Do I Need A Permit To Finish An Attic

Many communities will not permit the ceiling in a finished living area attics included to be lower than 6 8 to 7 6 from the floor.

Do i need a permit to finish an attic.

Beware the following mistakes when finishing your attic. There are some potential dangers you could run into if you do not do your research properly though. That s measured after you finish the 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 an attic above a garage ranges from 4 600 to 24 000 depending largely on the condition of the building if you want heat installing an electric baseboard heater costs 400 to 1 200 if you re creating living space you might need to pay the price to install a furnace which is 2 600 to 6 200.

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. Building codes vary by location but most require at least a 7 foot clearance for attic expansions. Cost to finish an attic above a garage. In rare cases especially in new construction homes the attic may have been built unfinished with the correct flooring in place with the idea that the homeowner could later on finish the space.

Before finishing an attic get the necessary permits from your local housing commission so you don t get in trouble later on if you try to sell your house. In most cases though the joists cannot support live loads and may not even be covered with boards. Once you have a permit install subfloor panels over the floor joists so you can lay down flooring. Flooring ceiling and wall materials and other elements will reduce headroom and floor space and it s the finished area that matters.

First check for head clearance. The basic space requirements for a finished attic boil down to the sizes of the finished rooms. Before doing anything else visit your local building department and find out if you need permission to make any structural changes to your home. 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.

All you need to know about attic flooring.