Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [attic]

Attics (also called "lofts") are the space immediately below a house's roof.

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I added insulation to my attic rafters, but should I have left room for airflow?

I added insulation to my attic rafters and plugged the space between the outdoors and my attic with insulation. It lowered my heating bill by $150/month, but I've seen some information that I may have made a mistake by cutting off the airflow in my…
ristonj
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Is it possible to convert a truss attic into living space?

What are some options for converting a trussed roof into living space? My understanding (please correct me if I am wrong) is that the following needs to be taken into consideration: proper floor joists need to be installed/sistered. Knee wall…
DA01
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Why don't people use rigid or spray foam insulation in attics?

I'm looking to upgrade the insulation in my attic bumping it from an R-6 to R-30 or better, and while looking into things I realized I've never seen anyone use rigid or spray foam insulation in an attic. Is there a particular caveat to these, or is…
anthonyryan1
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How do I add an exhaust fan to an old attic?

Our house's attic retains a great deal of heat during summer. While we now have a good layer of insulation between the attic and the rest of the house I wonder if it would be worth it to add some kind of exhaust fan. We live in a mid-Atlantic…
acrosman
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How should I deal with an animal in the attic?

My tenants tell me that they hear an animal (possibly a raccoon) in the attic. This is an old (1880s) three story row house with a flat roof and a pretty low (2 ft average, maybe) attic. The house was totally renovated 10 years ago and I'm not…
Victor
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How can I insulate my attic on a tight budget?

My attic is running 135Fahrenheit (55 Celsius) and more right now. And that's before it even gets to the hottest part of the day! The A/C guy said the A/C's are working perfectly. But he tested the ceiling, and it is a completely different…
LuxeGypsie
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Venting the attic space during summer to cool the house

The air in my attic gets superheated during summer, from the sun baking the (clay? terracotta?) roof tiles (I live in Sydney, Australia). I have good ceiling insulation, and even put in some sarking (foil insulation just under the tiles) but some…
MGOwen
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How bad is it to have wet insulation?

With this recent blizzard we recently saw our ceiling lighting fixture leaking water (slow, about 1 drop every 5 minutes) I got up in the attic and saw that some snow had been apparently blown into the attic through one of the vents. I removed about…
Ovi Tisler
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Does my loft bed need diagonal supports?

I'm building my son a loft bed. I'm trying to make it really sturdy because he has a tendency to break things. Each leg will be two 2x6s (brown in picture) joined with pocket holes. In the inside corner of each of those legs will be a 4x4 (red in…
Richard
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What is this tube sticking out of my roof?

I'm not sure what kind of vent this is for, but I'm wondering if its supposed to have a cap to protect from rain. Sorry for lack of description. I'm completely ignorant to whatever this is. If it helps at all, I have two turbines on my house plus…
hack3rfx
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How can I build a custom stair case in a small space?

In my continuing pursuit of gutting this house and trying to better it; the snow has finally broken and its time to get back to work. We really, REALLY, want to use the attic space as storage / den / office space. We've finally come to the…
lsiunsuex
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how to reduce heat lost to attic through attic door

I have an attic door which is a hollow core bedroom door and my thermal camera measures it at a good 7 degrees F cooler than the wall around it, which means that I am probably losing heat. The door is noticeably cool to the touch. I know I can…
Steven Lu
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Noises from attic - Should I be concerned?

In one of my bathrooms on the top floor, I can loudly hear noises that sound somewhat like a bird. The sounds have been going for about a month now. What's going on? Should I be concerned? The…
Proxy303
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How much vent fan throughput do I need for my bathroom?

What minimum size (CFM) vent fan do I need per cubic foot of bathroom? Consider a bathroom that is 10ft. X 4ft. X 6ft(height). What is the minimum throughput rating for a vent fan? I want a vent fan that truly performs when it comes to removing…
zundarz
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What is this amber substance on the wood in my attic?

I was examining my attic with a head lamp and the light illuminated the wood just right and these amber drops started to glow. They are on the surface of a lot of the wood in the attic. What is it and what is causing this?
milesmeow
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