Attic Renovation Ideas

Here are a few random attic renovation ideas.

- Creating a bedroom or two in the attic may be the best renovation for increasing the profit when flipping a house. Of course, you have to have enough headroom. If you go to the trouble to make a bedroom, make it a legally conforming one (ask a contractor who knows what is required). That way you can advertise the extra bedroom and get maximum value for it.

- Putting down an OSB floor is a quick and cheap way to make the attic into a usable storage room. Add carpet and it can also be a playroom for children.

- To make an attic into truly livable space, the roof has to have insulation, not the floor. Ask a builder if the floor insulation can be reused for the roof to save money.

- Heating an attic space can be as simple as insulating it well and putting natural air-flow vents in the floor, so heat can rise up from the rooms below. Other heating ideas include electric baseboard heat, portable heaters, solar heat, or adding to the existing duct work of the heating system (but be sure the existing heater has the capacity for this).

- If there is no existing stairway to the attic, you can buy one that folds into the ceiling at most home improvement stores. However, if new bedrooms are part of the renovation, opt for more substantial and permanent stairs.

- An office in the attic doesn't have to meet the same standards as a bedroom, and can be a nice addition to an otherwise small house.

- The ceiling in attic rooms shouldn't slope all the way down to the floor. Walls should be placed where the height of the ceiling is four or five feet above the floor. If the entire attic is floored, however, you can have access doors in these walls, so the space behind can be used for storage.

- Update any old wiring before you start closing in the floor, walls, and ceiling. It will be much more difficult to do later, and probably has to be done to get a permit for an attic renovation anyhow.

Finally, look at your friend's finished attics for more attic renovation ideas.

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