Attics – Time to Show Yours Off!

M.D. Holloway · 06-05-2006, 10:49 AM

I’m not taking finished ones – that takes on the definition of a game room or media room. I mean the stuff of childhood memories of dusty bygone items and shelves pigged together with scrap wood, noisey floors and hanging wires.

After 8 hours worth of weekend work in 120+ F temperatures, finally the attic is organized and show worthy! A place for everything and everything in its place. It provides a nice sanctuary for outgrown toys and other articles of sentiment. Someday it may provide a nice place of solitude for a budding teenager or a retired husband trying to avoid his bride (the garage is too obvious and accessible) but for now it is the assemble of stuff not ready for the yard sale or trash heap.

BlueSkyJaunte · 06-05-2006, 12:16 PM

Where's your insulation?

Ours is nasty...blown-in insulation everywhere, sappy pine 2x4 trusswork...

M.D. Holloway · 06-05-2006, 12:18 PM

This attic is above the garage - the house attics have over 18in of some really fluffy white stuff.

Moneyguy1 · 06-05-2006, 12:18 PM

What's an attic?

What's a basement?

Inquiring minds want to know.....

M.D. Holloway · 06-05-2006, 12:21 PM

basements r where ya bury ya dead, attics r where ya hide ya "off" kin...

Aurel · Aurel's Garage

Nice. What size is the footing of that garage, and how high is the pitch of the roof. I am seriously considering having a garage built with enough attic space...

Aurel

bryanthompson · bryanthompson's Garage

I don't have the guts to even peek my head up into my attic.

Jim Richards · 06-05-2006, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Moneyguy1
What's an attic?

What's a basement?

Inquiring minds want to know.....

Ditto. Next you guys will probably start babbling some nonsense about yards and driveways and those mysterious HOA thingies.

GDSOB · GDSOB's Garage

I personally would have made this a "winter project" rather than wait till summer in Texas...

M.D. Holloway · 06-05-2006, 02:43 PM

Garth - what fun would that be? Besides - it is my intent to eliminate all possable things for my wife to nag me about. At some point she will give up ... then again, maybe the heat has got'n to me...

M.D. Holloway · 06-05-2006, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Aurel
Nice. What size is the footing of that garage, and how high is the pitch of the roof. I am seriously considering having a garage built with enough attic space...

Aurel

It is a 3 car garage - I took the pic with about 10 to 15 feet behind me. If you look at my thread concerning my dead Post Oak you will see the garage roof pitch.

fastpat · 06-05-2006, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LubeMaster77
Iï¿½m not taking finished ones ï¿½ that takes on the definition of a game room or media room. I mean the stuff of childhood memories of dusty bygone items and shelves pigged together with scrap wood, noisey floors and hanging wires.

After 8 hours worth of weekend work in 120+ F temperatures, finally the attic is organized and show worthy! A place for everything and everything in its place. It provides a nice sanctuary for outgrown toys and other articles of sentiment. Someday it may provide a nice place of solitude for a budding teenager or a retired husband trying to avoid his bride (the garage is too obvious and accessible) but for now it is the assemble of stuff not ready for the yard sale or trash heap.

I just verbalized a contract with a carpenter today to install the attic stairs I bought, and lay down about 12 sheets of 5/8ths plywood flooring. Could do the flooring myself, but with the mods to the trusses to clear the stairs, and the framing for the stairs already most of the cost, having them floor the place is almost incidental after the plywood is paid for. Fortunately, our roof is made of very large trusses all made from 2x6 lumber, and on 16 inch centers instead of the required 24 inch centers, making it very strong. There's 108 inches between truss angles too, making for a pretty big space once the flooring is in, about 8 feet by 48 feet.

Photos later this week.

GDSOB · GDSOB's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by LubeMaster77
Garth - what fun would that be? Besides - it is my intent to eliminate all possable things for my wife to nag me about. At some point she will give up ... then again, maybe the heat has got'n to me...

She won't stop- it's always something...

fastpat · 10:22 AM

I finally had my attic stairs installed, hired a carpenter and his assistant and it was well worth it. I did assist a bit, moving some of the wiring and in the ongoing decisionmaking about where to locate the opening and so forth.

Here's some photos:

You can just see the end of this part of the attic about 55-60 feet away in this photo, the new floor will add a little over 500 square feet of storage space. My imprecise measurement is 9' 3" wide by 56'. The insulation is blown in loose fiberglass. The area where the stairs is located wasn't insulated being originally designed and built as a garage, so it has 6 inches of unfaced pink fiberglass rolls.

Things to do are move more wiring, move four recessed lights that are now kitchen lights, the kitchen is going to be relocated in the house so I won't need these lights which stand proud of the ceiling joists by several inches. The small 1x4's were used to position the trusses during construction, so the some will be removed for the flooring. This last is repetive, but is sans flash.

The bedroom wing of the house has an unfloored attic space as well, but unless we find a need for more than 500 sq. ft., we have no plans to develope that.

RoninLB · 07-19-2006, 11:57 AM

This model boat was built by a great uncle while he was doing another stint in a NYC jail in the 1920s. All the parts were scrounged up from crap. The tools he used were modified forks, spoons, and knives. Don't know where the paints came from? It's named after his brothers.

scottmandue · 07-19-2006, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LubeMaster77
basements r where ya bury ya dead, attics r where ya hide ya "off" kin...

Crap... I got that backward! It explainers the smell though.

Joeaksa · 07-19-2006, 12:02 PM

We just put stairs into my attic two years ago. Did it before installing an whole house attic fan, which very few houses in Arizona have. Did wonders to cool the house down and normally do not use A/C in the summer until around 10 am.

Also put lights up there and laid some plywood down to make more storage space. Always can use that!

gaijindabe · 07-19-2006, 12:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by RoninLB
This model boat was built by a great uncle while he was doing another stint in a NYC jail in the 1920s.... It's named after his brothers.

Pat & Ed??? Ron - are you Irish?

RoninLB · 07-19-2006, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gaijindabe

Pat & Ed??? Ron - are you Irish?

I'm a mutt.

ps: I'm also a mistake.

john70t · 07-19-2006, 05:14 PM

Agree with John, the pick of the litter.

Lube, time to install some vents/fans up there. No need to have that heat work it's way back down.
Look into ground loop exchanges for heating/cooling, it's a constant 40-60deg below the surface and a lot cheaper than a utility bill in the long run.