Attic Space Over Garage

Create an access opening or install a pull down stair unit if you don t have one.

Attic space over garage.

When you have finished installing the attic ladder and hatch you will be easily able to walk up and down the ladder to complete the storage space creation. Take the floorboards and place them over the floor joists in the attic. For visual symmetry she centered double windows over the garage door and a gable end window over the window below. Make sure the structure is up to snuff before the house was expanded to include a garage addition.

Let s start the tour of the finished space. Don t cut any rafters for an opening yet. The insulation will keep the naturally hot or cold air in the garage and the artificially warmed or cooled air in the room above it. In 2014 this attic looked just like any other attic anywhere in the world.

You can see the old bits of just added insulation inside for example and the occ. So if the distance from the roof ridge to the floor joists isn t at least 9 feet you probably won t be able to meet. The new insulation rests about 12 above the ceiling joists so there wasn t a good way to lay down flooring for storage without sacrificing the efficiency gain from the new insulation. If you re using your garage enough to warrant installing a heater and or air conditioner by all means you should insulate the ceiling between the garage and an unfinished attic space above.

An engineer will need to verify that the garage s existing framing and foundation can bear the weight of an addition. Then one day while working in the garage it dawned on me that there was a huge unused space right above me. The attic space is 17 feet by 21 feet. Insulating the area in the attic over a garage might keep the temperature a little more stable in the garage but it does little to reduce the amount of energy needed to heat and cool your house so it s not a good investment of your energy dollars.

Break the drywall or plastic ceiling with a hammer to gain a view of what the space looks like. The garage is 82 years old. You can see the garage window below. This is where dreams of adding new living space in an attic are often abandoned.

Tap into the attic space over the garage using a tall a shaped ladder. The highest point it 5 foot 8 inches so my youngest 2 and i can stand but the others in our family can t. Only cover the areas where you wish to store items. Step 3 create a storage space.

The opening for the floor window.