A Decision Maker's Guide to Attic Remodeling

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Figure out if your attic is ready for upward mobility.

Attics are special. Most of us who grew up in houses with attics tend to retain a fondness for the space. For children, the attic is a place of mystery and intrigue—a little scary but just close enough for comfort to the familiar bedrooms below. Even 20 or 30 years later, the attic probably keeps some of its allure, at least for the romantics among us.

That fondness can take on new dimensions when a family starts having serious growing pains. Under the pitch of the roof, you could close in a bedroom—small, but fine for a youngster—and add desperately needed living space.

As Simple as It Sounds?

Attic conversion is an appealing fantasy. The roof and basic framework for a new room are already in place, so it should be less costly and easier to finish an attic than to add a wing to the house. Yet these advantages can prove to be restrictions unless the original builder planned for later conversion of the attic.

Just to name a few obvious concerns, the attic's floor may not be structurally up to its new job, there may not be enough headroom, and there's probably no electrical service. In most cases, you can overcome these and other deficiencies. The question you need to answer is whether it might be easier (and less expensive) to add to the ground floor instead.

To make that decision, you have to do a fairly detailed attic survey and carefully analyze the problems you might run into.

Conducting an Attic Inspection

First, outfit yourself with a 25' tape measure and a flashlight, and head for the attic. As you clamber about, step only on the edges of the boards that stick up. The ceiling joists, as they're called, will support your weight easily, but the material between them is the top of the ceiling below. One false step, and you may drop in unexpectedly on your family and friends.

Start by figuring out whether the roof supports are conventional rafters or a trussed system. It won't take more than a glance. If there's a spider web of boards forming triangles between the roof and the floor, you've got trusses. The roof and floor of a trussed system depend on each other for strength. Never move any of the webs without consulting an engineer. Consequently, if your roof is trussed, as so many built in the last decade are, it's probably time to start planning that first-floor addition.

A conventional roof leaves lots of open space in the attic. The only obstructions may be horizontal boards (called collar ties) stretching from one roof pitch to the other a few feet below the peak. Within limits, collar ties can be moved to add ceiling height.

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