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Attic Renovations

An attic renovation, whether it is for an extra bedroom or living area, or for storage space, is an excellent solution for many families who find that they are short on space but do not want to move or undertake a traditional extension or addition.  Attic renovations are also often much cheaper than a traditional extension.  Traditional extensions can cost up to $4000 per square metre while building a new attic room costs around $1500 per square metre.  In fact, the usable space in many roofs is as much as half of the floor space of the home!

Converting Your Attic into a Usable Room

The first thing you need to do when converting your attic into a usable room is to check with an architect or a structural engineer.  This is because you need to ensure that your new room meets all structural requirements as set out by your local or state authority.  You will also need to ensure that any new windows or skylights have been properly placed for correct ventilation.  Be aware that, generally speaking, at least 60 percent of the attic space will have to be at 2.4 metres high in order to meet habitation standards under the Building Code of Australia.

Most standard attic conversions will involve adding insulation, skylights, a proper floor, and a dormer window.  You will also need a fixed staircase, with adequate head space.  Usable rooms can be built in homes with a roof pitch of 30-32 degrees, such as Edwardian homes, Federation homes, and Californian Bungalows.  Terrace houses are also ideal.  Unfortunately, many modern homes are unsuitable for conversion because they have roof trusses or have a roof pitch of 15-22, making them too small for anything except storage.

Storage Spaces in the Attic

It is easy to create a storage space in the attic.  This storage space can be used to store bulky items or things that you don’t currently need such as ski gear, camping gear, out of season clothes, sporting equipment, books, old toys and so on.  However, the first thing you need to do is to get your roof space checked for load bearing capacities, to ensure that it is able to hold the weight of any heavy items that you may want to store.  Once this is done, a pull down ladder is all you need for easy access to your new storage area.  A pull down ladder can cost anywhere from $400 to $1300 and this is often cheaper than building a new wardrobe, yet you have access to a whole lot more space.

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