Attic Storage Over Insulation

Attics are great for storage but flooring directly over the attic floor joists doesn t provide room for the recommended 12 to 16 of attic insulation needed to keep your house cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Attic storage over insulation. The extra batting increases r values so it further slows warm air. A place for storage a place to decorate in a fun way a place to work out and for the kids to play. Even easier you can also use a prefabricated attic floor kit designed specifically to raise the attic floor above the insulation. You can use rigid foam panels or do as tom silva does with nearly all houses these days.

The joists for this riser should run perpendicular to the existing ceiling joists. Place a 2 inch by 3 inch board directly on top of the joist nearest to the edge of the attic with its largest. Can t store anything that won t be able to take extreme temps living in michigan we get extreme hot and cold in attics that aren t climate controlled. To give yourself enough space to ensure adequate insulation under the flooring construct a riser of 2 x 4 s in the attic over the existing joists.

Walk to one end of the attic by carefully stepping only on the wooden ceiling joists. By adding the boards you increase storage space for items not needed often allowing you to move those items out of the main house and reduce clutter. Very easy to install. But once you have got all that insulation you cannot use the attic for storage anymore and you cannot see where to step safely.

However if you keep the storage weight to a minimum you may be able to build a storage platform above the insulation by attaching supporting beams to the sides of the trusses. This will make the installation of these new joists easier while spreading the weight across several joists. The insulation should be at least 12 deep. Place flooring over insulation to make your attic space functional.

How to build a raised storage area in your attic. To solve this problem construct a raised platform from 2 4 or 2 6 lumber placed on edge add insulation between the joists and then cover it with 1 2 plywood. Do not put flooring or boxes directly on top of your insulation as squashing insulation halves its effectiveness. Hire a pro to install spray foam insulation.

If you re considering turning your attic into conditioned storage or living space it s worth changing tactics to insulate between the rafters and wall joists instead of the floor. Some attic floors that already have a layer of insulation could benefit from an additional application over the existing layer. Attics are generally covered in batting or blown insulation. If your attic joists won t bear the weight necessary to finish out a living space but the engineer cleared them to support floor decking for light storage you can install inch plywood or.