Raising a Roof to Finish an Attic

An attic space can be a tempting location for remodeling into finished living space, but the low headroom can be a deterrent. Particularly in older homes, attics are sometimes so low that you can only stand up in them along the ridge lines, if at all. Raising the roof is an effective but expensive solution to this problem. If you have a full-sized attic, raising the roof can increase the living area in your home by up to fifty percent.

Ladder
Shingle stripper
2-by-4 lumber
Reciprocating saw
Crowbar
Nails, 3 inches long
Hammer
Measuring tape

Instructions

- 1
  Strip all of the shingles off of the roof.
- 2
  Remove the sheathing that covers the rafters. If you do this carefully by pulling up the nails or unscrewing the screws, you may be able to re-use the sheathing.
- 3
  Label the rafters by numbering them and noting their location, using a pencil. If you are only raising the roof and not changing its design or configuration, you can reassemble the rafters on top of the new, larger wall.
- 4
  Build walls around the perimeter of the house, extending the height of the existing walls. These can be either knee walls, which will increase the height of the attic but leave some slanted walls, or full-size walls, which will create straight-sided rooms.
- 5
  Install the framing for the ceiling over the new walls. Attach flooring sheathing to this framing to create a ceiling for the new floor and create working surface for reassembling the roof.
- 6
  Move the rafters that you saved up to the new floor that you sheathed. Reassemble the rafters in the same way that they were, but at the new level. Attach sheathing to the rafters.
- 7
  Cover the roofing sheathing with an appropriate roofing material such as shingles or metal roofing.

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