Attic Flooring

Many people decide to install attic flooring in order to make their attics more livable. Whether you are using it purely to increase insulation or whether you want to use it for storage, an attic's floor will increase your usable space. Furthermore, flooring can make the trips to the attic a lot safer!

Installing this flooring isn't a job for a beginner, so it might be best to hire a professional. But if you're a do-it-yourselfer with ambition, there are step-by-step instructions all over the Internet to help you get it done right.

Moving around in a floorless attic can be difficult, and even a little dangerous. Strong and durable attic floors have traditionally been built with plywood or solid-wood planks, but all that cutting and hauling around is a chore. While plywood is a typical choice for flooring in the attic, there are other options.

Attic Dek panels offer a simple means to create a strong floor surface in attics where joists are spaced 16 or 24 inches on center. The lightweight, interlocking panels are attached to joists with 2-inch screws, and the company claims each panel will support up to 250 pounds.

A pack of eight 16-inch square panels covers 14 square feet and costs about $45, or $3.20 per square foot. That’s considerably more than the cost of plywood or wood planks, but installation is quicker.

A four-pack of 24-inch by 16-inch panels will provide 10 square feet of flooring and also costs about $45. On the other hand, plywood will cost about $1.50 per square foot. But then there's the issue of getting it up to the attic.

In addition to these modular floors of individual, interlocking panels made of durable hard plastic, you could choose eco-friendly bamboo sheets manufactured specifically for the typical space between floor joists, so installation involves less tailoring. Bamboo is more resilient and stronger than typical woods like pine, and synthetics like vinyl.

I was recently in Home Depot and noticed that they have something they call "Attic Board", which is 4' by 2' sheets (easy to carry up to the attic) at $5.98 each.

Attic Flooring and Insulation

When installing flooring in the attic, homeowners may make the mistake of compressing their insulation, compromising its ability to trap air. Because the above-mentioned flooring options allow air to pass through the materials, the insulation below can breathe and won't trap moisture in your attic.

The attic is probably the most neglected space in your house. Yet it holds the key to your storage problems. It’s the perfect storage place especially for things like Christmas decorations used once a year. There’s no reason to tie up your closets with items you seldom use when you have a whole attic that’s unused.

Flooring in the attic is also good for creating walkways used to access vents or electrical wiring. This makes it easy to access even the furthest corners of the attic without flooring the entire area.

If you install this flooring, make sure you have the proper amount of insulation and venting so your household goods are stored in an environmentally controlled space. The attic should stay dry and at a moderate temperature.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions about attic flooring by clicking here.

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