The attic provides additional living space. Its layout is ideal if you want to save space in the house. However, it is still necessary to determine if they are lost or habitable.
When considering an attic conversion, the first reflex to have is to check the slope under the roof, which must be greater than 30%. If not, don't panic. Nothing is lost. On the other hand, it will be necessary to consider changing the slope of the roof which generally induces the replacement of the frame in order to gain a level of 45°. This type of work is heavy, complicated and expensive. You must plan a budget between 1300 and 2000 euros per m2 for such a work, delivered turnkey.
Checking the feasibility of the project is another imperative. Changing roof angles is not permitted in all regions. The ideal is to go to the town hall and consult the Local Urban Plan (PLU) to find out about the regulatory requirements imposed by the city or municipality. According to specialized sites like Dossiermaison.com, even if the slope of the roof cannot be changed, there are always other solutions such as a facade extension or a roof extension.
Another essential criterion to make possible the development of the attic relates to the height under the ceiling which must be at least 1.8 m on 2/3 of the minimum surface. If this ceiling height is insufficient, work must be undertaken. The most common solution is to raise the roof. Even if this enhancement is expensive and complicated to carry out, it has the big advantage of offering you an additional floor. Before starting the work, it will be necessary to ensure that the foundations can support such an elevation and that the load-bearing walls are strong enough. This done, the old roof is dismantled and then the roof is raised. The structure must be as resistant as possible, hence the installation of props. The walls are then raised to the correct height.
Another alternative to raising the roof to enjoy an appropriate ceiling height is to proceed with a disbursement. The objective is to reduce the ceiling of the floor or the ground floor to take advantage of more space. This intervention being even more complex than raising the roof, it should only be considered if the PLU prohibits the raising of the roof.
Old houses are generally made up of traditional frameworks which facilitate the development of the attic (see here the details of the roofs). They are in fact made up of spaced trusses that create volumes under the roof. In the 1970s, this type of frame was increasingly replaced by industrial frames with very bulky trusses. Generally A-shaped or W-shaped, these structures only offer a center distance of 0.60m, therefore taking up a lot of space. Fortunately, all is not lost since there are companies capable of modifying the frame to make the attic habitable. One of the techniques consists of eliminating the central W triangulation and then creating a floor of the partitions.
