Moving into the attic for living space

[KBScobravert]

Has anyone converted their attic into living space?

I have tons of room above my garage which is 26' x 35'. Subtracting the roof angles I figure I can get at least a 15' x 30' sized room turned into either a media room or game room for the kid. With home prices in our neighborhood at $128 a foot, adding in 450 square feet should net me a nice amount of equity and I know it can't cost near that much to convert.

I would have to have a stair case put in and have a kickout in the garage that is 5'x7.5'. The stairs would have to go to a landing halfway up then switch back the rest of the way.

Looking for contractors who could entertain this.

[juiceweezl]

The ceiling joists you have now aren't likely designed to carry the load for a room above. Keep that in mind. You'll likely have to have them brace everything then install a few girders to carry the load, then reframe the ceiling in the garage (floor above).

[KBScobravert]

The ceiling joists you have now aren't likely designed to carry the load for a room above. Keep that in mind. You'll likely have to have them brace everything then install a few girders to carry the load, then reframe the ceiling in the garage (floor above).

I have a large beam dividing the 1 car and the two car of the garage and the joists are 2x8. There is another beam that isn't as big that goes from left to right of the 2 car spot right in the center.

You may be right that I would have to restructure the ceiling. If that is the case, it becomes too much work I think.

[Baron Von Crowder]

My parents did, though the house was built with the intention of having the space finished out later. One of my good friends have a large attic that they intened to make a game room out of, and decided against it when it was going to be $60k. I think they wanted redo the roofline and such to make it bigger, and that was going to be too much expense.

[KBScobravert]

If I can't do it for less than 10k, I won't do it at all. I'd rather save and build a second garage with living space in it. Nearly 75% of the homes in our subdivision have secondary garages with mini houses inside them.

[kingjason]

The ceiling joists you have now aren't likely designed to carry the load for a room above. Keep that in mind. You'll likely have to have them brace everything then install a few girders to carry the load, then reframe the ceiling in the garage (floor above).

I almost learned this the hard way. My garage was converted and had two rooms in it. When I put it back to a garage I was still using the garage attic as a storage area. Then I noticed a bit of a arc one day in the roof. I always wondered what the couple of extra 2x4's were for in the attic. They had taken out some support beams since they had a wall in the middle of the garage. One of my projects these next few weeks is to prop it up and re enforce all of that and get my storage back.

[juiceweezl]

I have a large beam dividing the 1 car and the two car of the garage and the joists are 2x8. There is another beam that isn't as big that goes from left to right of the 2 car spot right in the center.

You may be right that I would have to restructure the ceiling. If that is the case, it becomes too much work I think.

Here's a span calculator that can help you determine some of what you have. It will provide the maximum allowable span. Some things you need to know though are the species and grade of your lumber. I would assume SYP (southern pine) and #2 grade for your 2x8's. Leave your live load at 40psf (unless you plan on putting a pool table up there) and dead at 10psf. Leave the deflection at L/360. If your house is built before 2013, use the No. 2 grade pre 2013. There was a code change that affects how it grades out. The lumber can't span as far in today's code.

With those parameters, a 2x8 can span 12 feet 10 inches as a floor joist. By contrast, it can go over 14 feet as a ceiling joist (what it was likely designed for).

Link: http://www.awc.org/codes-standards/c...tware/spancalc

[KBScobravert]

Here's a span calculator that can help you determine some of what you have. It will provide the maximum allowable span. Some things you need to know though are the species and grade of your lumber. I would assume SYP (southern pine) and #2 grade for your 2x8's. Leave your live load at 40psf (unless you plan on putting a pool table up there) and dead at 10psf. Leave the deflection at L/360. If your house is built before 2013, use the No. 2 grade pre 2013. There was a code change that affects how it grades out. The lumber can't span as far in today's code.

With those parameters, a 2x8 can span 12 feet 10 inches as a floor joist. By contrast, it can go over 14 feet as a ceiling joist (what it was likely designed for).

Link: http://www.awc.org/codes-standards/c...tware/spancalc

Perfect. Thanks.

I have plenty of time to plan since I won't be home next until April...if I am lucky. My parents are replacing a blown up garage door opener this weekend at my house so I can get my stepdad up in the attic to get some measurements and take some pics.

[juiceweezl]

Post up pics or a drawing if you have and I can take a look. You may get lucky and make it work. What's the height of the garage ceiling? That may open up some other options.

[fordracing19]

Make sure permits are pulled and it is inspected or you will have issues when selling.

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[Gasser64]

Yes I would also like to see some pics.

The ceiling joists you have now aren't likely designed to carry the load for a room above.

This is something I was concerned about, simply for storage reasons. I'd like to store a bunch of crap in my attic, but I am a bit concerned about putting too much weight up there.

[KBScobravert]

Make sure permits are pulled and it is inspected or you will have issues when selling.

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We are unincorporated Fort Worth. I called years ago about getting a permit for my garage a/c install. Neither fort Worth nor Haslet would issue one. Both said in unincorporated areas you don't need permits.

Of course if I go through with this and hire someone, we will double tap that question again.

[jewozzy]

We are unincorporated Fort Worth. I called years ago about getting a permit for my garage a/c install. Neither fort Worth nor Haslet would issue one. Both said in unincorporated areas you don't need permits.

Of course if I go through with this and hire someone, we will double tap that question again.

I would think you still need a permit from the county if you went that route wouldn't you?

[Chili]

Wasn't it on here (or Canada) that someone finished out their attic including a 'hidden' entrance from a closet on the first floor?

[black2002ls]

We are unincorporated Fort Worth. I called years ago about getting a permit for my garage a/c install. Neither fort Worth nor Haslet would issue one. Both said in unincorporated areas you don't need permits.

Of course if I go through with this and hire someone, we will double tap that question again.

Are you in a MUD district? If so, reach out to them.