Finishing Attic Space Ceiling

I ve got a story and half bungalow with a good size attic space that includes a knee wall against a bedroom and beyond that a shorter roof.
Finishing attic space ceiling. If you don t have enough height you ll have to raise the roof line and that adds a lot to your construction costs. Finishing the attic into liveable space nets an average of 9 3 out of 10 joy score or sense of happiness the owners have upon completion on nar s renovation report. Insulating finishing an attic crawl space with a partial kneewall. For a finished attic to be to code it must satisfy the same living requirements of other rooms sometimes called the rule of sevens any living space in a home needs to have at least 7 feet 2 1 m of clearance from the floor to the ceiling and there needs to be at least 70 square feet of space available at least 7 feet 2 1 m in each direction.
Flooring ceiling and wall materials and other elements will reduce headroom and floor space and it s the finished area that matters. Building codes vary by location but most require at least a 7 foot clearance for attic expansions. Building code also requires that the. At least 50 step 2 make sure the attic has a full size staircase.
Thedjm posted in general questions. A contractor or a local building official can help you assess how the rule will apply to your attic and how modifications like dormers can resolve height shortcomings. Step 1 check the ceiling height. Looks like you have good.
Use r 30 insulation for the ceiling and r 13 for the walls. One of the final steps is to finish the walls and ceiling. Finished is important to remember when you re measuring an empty attic space. If it is and you plan to provide heating and cooling to the finished attic space you need to remove.
Enforcement varies but codes typically say that at least half of a finished attic must be at least 7 feet high and that this area must be a minimum of 7 feet wide and 70 square feet. Need more headroom in the basement. The attic floor which is the ceiling of the living space below often already is insulated. This includes putting in drywall painting the walls and ceiling installing trim and moldings as well as other finishing touches.
The basic space requirements for a finished attic boil down to the sizes of the finished rooms. Staple insulation between the wall studs and ceiling joists image a. It needs a certain amount of loft to work properly. To meet all three goals insulating your finished attic ventilating the roof and maximizing headroom use a combination of dense batt insulation rigid foam sheeting and air chutes.
If building a knee wall for storage like karl did with this project make sure to insulate that area as well. So if you re planning to get a few years of use out of it the investment might make more sense. If you re finishing your attic insulating it to the proper r value can cause a dramatic loss of headroom if you limit yourself to fiberglass batts. Those are classic spots to have leakage through the ceiling.
Every attic is different but a few established norms and practices will guide your renovation. Follow the rule of 7s.