10 Tips To Finish Your Attic

Have you been thinking about transforming your unfinished attic into a usable living space? Whether you want a guest bedroom, office space, or a playroom for the kids, one of the best ways to get it is to finish your attic. In this article, we will take a look at 10 tips to help you finish your attic.

Why should I finish my attic?

You can enjoy many benefits when you finish your attic space. Before we dive into our tips, let’s take a look at some of the reasons to consider finishing your attic.

A finished attic gives you extra living space.

Whether you have been living in your home for years and suddenly find yourself needing a little more space, or you have just bought your house and want to spruce it up, finishing your attic can give you some excellent extra living space. By finishing the attic yourself, you have complete control over how your space will be designed and can make it perfect for your needs.

Some of the things you can turn your attic into include:
•Guest bedroom
•Home office
•Playroom
•Home library
•Small apartment
•Game room

There is really no limit to what you can do with this extra living space, so you can have fun with it.

Finishing the attic improves airflow.

Attics are notoriously stuffy and hot, which can make overall climate control in a home more difficult. By finishing your attic, you can improve the overall airflow and circulation in your home. This can also help reduce your heating and cooling costs since the attic space will be better insulated.

Finished attics improve property value.

Whether you are planning on selling your home or not, if you decide to finish your attic, you can improve the property value of your home by having this additional living space. It will also make your home more appealing to potential buyers since they will not have to finish the attic space themselves.

Top 10 Tips to Finish Your Attic

1. Make sure your attic is up to code.

Before you start finishing your attic, you need to ensure it meets the building requirements of the rest of your home. Most building codes require at least seven feet of vertical clearance in the majority of the room. They also usually need to be at least seven feet wide and have a minimum of 70 square feet of space. If the attic is only accessible by a pulldown staircase or a ladder, you will most likely need to build a permanent staircase before you can call it extra living space. The room will also need to have another exit in case there is an emergency, like a window that someone can climb out of. Take the time to look into your local building codes to ensure there is not anything else that you will need to include. You can also consider talking to a building inspector in your area to get a full assessment of what you might need in order to get the building up to code.

Do I need a building permit?

When looking into if your attic is up to code, also find out if a building permit is necessary for finishing your attic. The laws on that vary by location, so it is something you will need to research.

2. Determine your ventilation and heating needs.

Most attics are not well-ventilated, which is absolutely essential to turn it into a living space. You may need to talk to an HVAC professional to help you determine what needs to be done to give the room better ventilation and address your heating and cooling needs for the attic. When working on your ventilation needs, consider installing a ceiling fan to help with airflow.

3. Find out if you have rafters or trusses.

How your roof is framed is going to play a significant role in how easy it is going to be to finish your attic. Rafters will give you more space between the floor and the ceiling, but trusses are popular because they are more versatile and have a lower price point. A truss is a prefabricated framework that is comprised of small boards that are put together with cords and webbing, while rafters are long pieces of lumber constructed on-site. Trusses typically decrease the ceiling height of an attic, so it can potentially make it difficult to finish your attic as a living space.

4. Consider your lighting options.

Lighting is crucial in any living space, and your finished attic is going to need some good lighting. You will need a window in the room, so consider positioning it where you will bring in lots of natural light during the day. Recessed LED lighting is a great option because it can be tucked out of the way, and it does not produce heat. Plus, LED lighting is a more energy-efficient option than other types of lighting. Install a dimmer switch, too, so you can adjust the lighting in there.

5. Get a professional for structural analysis.

The attic floor might be strong enough to store some boxes, but that does not mean it is strong enough to support the weight of people and furniture. Hire a professional to do a structural analysis of your attic before you get started to ensure the floor is strong enough right now to add the weight of drywall, walls, furniture, and more to it. The last thing you need is to start working on finishing your attic and discover it is not structurally sound enough for the weight being added by the floor collapsing.

6. Add insulation to the attic walls.

Since attics are usually designed for storage, not as living space, they usually are not insulated. To finish your attic and transform it into a living space, you are going to need to add insulation to it before you add walls.

7. Build a subfloor in the attic.

Not all attic finishing projects are going to need this, but you may need to have a subfloor built into your attic. When you have the structure assessed, you will be able to determine if a subfloor is indeed necessary. Sound tends to travel pretty loudly from the attic floor since they are often not insulated, so adding a subfloor and some insulation to your attic will help reduce that sound and reduce heating and cooling costs in the attic.

8. Add walls to the attic.

After you have your insulation added, you can install drywall and add some flourish to the walls. If you want more than just paint on your attic walls, there are many other options. You can install wood paneling for a more rustic look or install faux stone on the attic walls to give the room the beauty of natural stone without the added weight or expense.

9. Consider adding a bump-out to get more space.

Adding a bump-out to your finished attic project is definitely going to be more expensive, but it can be worth it. Attics are usually fairly small, so adding in the bump-out will give you more room to work with. Plus, it is a great way to add a big window to the attic, allowing you to let in more natural light and some fresh air.

10. Should I install a bathroom in my finished attic?

Yes! While it can be a little more expensive to add a bathroom to your attic living space, it is worth it. No matter what you decide to do with the finished attic space, having a convenient bathroom on that floor makes spending time there more comfortable. Plus, as an added bonus, that can help improve your home resale value even more than just finishing the attic alone can do.

Try to position the attic bathroom above another bathroom in the kitchen. This can help reduce the expenses of getting the plumbing run to the new bathroom. Even if the attic living space is intended to be something like a home office, consider installing at least a small stall shower in it in case you have an overnight guest stay in there. It will also give anyone who buys your home in the future more options for what they would like to do with that living space.