Even though an attic is not a compulsory or necessary part of a house or building, having it helps in some ways.
An attic is a space between the roof and the ceiling, which separates the roof from the rest of the structure.
An attic is a result of a slanted roof.
What results from your roof being pitched or slanted is an awkwardly-shaped space between the ceiling and the pitched or slanted roof. Attics are not like regular rooms.
They have quite a lot of inconsistencies which make them shapeless.
Due to these inconsistencies, you can’t reach the corners of an attic.
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Not all houses have attics. Sometimes, attics are not intentionally built as part of the building; they occur as a result of the type of roof design.
In the days when log cabins were still in vogue, the roofs were pitched, thereby creating attics that were used as bedrooms.
Today, modern houses are constructed with flat ceilings and raised roofs that eliminate the space between the roof and the ceiling.
What Are the Uses of an Attic?
In as much an attic is not really a compulsory part of a building, we cannot deny the fact that it is quite useful.
Most homeowners or building owners turn their attics into living rooms, bedrooms, or even a place for relaxation.
Believe me, if you are looking for the best place to meditate, relax and rejuvenate, you should try out an attic.
This is a place where you have all distractions shut out, and you get a 100 percent concentration.
No wonder most people with attics in their buildings convert these special places to study rooms and home offices.
Asides being used as mini rooms where you can work, study or relax, attics can also be used to regulate temperatures in the home.
They have a reputation for being able to control the temperature in a house by retaining the hot air that rises from the lower floors of your building, thereby reducing the heat in your house.
This means they can be very hot! This is one thing that makes attics uncomfortable and inhospitable.
You can, however, install fans in your attic so as to get rid of the stuffiness and be more comfy and relaxed.
Also, they are used as storage spaces.
Most lightweight valuables are being kept in this place because of their hidden nature. Sometimes, it isn’t very easy to tell if a building has an attic or not.
So, if you have an attic in your building or you are planning on constructing one, you can make it your safe and rest assured of the safety of your valuables.
It is important to know that there is a limit to the strength of an attic.
Saying you can use your attic as a storage space does not mean you can store your upholstery and bookshelves in it.
How Strong Can an Attic Be? How Much Weight Can It Hold?
Whether you intend using your attic as a storage space, home office, or study room, all these require you to move around in the attic, right?
Hence, it is essential to know how much weight your attic can support if you do not want to break an arm or leg.
To have answers to the questions above, let us take a look at the factors that influence the strength of your attic.
The floor framing
How much weight your attic will hold depends a lot on the floor structure.
A floor structure that is not solid enough cannot hold up much weight, and the floor structure can only be sturdy enough if strong and large joists support it.
A floor structure supported with 2×4 joists cannot bear much weight.
If you have this kind of attic, it is better you use it to store empty boxes and other lightweight items.
You cannot possibly walk around in this type. If your attic, however, has joists that are 2×6, you can still get away with storing suitcases filled with light stuff in it.
Attics with 2×8 or larger boards are considered strong.
This type can solidly bear your weight without caving in.
Asides using strong and large boards as joists, the way the joists are being laid up will also determine how much weight the attic will bear and how freely you can move around in it.
Joists do have spaces in between them, so even if they are strong, the spaces in between them would not be able to hold up the weight.
In this case, what you should do is to create a walking platform by attaching plywood to the joists.
The roof condition
The condition of your roof will also tell if your attic can hold much weight or not.
If your roof is damaged and there is the possibility of streaks of water escaping into the roof, this might affect your attic
A leaking roof would leave stains on the ceilings; check for such stains.
The aftermath of a leaking roof is a rotten ceiling. When the ceiling (which is the floor beneath holding up your attic) is damaged, your attic would not be able to hold much weight or might not even be able to hold at all.
Conclusion
Attics naturally are not meant to hold a large number of people at once.
No matter how strong you think your attic might be, having a large number of people or storing heavyset items in it can be disastrous.
If you are converting your attic to a regular living room, it is important that you create easy access to the attic.
You wouldn’t want to be hopping in every now and then, would you?
So, you can construct a ladder, drop-down stairs, or even a fixed staircase to make going in and coming out very easy.