What is in the attic?
Today, I am writing about unsafe conditions I have seen in attics (and basements.) Paying attention to this counts as both a rental issue and a buying issue.If you have any additional questions this rental season, write me.
I am not so naïve as to think that all workers do house renovations to code. Many renovations are done by homeowners or their paid help that are way-way-way out of code. The attic is a place where I’ve seen some whoppers.
Absolutely the worst:
Early in my career, I saw this: The seller had put paneling (the 70s kind) along the walls and the sloping roof line all the way to the peak. What was he thinking? Well, he was thinking he wanted more ceiling height and the wood going across the attic at about 5 feet up was in the way. He (or she, but this was probably a he) didn’t do any checking to find out why the roof framing was built that way to begin with. He removed the wood that was in his way.
When I showed this house, the ceiling paneling was bowing in. When we went outside, the exterior walls were bowing out. What was going on? The owner had removed the collar ties http://www.carpentry-pro-framer.com/images/anatomy-of-a-common-rafter.png that support the roof. Years later, that roof was collapsing.
More common mistakes:
In our old housing stock there are lots and lots of “finished” attics that have bedrooms in them. Even if they have been bedrooms since the 20s, it doesn’t make them safe bedrooms. I frequently see personal belongings that show that people have been living in these rooms for many years. They were lucky that no one was hurt in the time they used those rooms. Neither owners nor renters should have been sleeping there.
Safe attic space has a real stairway with a normal slope and full-sized steps. The ones you have to tip-toe up are not safe enough. The ones that require a handle on the wall are not going to cut it in an emergency.
Safe attic (or any living) space needs full ceiling height. It is not only to prevent you from hitting your head while ducking down the stairway. Rooms need ceiling space to give enough air space for people to get out in case of fire.
What to look for while house or apartment hunting:
In real life:
When you are looking at attic (and basement) rooms, be aware that low ceiling height is not only uncomfortable, but it is also a fire hazard for living areas. (Short ceilings in storage attics do not pose the same issue.)
Finished attic rooms frequently do not have central heating. Look for radiators or baseboard heating. I also occasionally see one radiator in a third-floor central hall and none in the bedrooms.
Attic rooms often don’t have enough outlets. If you are going to live up there, you’ll likely need more.
If you are thinking of finishing the attic, pay attention to where the chimney comes through. Chimneys often come through right in the middle of the room.
On internet searches:
Listing sheets sometimes count bedrooms that are accessed by steep stairways and rooms with too-low ceiling height. House-hunters choose a place to see because it has four bedrooms; they get there and find out that it has two bedrooms and two short, atticy rooms that you had to tip-toe up the stairs to get into.
Have you seen bad attic spaces, in real life or on internet searches?
