To start building an attic in a house with your own hands is a rather serious undertaking. Its implementation is possible both at the stage of laying the building project, and in the future - after the construction (that is, already in the process of operation). The main purpose of this room is to provide the family with a certain number of square meters of living space. And today we'll talk about how to make an attic with your own hands.
Start with a project
This part of the building is quite difficult to arrange. It is most convenient to design it in advance - at the stage when the whole house is being built. This is because organizing a residential attic in a finished building is not always feasible. The main reason for this is the considerable weight of the attic room, which creates significant loads on the foundation.
Into what stages can the attic construction procedure be divided?
- Stage of drawings. At this stage, alldimensions and other important features of the future premises.
- The procedure for dismantling existing roofing materials (if the construction of the attic is planned in an already finished house).
- Strengthening the walls of the upper floor, as well as (if necessary) the foundation.
- Arrangement of the walls of the attic room.
- Construction of a roof with insulation, waterproofing, finishing.
- Installation of attic windows.
- Interior decoration of the premises. As evidenced by numerous photographs and reviews, do-it-yourself attics from the inside can be arranged in a huge number of options - from the most budgetary to truly luxurious.
If the attic construction process is carried out in full compliance with the entire set of technological nuances, you will get a durable, completely reliable room.
What needs to be considered?
This stage - design - is one of the most important in the process of building an attic with your own hands. Here it is necessary to foresee many factors - starting from the size of the room and the material from which it will be built, ending with the level of the slope of the roof, etc.
How to design an attic? There are three main ways. The first of them can be attributed to the most budgetary ones. This is a manual project. But for him, you will need at least minimal experience in such a matter as the design of premises and building structures.
Another way is to use ready-made documentation in the form of a specific project. But finding the right one for your home is not easy. More oftenin total, at least minimal adjustments have to be made to finished projects.
The third way is to contact one of the specialized organizations that can provide you with an attic project that is ideal for your home in the shortest possible time.
What should a self-taught builder remember?
If you decide on independent design, be sure to take into account the loads that the attic structures will exert on the walls of the building and its foundation, as well as its appearance and the set of finishing materials that will be used outside and inside the room. When you calculate the future load on the foundation from the entire building, you may come to the conclusion that it needs to be strengthened. In the case of designing a too massive and heavy attic, there is a high risk of cracks in the walls or deformation of the base of the house.
After consulting with experts, you can choose such building materials that will be optimal in terms of long-term operation of the future attic, combined with minimal loads on the foundation. Having drawn up a project, it is supposed to be coordinated with certain state institutions. If it is designed correctly, this process will not drag on for a long time.
Building and finishing the attic with your own hands
Let's consider the option of building an attic space in a residential building that has already been built and put into operation. In this case, you will have to do the dismantling of the old roof, due to which the roofing expands.space, which increases the safety of the building under construction. It is not necessary to dismantle the roof with the involvement of specialists. This type of work can be done on your own.
First of all, you will need to remove the material that makes up the exterior finish of the roof. Then the crate is completely removed from the truss system. Then the walls of the adjacent floor are strengthened. This is necessary in connection with a certain pressure that will be exerted on them by erected structures. It is extremely important to strengthen the walls adjacent to the attic. This is done on the basis of special calculations, according to which it is possible to determine the level of strength of existing load-bearing structures.
At the next stage, you and I have to decide how to insulate the attic with our own hands. At the same time, the issue of waterproofing is being worked out. Correctly carried out this procedure will provide the room with a he althy microclimate. You can insulate the attic with a variety of heat-insulating materials, for example, mineral wool, foam plastic, etc.
What next?
Next, we move on to the process of erecting the walls of the attic with our own hands. This is done in strict accordance with the project developed in advance. In most cases, a timber or a tree is taken for this procedure. The attic walls are insulated in the same way with mineral wool or polystyrene foam. When choosing materials intended for both interior and exterior wall decoration, try to choose those that have a good level of fire resistance.security.
Having finished with the walls, we move on to the construction of the roof. The most important thing in this case is to calculate the correct angle of its inclination. If the roof is too flat, it will become inconvenient to operate the attic room. The issue of high-quality waterproofing is also important. If there are the slightest errors in it, all the moisture will be inside your room.
Another significant issue is the shape of the roof. Try to keep it simple, without any curly or broken elements. This will facilitate the construction process and reduce its cost.
How to properly insulate the attic with your own hands? When choosing a heater, do not forget about such important qualities of building materials as frost resistance and the ability to withstand atmospheric changes. Rodent resistance is also important. The main requirement for a heat-insulating material is reliable protection against heat leakage outside from the room.
How are the internal thermal insulation works carried out?
The sequence of actions here is as follows:
- The finish is installed, which is a plywood or plasterboard base.
- A vapor barrier layer is formed using special films.
- Thermal insulation material is laid (preferably in the form of mineral wool).
- The necessary waterproofing of the roof is provided with special membranes.
- Laying of external roofing material in progress.
In addition, the construction of the roof of the attic with your own hands requires the installation of a truss system, the installation of a crate witha certain installation step, the size of which depends on the type of roofing material. Upon completion of the installation of the roof, they proceed to the installation of windows.
