Converting the Attic to a Functional Space

<h2 style="margin: 10pt 0in 0pt">Converting the Attic to a Functional Space</h2>Has your family slowly outgrown your home? If so, you are probably considering adding a room extension that will allow you some extra square footage for your growing brood. New additions to the home can be costly, time consumptive and ruinous to the exterior look of the home. In lieu of building out – some folks simply convert the attic into a functional space. Converting the attic allows you to use your existing space to its fullest potential without taking up extra space in the lawn. A vertical renovation can be just the thing to make your pre-existing square footage more usable and functional for your growing family.Considerations to Make Before committing to an attic renovation, there are some considerations to be made. You need to have a clear goal in mind prior to hiring a contractor (assuming you are not doing the work yourself). Knowing what you want from the attic conversion will allow you to communicate on the same level as your contractor. You want to be on the “same page” so that you get what you pay for and end up with what you want. Consider: -The purpose of the attic conversation: Will it be converted into a master bedroom, guest room, home office, or rec room? One way to determine the best purpose for the attic is to consider it in the same way that you would an unfinished basement space. That will open up the different possibilities that you might consider. -Any barriers to using the space: What obstacles are there to using the attic as a living space? Is the space large enough for you to convert it into the area that you need to create? Will there be sufficient head room? Sometimes a perceived obstacle is an inconvenience and sometimes it’s a barrier to completing the project. A quick inspection by a qualified contactor can often help you to determine if there is an obstacle that cannot be overcome feasibly and without a huge expense. -The safety of the space and the affordability of the conversion: The attic was likely not designed for living space when your home was built, so think about things that will need to be done to make it both safe and comfortable. It can be a pain to build around an area that is already constructed, unlike a new building addition that is customized around what you want. When you are working with existing structures and old materials, there are often a lot of unforeseen problems that come up that even the most skilled contractor cannot predict. In fact, most contractors will ask that you budget an additional ten to twenty percent for uncertainties that might arise. You will likely have to add a staircase, windows, doors, and more to the space to make it livable. Flooring, plumbing, electrical, drywall – all of these will need to be budgeted for when considering an attic conversion. These are the major considerations that you need to make when considering an attic conversion. Nonetheless, converting an attic into usable space can definitely impact the amount of usable square footage inside the home that you already own without building out and taking up lawn and garden space. Alyssa Davis is a staff writer and decorating specialist with Metal-Wall-Art.com and she offers stylish suggestions for decorating with <a href="http://www.metal-wall-art.com/decorative-metal-wall-coat-racks.html" target="_blank">metal wall coat racks</a> and <a href="http://www.metal-wall-art.com/nautical-metal-wall-art.html" target="_blank">fish metal wall art</a>.

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta