Convert Your Attic into Living Space
3 pros!
Wish you had more room in your home? Attics have room for you to convert into living space.
That extra room you’ve been looking for might be hiding right under your roof. Converting your attic into a room that provides more utility than simply storing long-forgotten items could add the space your family needs.
In today’s economy, it’s not unusual for homeowners to look for ways to optimize existing space, says Joseph Mattingly, owner of Mattingly Remodeling in McCordsville, Indiana. He says remodeling the basement or converting an attic space — or doing both — often are affordable solutions.
What does attic conversion require?
Unlike their lower-level counterparts, attics aren’t known for their cool factor. Instead, attics have the dubious distinction of being the hottest room in the house, and are often plagued with accessibility issues and odd configurations. However, it’s possible to overcome these obstacles, remodelers say.
“The only difference in overall cost is access,” says John Vitale, on the cost to remodel a basement or attic. Vitale, owner of John Vitale General Contractor in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, says attic remodeling costs start around $20 to $30 a square foot and increase depending on the scope of the project. “There’s almost always access to a basement. A lot of times there’s not always proper access to an attic space. Sometimes there’s a stairway there, but the stairway is too steep. Sometimes the stairway is too narrow. A lot of times there’s no stairway there, so that has to be changed.”
Before determining the feasibility of an attic conversion, a contractor must locate the load-bearing walls to ensure the walls that support the structure stay intact, and check the ceiling height for enough space to accommodate standing, contractors say.
Angie’s List member Laurie Manti raised the roof of her Lakewood, Ohio, home to add height to her attic ceiling. Manti’s project, which included converting her attic to a playroom and family room and adding a dormer for natural lighting, was part of a larger, $80,000 remodeling project.
“It improved our living space, our lifestyle, so we’re very happy we did it,” Manti says.
Converting an attic creates an additional room in the house. (Photo courtesy of Angie's List member Peter K. and Melanie S. of Cleveland, Ohio)
Attic conversions requires creativity to maximize space
If raising the roofline isn’t in your budget, there are other creative ways to take advantage of an attic’s design, such as utilizing knee walls for built-in storage or shelving or adding a desk under the slope of a slanted ceiling.
“When you’re sitting down that’s plenty of ceiling height,” Vitale says.
More than likely, converting an attic space means adding insulation to stop heat loss in the winter and to keep it cool in the summer, creating a comfort level on par with other rooms in the house.
“If you have air conditioning, you want to make sure you have proper ventilation and air return so that the air conditioning from the house can get into the new space,” Mattingly says.
Columbus, Ohio, Angie’s List member Andrea Matthews paid $22,000 to convert her attic into a studio apartment complete with new windows, bathroom, kitchenette and a separate A/C system.
“It actually works better than the central air in the rest of the house,” Matthews says of the A/C unit. “It’s the coolest place. They packed the insulation in there.”
RELATED: Is My Attic Properly Ventilated?
More tips for converting an attic to a living space
If converting your attic to a bedroom: 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.
For proper ventilation: Keep at least 1 inch of air space between the insulation and the roof’s underlayment. Otherwise, heat buildup can occur, causing roof damage.
For better energy efficiency: Use light-colored roof shingles that reflect sunlight. Dark-colored shingles absorb heat from the sun, increasing the temperature of the attic and cooling costs.
Are you considering adding a room in your attic to create more space? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Editor's note: This is an updated version of an article originally published on Sept. 5, 2014.
