What Is an Expandable Attic?

Attics in General

• Attics are spaces below the roof and above the highest finished ceiling of a home. There are three main types. An unfinished crawl space contains exposed rafters and trusses, and may not offer enough height for you to stand up. In such a case, the space is useful for insulation, some storage, ventilation systems and utility fixtures, but not much else. You may be able to enter the space only through a hatch in the finished ceiling below. A finished attic is built to the same standards of comfort as any habitable space in the house. It contains a finished floor and walls, lighting, staircase, doors and windows. You can use it as a family room, guest bedroom, media room or hobby room. The third type is the expandable attic.

Expandable Attic

• The expandable attic lies somewhere between the unfinished and finished versions. Though no hard-and-fast rules exist, it typically contains a finished floor and enough height so you can stand and walk around. It requires either a standard or pull-down staircase, and it may include a window. Any ductwork or utilities are either nonexistent or situated so that you can move freely about the space. The rafters are often exposed, and the space lacks essentials to make it habitable, such as drywall, paint and electrical connections.

Advantages

• Although you can can use expandable attics as storage, you may find it better to turn it into a habitable space when you can afford it. For finishing the space, you may need only to include additional insulation, electrical connections and wall coverings, which are easy to do if you have basic construction skills. An expandable attic does not add as much to the cost of a home as a finished one, but it does add to the value of a home once you convert it.

Uses

• Before the development of the family room as a separate room in the main living area of the house, expandable attics were often converted into multipurpose rumpus rooms or playrooms. Children and other family members could leave these areas unkempt because they were away from the formal living spaces. An expandable attic can become a guest bedroom, sewing room or hobby area. Today, you might consider turning it into a one-floor master suite with a luxurious bath, a home office with built-in bookcases or a media room with either a large-screen TV or a projection system.