The attic is the part of the building, especially a house, directly a roof or garret.

Also a storey or a low wall above the cornice of a home or a classical faade.

ATTIC CONSIDERATIONS:

Modern homes with roof trusses are not able to be converted due to the low lying roof lines. To comply, the space must have at least 60% of the space and 2.4 metres of height. For an Attic Conversion used for living space, a permanent, fixed staircase is needed. You will need 3 - 3.5 metres of floor space for a 750mm wide staircase to be installed. For an Attic Conversion used for storage space, a pull-down attic access ladder is fine. It is best to have the attic area checked for load-bearing capacity. For storing boxes, your attic floor needs to bear up to 400kg. Timber joints will deflect under too much weight - cracked ceilings being the tell-tale signs of this. An access ladder can be your answer to adding on more storage space in your attic, so get yourself a quote today.

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Add light and space.Most attics are short on ceiling height and, because of the roof shape, usable floor area. So add a dormer for extra ceiling height, usable space and light. A dormer can be small, as in a Cape Cod's dog house dormer, or large, as in a shed dormer. Certainly one of my favorite dormer shapes is the eyebrow dormer, which you'll see next.

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Add more flooring support. Often the floor structure of an attic is designed for the smallest of loads. So some structural upgrading might be required to use the attic as living area. If so, work with an architect to ensure that the new structure complies with your building code. Mind your step. Stairs to an attic or basement can often be less than adequate to safely move people up and down. This means that you may have to rebuild or even add stairs to turn the attic or basement into usable living space. So make sure that the stair complies with local building codes. Don't waste space.Though not useful spaces as living area, the spaces under the roof are terrific for creating built-in storage or sleeping alcoves for children. Provide a way out.Most, if not all, codes require that bedrooms be equipped with an emergency exit. And even if your local code doesn't require such an exit, it's certainly good practice to have one. More often than not I've seen basement bedrooms without these exits, and I shudder to think of what could happen if someone got trapped in the room in the event of an emergency. Keep it dry. The new wood walls and trim as well as other materials will act as wicks and soak up moisture from your basement foundation and concrete floor. New walls should be built to prevent this by having a separation between the concrete and the new materials. Your architect, builder and local building department can help with the details to do this. Have a bath nearby.Adding a bathroom to either attic or basement often makes a lot of sense. If in the attic, try to stack your plumbing lines to avoid costly plumbing runs. A basement bathroom often means that an ejector pit and pump are necessary. Make sure you have easy access to any new plumbing, so that repairs and replacements can be made without too much hassle. Heating and cooling.Sometimes it's impractical to extend the existing systems to heat and cool a newly finished basement or expanded and finished attic. Stand-alone and dedicated systems could be better solutions. My preference is to install radiant heat in the basement floor and a wall-mounted split system for an attic.

The full, lower floor has the main living space rooms of the house, and a bedroom and bathroom. The upper level isn't a complete story. In essence, the half story's a livable attic that's finished into one or more bed and bath rooms, or left unfinished as storage space. It tends to have less floor space, and lower ceilings. In fact, the ceiling-floor height changes. Built under the roof, and therefore like the roof, it slopes downward to the walls. So adults may not even be able to stand up straight in places. It's possible for a complete lower level to take up less floor space than an upper half or full story. For example, it may be divided between living space and an attached garage. The upper level may take up more floor space, because of one or more rooms over the garage. Or another example may be a lower level that's surrounded by a verandah. The upper full or half story may take up more floor space, because of rooms extending over the verandah. The height of the first floor is minimum of 3 meters, considering the 30 cm ceiling beams and the second levels floor has 10 cm width plus 2.4 height of the storys space with 30 cm beams.

Reflected Ceiling Plans

A reflected ceiling plan (RCP) is a drawing, which shows the items that are located on the ceiling of a room or space. It is referred to as a reflected ceiling plan since it is drawn to display a view of the ceiling as if it was reflected onto a mirror on the floor. This way the reflected ceiling plan has the same orientation as the floor plan associated with it. It is as if the ceiling was see-through and you could see right through it to the floor below. Interior designers draw reflected ceiling plans when designing spaces.
An RCP should contain the following:

The construction of the ceiling (gypsum bd., acoustical tile, etc) A specification and/or finish (paint, stucco, etc.) of the ceiling material The height of the ceiling above the finished floor (A.F.F.) Dimensions A legend explaining the symbols on the RCP An explanation of any ceiling features such as bulkheads, soffits, raised or vaulted areas, trim or decorative applications Section symbols to further explain the construction of any ceiling features

Look for special ceiling features on the RCP, such as:

o Speakers from a stereo or other communication device

o o o o o o o o Emergency lighting, exit signs Security cameras or domes Sprinkler heads Smoke or fire alarm devices Return air grilles and supply air diffusers for the Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system Exhaust fans Seismic information and/ or details Expansion joint information and/ or details

Pin Hole Fixture Small Down Fixture Typical Down Fixture Wall Wash Adjustable Fixture

Large Square or Rectangular Fixture Adjustable Square Fixture Compact Fluorescent Wallwash Accent Fixture

Square or Rectangular Fixture

Multi Lamp Fixture

CONTROL SYSTEMS: Switching Dimming Other Typical Switched circuits Electricity comes in to a Distribution / Power panel / Breaker box then is delivered to the fixtures/outlets. Wall Mounted Devices Dimmers Rheostat - transformer devices that reduces voltage to lighting fixtures Timer Switches Keeps a switch on for a set amount of time Time Clocks Allows for lighting to turn on/off during specific times throughout the day. Occupancy Sensors detects occupancy by heat, sound, motion or obstruction. Intelligent Control Systems Electricity comes in to a Distribution / Power panel / Breaker box then to a intelligent control panel then to the fixtures/ outlets. Usually only one used per project Multi-button keypads replaces switches Luminaires group together are called lighting loads or lighting zones Manufacturers include: Luton, Litetouch, Vantage, Crestron Localized Control Panels Watt Stopper, Lutron Grafik Eye and Crestron

SECURITY LIGHTING SYSTEM Surveillance Lighting Protective Lighting Lighting for Safety Emergency Lighting Activated by Motion Sound EMERGENCY SYSTEMS Includes: Exit Signs Emergency Flashers Emergency Ballasts Smoke Detectors Carbon Monoxide Detectors Sprinkler system (sub system) National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Life Safety Codes Fire codes