Converting an attic to a bedroom or office

By Stephanie Hoenig Jul 21, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Cologne - There was a time when only a certain type of person - a low wage earner, student or poet, for example - would live in an attic room or apartment.

They were hardly desirable because they were known to be cold in the winter, hot in the summer and drafty all year round.

Such notions have long since gone by the wayside. These days light- flooded attics are popular and attractive to an entirely different range of people.

They also can serve as a expansion to a home that creates a home office or child's bedroom. But anyone thinking of a making use of their attic should realize that not every attic is suitable for these kinds of uses.

'Theoretically, a roof with a slope of 20 degrees or higher can be converted into a living space,' said Ulrike Heuberger of an organization for roofers in Cologne. But when the slope is that low, the rooms created often don't include sufficient head room.

When the roof's pitch is between 20 and 35 degrees the attic can be converted into a guest room, but seldom is it suitable as a flat. Heuberger said a roof pitch of 35 degrees or higher offers greater comfort and ensures sufficient living space.

'The type of load-bearing structure used in the roof is a deciding factor in a roof extension and in how the attic should be used,' said Heuberger. Rooms that are under rafters are free of pillars or support beams, but because the rafters support the weight of the entire roof, adding windows or dormers takes a lot of effort and is expensive.

Before starting on the project the roof must be checked for leaks and its wooden beams checked for damage that might have been caused by insects or fungus, said Heuberger.

Sometimes the insulation of the roof has to be redone. Twenty to 30 centimetres is a good thickness in the roof, said Werner Eike-Hennig of a home and environmental institute in Darmstadt, Germany. 'If the roofing is intact, the insulation can be put under and between the rafters,' he said.

To create bright rooms, as much natural light as possible should be let in. This is relatively easy by adding windows that are flush with the pitch of the roof, said Thomas Drexel, an architect in Augsburg. The room is flooded with light when multiple windows are placed next to each other.

Dormer windows allow in less light, but create more headroom in the slope of the roof, said Drexel. A rule of thumb is that a dormer window should not be larger than the window that is below it and it should lie along the same vertical line.

When the attic can be reached only through a hatch, stairs must be added to the extension plan. Drexel noted that space for the access to the attic is often very limited. A spiral staircase is a space-saving solution, but a steep staircase is often more convenient.

It's also important to consider the condition of the floor of the attic, which is seldom constructed to minimize the sound of footsteps. Therefore, the extension should include the addition of a layer of sound insulation to the floor to lessen the sound of footsteps, said Heuberger.