friends! Sometimes when living conditions deem additional square footage a necessity, inspiration strikes to add on to your home. At times, though, the main dwelling is at capacity, and the only way to increase space is to go up…into the attic. And this is where professionals like Visionary lofts come in to make your dreams a reality!
A renovation of this sort can be a complicated, involved process, if it can be done at all. Building codes are drawn up and need meeting to do any kind of attic conversions. Local areas will each have their own specific requirements but the general guidelines exist wholly to take on this kind of remodeling project.
Basic Outline For Converting An Attic Into Livable Space
If you want to remodel your home to have the attic considered as livable space, there are building code guidelines that the attic has to meet before a project of this sort can begin. Some attics don’t meet the guidelines and aren’t able to be converted. In this situation, if your home is too small and there’s no place else for you to add on, selling the house and finding something more significant would be the only other option. Let’s look at the guidelines that need meeting.
- The requirement for the floor space in an attic is that it be at least 70 sq. feet (6.5 m²) with it coming out 7′ in each direction, making a minimum requirement of a 7 × 10 space. This guideline is said to be in place to avoid the possibility of awkward layouts.
- The roof structure needs to be supported using rafters as opposed to trusses. Follow https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/interiors/lofty-ideals-the-dos-and-don-ts-of-converting-your-attic-1.3845872 for do’s and don’ts with your renovation.
- It is a requirement that there be enough headroom for anyone coming into the room. A majority of codes enforced issue a height requirement of 7.5′ minimum covering a minimal space of 50% of floor area. When taking measurements, you need to consider any finishing material that will add to the thickness of the ceiling or the flooring reducing the height.
- The floor joists will be responsible for a large capacity, including people, animals, furniture, which the code calls ‘live’ load in comparison to ‘dead’ load of items such as suitcases, boxes, and so forth. These joists need to have a capacity of 30 lb. (ca. 14 kg) per sq. foot for which there can be boards used as reinforcement and subfloor construction.
- A pull-down stair or hatchway is not an acceptable entryway for the attic once it deems as a livable part of the home. There has to be a standard stairway promoting safe, easy access. Per the guidelines in the code, the stairway has to have a width of at least 36″ with treads that bear a depth no less than 9.5″ and headroom at a minimum of 6’8″ the entire length. If you have a small main dwelling, you need to take into consideration that the addition of a staircase will detract from the floor of that living space up to as much as 14′.
- The attic will need to pass as a safe room complete with an exit in the instance of fire, meaning it needs at least one egress window. It should be over 44″ from the floor and bear a clear opening at 5.7 sq. feet (0.53 m²).
- If this area is going to be inhabited, it has to have a constant temperature throughout the year of no less than 68 degrees. An attic is usually reasonably warm as heat from the rest of the house will typically rise. In unusual circumstances where this doesn’t happen, the HVAC system will need to compensate for the added attic capacity. Read here for conversion regulations.
Before making any substantial commitments or financial obligations, it would be wise to set an inspection with a local building inspector to talk over your potential renovation plans. This person will be able to tell you upon inspection exactly if the remodel is even a possibility. The inspector’s recommendations can save you a lot of time, money, and effort if the findings conclude that the conversion can’t proceed. No one wants to be left with an illegal attic because they didn’t take this critical first step. It will only bite you if you ever choose to try to sell the property.
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