Windows in the attic are needed to provide high-quality lighting of the interior space. Their number and size is determined depending on the area of \u200b\u200bthe room. Particularly high requirements are placed on the quality of windows in the attic ceiling. The main requirement for them is resistance to precipitation, temperature extremes, and strong winds. The design of the window should provide a good level of ventilation.
After the installation of the main building structures, they proceed to such types of work as organizing heating, interior decoration, decorating the room in accordance with the planned design project.
Frame attic do it yourself
A frame-type attic can be an excellent solution for any building - a residential building, a garage (up to a bathhouse). What are its benefits?
- The structure is relatively light in weight, and therefore there are no additional loads on the main building. That is, there is no need to additionally strengthen the foundation and walls.
- Compared to an attic made of the same material as the walls of the lower floor (for example, brick), the cost is much lower.
- Such an attic room has good heat and sound insulation qualities.
- You can build it to your taste - with almost no restrictions on shape and configuration.
- Ease of construction - the materials are quite light,in connection with which it is possible to raise them to the top floor or the roof of the attic with your own hands, without the use of special equipment.
- You will keep the roof intact, while significantly increasing the usable area of the room.
How to build it?
Building a frame-type attic with your own hands is also easier when the process of building a building has not yet been completed. If you are planning to arrange it in an already finished house, you will need to dismantle the old roofing.
To begin with, as with any construction, study the soil characteristics of the site, determine the bearing capacity of the foundation. If the calculation shows its inability to withstand the weight of even a relatively light frame attic without additional reinforcement, appropriate work should be done.
Then comes the inspection of the walls of the house for additional loads. As well as the foundation, the walls are strengthened if necessary. Only after that you should start dismantling the old roof and work with the ceiling.
What are the steps involved in the construction of a wooden frame attic?
The following steps are in progress:
- First of all, you should make a frame system.
- Then - mount the walls of the attic room.
- These walls need to be well insulated.
- Then we proceed to the production of work related to the installation of the roof.
- The roof is insulated, and the attic is finished with selected materials.
- Now you can move on to the interior decoration of yourpremises.
What's left to do?
Among other things, the construction process involves the installation of door and window structures. The procedure for manufacturing and installing stairs to the attic with your own hands is not the easiest. You can use a ready-made design with suitable parameters or make everything yourself.
For an attic made of timber, you should stock up on the appropriate materials - edged board, plywood, self-tapping screws, and, of course, the timber itself. The height of the frame structure should ensure the convenience of movement of a person of average height. The minimum vertical dimension of the room is 2 m. In the ridge area, the height is approximately 3.5 m.
The most reasonable technology is to assemble the frame on the ground and then rise to the roof. Fix the entire structure on the surface of the house using special plates. The quality of fasteners and nodes is greatly influenced by the material of the attic walls. In the upper part of the structure, the timber is connected with self-tapping screws. After installation and thermal insulation of the roof, the walls of the attic room are sheathed outside and inside, doors and windows are installed, then you can move on to interior decoration. Do-it-yourself attic decoration is a creative and interesting activity that allows you to realize many design ideas.
Helpful tips
Even at the attic planning stage, carefully analyze the condition of the entire building.
It is possible to build an attica room in the form of a single space or divide it into separate rooms.
An important issue that also needs to be resolved at the design stage is the shape, design and location of the attic windows, as well as the entrance to the room.
Materials for construction should be both light and strong with minimal load on the foundation. They must easily rise to the level of the roof. It would be optimal to choose a tree (as already mentioned) or a steel profile. Concrete or stone is much less suitable due to the increased load on the building.
Other materials
The same requirements apply to the materials that will be used to finish the roof. It is strength, lightness and reliability. We recommend that you use bituminous tiles or piece scrap metal. It is best to level and finish the walls from the inside with the help of drywall sheets.
We repeat once again - the question of how to insulate the attic from the inside with your own hands deserves special attention. Good thermal insulation of this room is extremely important, because it is located higher than the main building, and is more in contact with cold air currents. Hot air must not escape through the insulation. Waterproofing is also important due to the need to withstand precipitation.
About the design features of the attic
It is made up of a system of rafters, which should be installed in compliance with a certain step. Most often it is 60 cm. The gaps between themfilled with heat-insulating materials like mineral wool. Insulation can be laid in one layer, two or even three. To calculate the total thickness of the material for thermal insulation, the entire amount of heat loss in the room is taken into account.
From inside the attic, the roof is protected by a layer of vapor barrier, then finished with clapboard, drywall or special finishing panels. Excess moisture in the under-roof space is disposed of with the help of a ventilation gap, which should not be forgotten. Its width depends on what type of roofing material is used. Wind protection with vapor permeable properties is installed on the outside of the thermal insulation material.
As the optimal vapor barrier material, you can advise polyethylene film, roofing material or glassine. The insulation should be laid with an overlap of approximately 15 cm wide. The seams are glued with construction tape. If you chose foil waterproofing, then keep in mind that it should be laid inside the room with a shiny layer. This is done to reflect the heat coming from the rooms.
