Cheap Attic Subfloor

Strengthening attic joists for live loads by sistering.

Cheap attic subfloor. To floor an attic you ll need to install a sub floor for support before laying your plywood floor. First you ll need to measure the area you want to floor so you can calculate how much wood you ll require. The difficulty comes from the precise measurement and cutting required and the labor of getting the sheets of underlayment in place. You can for instance use recycled materials.

Attic dek flooring provides additional storage space that supports up to 250 pounds making it easier than ever to get those cluttered spaces organized. A subfloor is a stiff wood underlayment secured directly the the flooring joists. How to build a subfloor in an attic. You ll have to construct a wooden frame or sub floor with boards 16 inches apart to provide extra support for the floor.

Some communities will allow homeowners to do their own construction but they are still subject to. I wanted to add more plywood to the area and wanted to know if any specific type i should use. I assume 3 4 inch but there are many types brands to choose from. It is possible to reinforce the attic floor by installing additional sister joists alongside the existing 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 joists.

Attic flooring intended for a living space must be installed in compliance with building codes. Sistering is the process of adding a new joist next to each existing joist. My attic is located above my garage and currently the former owner had random pieces of plywood placed up there. All is not lost if this is the case however.

Some screwed others not. Attic space offers many options for building storage or living space especially if you already have a well built basic flooring in place. Covering part or all of the ceiling joists in the attic is a cheap way to make use of wasted space. Installing the subfloor is the easy part.

It provides a stable surface for finished flooring material such as laminate. If access to your attic is through a hatchway or drop down ladder the joists may be too small to support the added weight of finishing the attic. If the attic joists are not adequate one way to strengthen the floor for live loads is to sister the old joists. It s possible to create a solid floor without investing a lot of money.

Attic dek is a specially designed attic floor system that consists of 16 or 24 squares attached to the top of ceiling joists.