Attic Access Is Too High
And it can cause your air conditioner to work harder than it needs to and send your energy bills soaring with the temperature.
Attic access is too high. I m 6 3 and not exactly a petite little thing. Attic ventilation works on the principle that heated air naturally rises primarily utilizing two types of vents. He told us we needed to install an access from inside the home. Enforcement varies but codes typically say that at least half of a finished attic must be at least 7 feet high and that this area must be a minimum of 7 feet wide and 70 square feet.
For those of you in co disregard this question. The appraiser doing an fha appraisal told us that he cannot access the attic from the outside of the home only the inside and he can only use a maximum of a 4 ladder to access it. Doing an fha appraisal and the garage attic access of this tract house is 13 8 feet high. Because the simplest and cheapest way to insulate an attic is to add material to the floor.
Many attics are not big enough to be accessible with a full set of stairs nor is there the space in many homes for a full staircase. An overheated attic can bake asphalt shingles on the roof and cause them to deteriorate. Advani hopes to finish the attic and install a minisplit although he s not sure that will lower the humidity. Stop using your attic for storage.
Because of this a set of pull down attic stairs is the best way to reach the attic. With outside temperatures ranging between 5 f and 95 f attic temperatures range between 48 f and 92 f. Where the access is located in a ceiling minimum unobstructed headroom in the attic space shall be 30 inches 762 mm at some point above the access measured vertically from the bottom of ceiling framing members. The rough framed opening.
Only about 10 of the hip roof is shaded so it gets plenty of direct sunlight. Attic stairs provide the most convenient and sensible way to access attic space above your home. The 2012 international residential code requires an attic access opening for attics with an area greater than 30 square feet and a vertical height in excess of 30 inches. An unventilated attic can reach 150 degrees in the heat of summer 50 degrees higher than it should be.
I realize it is our responsibility to inspect the attic but how high is too high. When built correctly the. Start with the attic floor. Where located in a wall the opening shall be not less than 22 inches wide by 30 inches high 559 mm wide by 762 mm high.