If your home is smaller than other homes in your area or simply lacks the necessary amount of storage or living space for your family finishing your attic is a relatively inexpensive way to increase your usable space.
Finished attic is very hot.
My idea is to vent the build up of hot air that has risen to the ceiling in the hotspot rooms into the attic so that air from cooler parts of the house can move in.
Not the overabundance but the lack of insulation in the attic.
I have large attic with ridge vents and screened vents at either end of the attic to maintain air flow.
Converting your attic into usable finished space can increase the value of your home by maximizing the available square footage.
I live in northern virginia hot humid climate in the summer and use heat pumps to heat and cool my house throughout the year.
Follow the rule of 7s.
Low cfm similar to a bathroom vent 300cfm and only in the hot spots basically by adding an inline ducting fan to the return ducts for the hotspot rooms.
I have a shop in my attic for some of my hobbies and it get s very hot in the summer.
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.
The previous owner did a poor job of insulating when he finished the attic this.
Finished is important to remember when you re measuring an empty attic space.
I recently moved into a 1922 2 1 2 story colonial in baltimore md hot humid summers and fairly cold winters.
Since parts of a finished attic are usually very close to the roof.
Without properly ventilating the roof your finished space can be just as unpleasant as an unfinished attic.
If you re storing electronics in your attic you might be unpleasantly surprised to find them less than functional in the future.
Another reason your attic is so hot is because of insulation.
Attic spaces are typically very hot in the summer and very cold through the winter.
Alternatively install passive vents such as gable soffit and ridge vents which are openings in the roof that allow hot air to escape.
The basic space requirements for a finished attic boil down to the sizes of the finished rooms.
According to agricultural engineer b r.
A contractor or a local building.
Without properly insulating your finished attic room will also be cold in the winter.
Every attic is different but a few established norms and practices will guide your renovation.
Within the attic insulation is a must.
Flooring ceiling and wall materials and other elements will reduce headroom and floor space and it s the finished area that matters.
They have thermostats that turn the fan on at a recommended preset temperature of 100 110 degrees.