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Attic flooring questions
Posted on 1/14/19 at 4:27 pm
Posted on 1/14/19 at 4:27 pm
We've been doing some updating on our second floor, where all the kids sleep and play. I can share pics if anyone's interested, but it is just mainly some painting and a finished 10 year old girls bedroom. We have a 4x2 doorway into the attic. Not a ton of headroom in there since it follows the roofline, but my wife had the idea of making it a full height door and putting flooring down. This doesn’t have to be anything fancy. The idea for the finished product would be a roughly 4x8 space to put a small desk, some light fixture or a lamp, and additional storage. It would slope from 8 feet in height at the door, down to about 5 feet. I’ll add some framing and put either drywall or paneling for walls, and also add some insulation while I’m in there. Desk to the left, and shelving to the right, with about 4 feet of space in between. Basically she can walk in and sit down and have a quiet space to study and do school work.
Thinking .5 inch plywood as a subfloor, and we could come over that with some cheap laminate to finish it out or go with some 1x8 or 1x12 and paint it. Is that enough to hold the weight of a teenager and small furniture, or should I go thicker on the plywood? Working on 16 inch studs.
Also, on the door, this 4x2 has a basic header over it. I would be cutting out the stud there and putting in a new header and framing in the door. I’ve got an extra 24 inch door that we removed from another part of the house a few years ago that will work perfectly here. Anything I’m missing? Only removing the one stud above the header and replacing with a header at full door height.
Posted on 1/14/19 at 4:33 pm to TU Rob
Just use regular 7/16 Osb floor sheathing and get some of that cheap laminate flooring for .25cents a foot. Trow a rug over dat and be true wit dat baw
Posted on 1/14/19 at 5:57 pm to Purple Spoon
That sounds good. We have an old rug in the basement that used to be in our living room we’re going to put in there. Mainly to keep noise down. That’s why the flooring can be cheap.
Posted on 1/14/19 at 6:04 pm to TU Rob
Used no less then 3/4" OSB. Anything less, it will bend in between the rafters.
Door way, go full size door, no less the 30", 32" better.
What are you planning on for heating/cooling? You going to need that. Also power supply's?
Door way, go full size door, no less the 30", 32" better.
What are you planning on for heating/cooling? You going to need that. Also power supply's?
Posted on 1/14/19 at 6:14 pm to fishfighter
The door is currently inside the closet which is why I wanted to stay at 24. Would take up too much space to go to 32. There’s a heat pump upstairs that I can tie into and put a small vent in one wall. Won’t take much to cover this area and it has the capacity. Going to tie into an existing outlet in the room. Actually going to remove that outlet from the room as it sits behind furniture and isn’t being used. And put a small light fixture using an led bulb.
Posted on 1/14/19 at 10:12 pm to TU Rob
I use a minimum of 5/8 ply for my attic storage, so if it’s actually a living area I’d go with 3/4” or 1” subfloor material as mentioned.
Posted on 1/14/19 at 10:30 pm to TU Rob
Everyone says they will be in their house forever and they don't care what value it adds or how it looks....But I would highly encourage you to do this right like you are selling it in a month.
That space sounds like it could be fantastic for kids, they love little niches. Its very easy to do it for $300 and call it a day. But I'd encourage you to spend what you need to make it look like a seamless part of the house.
Or I guess you can just revert it back to "storage". I'm just saying people do things like this all the time half way right and then wish they'd spent a little more time and more and had it done right.
That space sounds like it could be fantastic for kids, they love little niches. Its very easy to do it for $300 and call it a day. But I'd encourage you to spend what you need to make it look like a seamless part of the house.
Or I guess you can just revert it back to "storage". I'm just saying people do things like this all the time half way right and then wish they'd spent a little more time and more and had it done right.
Posted on 1/14/19 at 10:59 pm to TU Rob
Is it 2x6 rafters? First concern was can it handle the additional load.
Posted on 1/14/19 at 11:08 pm to TU Rob
Go with 3/4 plywood, I'm assuming it's 2x6 rafters?
Posted on 1/15/19 at 12:51 am to Tigerholic
quote:
Is it 2x6 rafters? First concern was can it handle the additional load.
Depending on the actual open span of the rafters not just the area he is using more than 2x6 on 16" may be needed, or he could possibly just double the rafters with lumber of the same size.
Posted on 1/15/19 at 6:37 am to Tigerholic
quote:
Is it 2x6 rafters? First concern was can it handle the additional load.
I'm guessing you mean to ask if the joist are 2x6?
being that these areas are on the same floor I would guess that the joist in the area the OP is trying to finish out are the same size as the joist in the living area. So he will be good to go there. Also if this area is going to used as a living area I would use 3/4" flooring.
Posted on 1/15/19 at 8:18 am to civiltiger07
The joists are 2x6 running from the existing bedroom into the attic. The end game is to have the small nook there for her to use and after she leaves it will be attic storage again. We were going to put a desk in the room but already have a bed, nightstand, chest of drawers, and another long chest of drawers with a hutch and shelves on top. Plus a chair in the corner with an ottoman in front of it. Didn’t want it to be too busy even though the room is quite large. House was built in the late 60s and didn’t have a true master until we did renovations about 5-6 years ago. This was the largest room in the house and the one we slept in for years. Converted a den into a master bath with claw foot tub, walk in shower, dual sink vanity and walk in closet. After that was complete we moved downstairs and our son used the room. He’s moving to her old room and she’s moved into this one as of this past weekend. The full size door replacing the short door will also help down the line to easily access storage.
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