Old House Attic

The answer to making an old house inhabitable is insulation.

Old house attic.

But if the floor is covered in plywood you can t stuff enough insulation beneath it to do the job sufficiently not even in warm climates. Account for codes and safety photo by casey dunn. The insulation materials used in older houses are not as effective in keeping heat in as the new ones. If you think attics are creepy crawly spaces meant solely for cobweb dusted storage think twice.

Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor. We started the renovation on our 100 year old house 3 years ago and the attic renovation was an amazing transformation. Many older houses and plenty of new ones too are framed with rafters 2x or engineered lumber that extends from the ridge board at the roof peak down to the top plate of the exterior wall where each rafter typically overhangs to form the eaves of a house. It was transformed from a basically unusable space to this charming vaulted ceiling exposed brick chimney family room.

Even if you bought the house with insulation already installed into it it s best to double check. The insulation must meet doe standards. Here s what we did when we first started the attic renovation we had the original maid s room. Plan to pull up the flooring and layer new insulation on top of the old.

Whether you envision your house s top floor as an away from it all master suite a quiet home office or a hangout spot for the kids read these 14 tips to help you finish your attic remodel. Making an attic into a master closet. Every attic is different but a few established norms and practices will guide your renovation.