Attic Renovations

Attics may be considered as wasted or useless space in many homes that have such. But if only explored, remodeling may be the key to an attic renovation so that it would serve a purpose to the overall household and improve the space.

Old Concepts about Attics
You might have seen it in movies or read in books, attics were often described as the part of the house where it is spooky, where there are many spiders and cobwebs.

There are also many scenes, especially in horror flicks where attics were used synonymous to fright. Most of the time, this part of the house is portrayed as humid, dusty and dark that is why ghosts love to haunt such.

But in reality, attics are really humid because this is the part that contains the heat coming from the roof and preventing it from going directly to the main area of the dwelling. Because of its condition and position, most homeowners neglect to maintain its cleanliness, resulting to its dusty state.

This resulted for most attics, especially in the old days, to be used for storage purposes. But with the available materials these days, you can easily convert this part of the house into something functional.

Remodeling the Attic
Modifying this area of your house is one challenging task. Depending on your purpose, the ideas are actually endless when it comes to such a project.

Being mindful of your purpose and your budget are the first considerations that you should think about in pursuing a remodeling plan.

Altering any parts of your house would actually increase its value. Having changes done in the attic would surely upgrade the house's price in the market if you are planning to sell.

Know the Basic Facts
Before starting construction on anything, you must first consult with the local building codes about the permissible extension or changes that could be made into your property. When you already have a permit to go on as planned, check for the property structure and make sure that everything is sturdy before adding more weight into it by modifying the attic.

Because of its previous condition, especially if it is not very much utilized as much before, the attic should be checked thoroughly for cracks, leaks and other factors that may constitute to its strength.

What You Can Do
The ideas for the remodeling of the attic are endless and mostly fun. Imagine this wasted space before becoming a game room, an entertainment room or simply a bedroom. You can also include appliances, even state-of-the art facilities to add to its effect.

In choosing the facilities that would constitute the project, opt for the modestly priced but of high quality, materials that would last for a long period of time and would require low maintenance.

Remodeling is an option when doing an attic renovation. But this all depends on you. You can always just choose to do some minor changes or install insulation on that part of your house to cut on cost. But if you've got the right budget, might as well go on and utilize your attic. It is an investment if you later decide to sell the house, or if not, your home would be a much enjoyable place to stay with such types of modification.

The attic is the space at the very top of the house or building. In most dwellings, this part is used for storage purposes but there are a lot that you can actually do in that part of your house. If you decide for an attic renovation to tuen into bedrooms, the ideas are endless as long as you follow the basic rules in doing such.

Inspection
In any kinds of major renovations, you must first get the proper permit before you can proceed with a plan. In order to go through this process swiftly, you must be prepared for the battle with the right facilities and must also abide according to building regulations.

Seek out the help of a local inspector to measure the available space in the attic if those would be enough to be given the permit once you've decided to turn it into bedrooms. Make sure that there is the right headroom and there are spaces that can be provided for additional ventilation and other safety measures.

Look out for damages in the area, however big or small. Check out the walls for cracks and other damage. Keep the support system sturdy. Remove rusty pipes and make sure that everything in the vicinity is safe.

For an attic renovation, you should also look over the rooms just below that part. Look over for things that may be a factor for the strength of your  house overall. Do the necessary repairs as much as possible to avoid further problems. Consult professionals as to whether or not you can actually go on with your plans about renovating the utmost part of your house. Know first if such plans would affect the overall structure and foundation of your property.

Planning
Once you've got everything sorted out, you can then go and make plans for the renovation that you have in mind.

This is only the blueprint of everything but you can already see what's doable and what's not, what looks good and what does not. And at this stage, it is better if you browse through interior home décor books and magazines and photos available on the Web especially for that part of your home.

Execution
Depending on the size of the attic and its condition, you may turn it into one or more bedrooms. In doing such, you have to first consider the shape of the attic, with its slanted sides, the rooms should be designed to fully utilize every part of the area.

In creating bedroom or bedrooms, install enough windows for ventilation purposes and for natural light to come in. The emergency exits should also be laid out. If you have children in the house or family staying over, make the place child-friendly.

Painting the rooms is an important factor to add to their brightness. This will also make the space look bigger, plus it adds beauty to the whole effect.

Once the rooms are in place, you then have to choose the proper appliances to add. Just like in any other rooms in the house, such things should suit whoever will be using the rooms.

Attic renovation into bedrooms is possible and easy to do if you've got everything taken cared of in the first phase of planning. Always be mindful of your budget. Do not go overboard as you might need the money for maintenance as days, months and years go by.

When you think of attic renovation, it isn't exactly that you want something grand to come out as a result of your modification plan. You may also just want to do some minor changes or modification for maintenance and repairs purposes.

Safety First
This rule doesn't just apply on the attic but on every part of the house. In every project that you want to do in your home, the safety of the people living in it must be the first consideration.

Painting
You need to check on the framing of your house, the support systems, even in the attic, to see if there are any dry rot or damp or anything that needs to be replaced. If you do find damage, get it repaired, before painting these elements to prevent further harm.

Painting the attic would also be beneficial because it would add light to the area. There are also paints available now that could terminate some insects, others also serve as protection from fire. For whatever purpose it may serve, painting the area once a year or whenever the need may be is a good habit to maintain it and to keep it neat and fresh.

Structural Repairs
The attic, being at the top most part of the house, is often overlooked when it is renovation time. Usually, you'll find attics in houses that are only being used as storage area. This is because turning the attic into a functional room is costly and makes others think twice before planning on doing such a major project.

But even if you still don't plan to have a grand renovation done with this part of the house, you must always inspect the structure. Look for water leaks, rusty tubes, cracked frames etc. Upon finding such faults, you should go and have them repaired to avoid further harm.

Maintenance
Every part of the house, including the attic, must be maintained clean as much as possible. The attic may be a hard task that homeowners tend to forget that part, but you really have to have time sustain that area of the house because whatever problems that that arise from the attic will also affect the rest of your home.

Keeping it clean will also keep the insects from it and also avoid termites to habituate on that part. It may be challenging to do but would really be beneficial once you get into the habit of looking into that.

Further Issues
If you had an attic renovation that has turned that part of the area into a functional room, then maintenance and repairs would be easier to do but must be done more often than before.

Because of the position of the attic, ventilation should be your utmost concern, the lighting then the safety exits. These factors could be included when you've had it modified, but as the owner of the house, make sure that everything is in good condition all the time. You won't want to be caught on a fire in your own house then realizing that the safety exit is no longer safe to be used.

These are only the basic maintenance and repairs ideas for your attic renovation plans. You could have you own as well or have developed a habit through time.