Indy Total Construction

There are many points to consider before you can safely go ahead and convert your attic to living space. The first thing to do is to check the inside and the floor below to get some idea as to whether a conversion is possible or not.

The method of construction of the roof can present its own problems and some types do not lend themselves to conversion at all. Really heavy vertical posts supporting the ridge, with heavy cross-pieces below and diagonal struts, cannot be removed and they may be spaced too closely to allow rooms in between. Some modern houses have roofs made of prefabricated lightweight trussed rafters with no ridge bar at all, and these cannot be altered either.

In assessing space the problems arise because what you will be trying to do is to create a roughly rectangular shape within a triangular one. An attic has a vast floor area – equal to the area of the floor below – but because the roof slopes inwards the amount of floor area which is of any real use can be quite small.

The design of the roof also has an effect on the space available without making structural modifications to it. For a roof of any given size, a gable-ended design will have more immediately usable space than one with a gable at one end and a hip at the other. A roof with both ends hipped will offer even less room. This situation can be considerably improved by the addition of dormers but you need to decide whether the work involved will be worthwhile.

The pitch of the roof also has an effect; a low shallow pitched roof offers less space than a tall steeply-pitched one because of the need for a reasonable headroom over most of the floor. The Building Code usually stipulates a minimum headroom, but this only applies to a percentage of the floor area, so the rest of the floor area can have a lower headroom. This allows you to push the outer walls of the rooms out into the eaves to increase the size.

Having the space available either as the roof stands or with the addition of dormers is one thing, but you must fit a proper staircase to the attic — so work out roughly where you could install it.

Ideally, the new flight of stairs should be fitted over the existing stairwell, but to do this you may have to break through the wall of an adjoining room with a consequent loss of space in that room. In this situation you would want to be sure that the space lost at the foot of the stairs would be regained together with a lot more space in the attic.

You should also take into account where the staircase will break through the ceiling into the attic. It will need quite a large opening and should not interfere with essential roof supports, chimneys, cisterns and pipe work. You must have ample headroom at the base of the stairs, on the stairs and at the top of the stairs, although the latter can often be provided by building out a dormer to the eaves.

If the house is a two storey building, the conversion of the attic will make it three storeys high and here you may run into another snag, with your local building code. The door that opens to the stairwell of a three-storey building may have to be self-closing and the walls, floors and door frames may need to offer half-to one-hour fire resistance. Often the floors and walls will be built to this standard anyway, but there are still the doors to be taken care of. Local Codes vary so always check with your local Building Codes before planning any building project.

Solid concrete floors in modern houses are usually made up of a layer of gravel, topped by a layer of concrete (the subfloor), on top of which there is a waterproof membrane linked to the flashing in the base of the surrounding walls and finally a screed of mortar, which provides a smooth, level surface for your floorcovering. This type of construction is very tough, but even so, defects can occur; cracks, uneven surfaces and damp patches due to faulty waterproof membrane are all common problems.

Rotten wooden floors can be replaced with solid concrete ones relatively cheaply and they have the added advantage of providing a much more stable surface for laying something like quarry tiles or wood blocks. In this instance, however, you must incorporate pipe work air ducts to link any ventilation holes or grilles in the external walls with the suspended wooden floors in adjacent rooms.

If the surface of the floor is uneven you can smooth it with a self-leveling floor screed. Supplied in powder form for mixing with water or latex (depending on which it is based) the screed provides a smooth ‘Ain layer on which you can lay floorcoverings.

Pour small amounts of screed onto the floor at a time and trowel roughly level. There is no need to work out trowel marks, since they gradually settle out. Before you apply the screed you must remove the baseboards and make sure there are no major cracks or depressions in the floor — fill these as previously described.

Nail a batten temporarily across the threshold of any interconnecting doorway to provide a positive edge to the screed. When it has set, remove the batten and trowel a narrow sloping fillet of mortar along the edge to blend it into the adjoining floor.

Water-proof membranes may be thick plastic sheet, PVC, butyl rubber or painted-on bitumen emulsion, and to be effective they must provide a continuous layer across the floor and be joined to the wall flashing.

If the waterproof membrane becomes punctured, damp patches will appear on the floor- covering. Small areas of damp can be treated by breaking through the surface screed and coating the damaged area of waterproof membrane with bitumen emulsion, then rescreeding with mortar.

If the problem is widespread, or if the floor has no waterproof membrane at all, the real solution is to dig it all up and lay a new floor.

While the upper floors of a house will always be constructed of wood, the ground floor may be made of wood or it may be of solid concrete.

All wood floors are based on the same method of construction with minor differences. They all have a supporting framework of wooden beams called joists onto which are nailed wooden boards or plywood panels and may have a plain or decorative finish.

The joists of wooden ground floors are supported at their end — and sometimes at one or two points in between — or additional wood beams known as “wall plates”. These, in turn rest on the tops of low brick “sleeper” walls.

These are not solid, but are laid in honeycomb fashion with spaces between the bricks to allow the air to circulate below the floor to prevent condensation and rot forming. For the same reason, vents are usually fitted at the base of the external walls and must always be kept clear. Slates or strips of flexible flashing material are laid between the wall plates and sleeper walls to prevent damp attacking the wood.

Sometimes the joists are laid on top of individual bricks set on the ground. Upstairs, the joists are also supported by wall plates but these are held by metal brackets called joist hangers, which are cemented into the walls. Sometimes the joist ends may be set in sockets between the bricks, with a metal plate below to spread the load through the wall.

Most modern houses have solid ground floors. These comprise of a layer of compacted gravel on top of which is a 4in layer of concrete called the subfloor. A damp-proof membrane bitumen or thick plastic is laid next and is carried up and down the wall to link with the flashing around the base of the house.

A thin layer of mortar can be laid on top of the membrane which will provide a level surface for most types of flooring.

Over the years a wooden floor can suffer considerably from wear and tear. The joists may warp or sag, boards may shrink to open up gaps through which draughts whistle, or they may become loose or damaged. The whole structure may be further weakened by woodworm or rot. Fortunately, many of the minor problems can be cured easily, although serious rot or insect attack may mean complete replacement and should be dealt with by a specialist.

Probably the most common fault with a wooden floor is creaking floorboards due to the fixings working loose. The cure is simple: either drive the nails back in or replace them with longer nails or screws. Punch nail heads below the surface and countersink the screw heads.

Gaps of less than 1/tin can be filled with papier-mdché, which you can make yourself. Half fill a bucket with small pieces of torn, soft white paper, gradually adding boiling water while you pound the paper into a thick paste. Allow it to cool and stir in enough cellulose wallpaper paste to make a thick mixture. Add wood stain to match the color of the boards.

When the papier-mâché is quite cold, force it between the boards with a filling knife, leaving it slightly proud of the surface. Leave it for at least 48 hours then sand smooth.

Fill wider gaps with softwood fillets: cut the fillets fractionally wider than the gaps they are to fill, using a backsaw. The fillets should be fractionally deeper than the floorboards: that is, about lin. Plane the fillets so that they taper slightly at the bottom then tap them into the gaps with a hammer and block of wood. Use a plane to shave the top edges of the fillets flush with the tops of the floorboards. Make sure the ends of fillets meet on a joist: secure them to the joists with brads.

Damaged boards

Damaged sections of boards should be cut out and replaced, or a new board fitted if the damage is substantial. First check that there are no pipes or cables running below the damaged section, otherwise you will have to remove the entire board in case you cut into them by accident.

To cut out a section of board, first find the edges of the joists at each end. Do this by sliding a knife blade along the gap between the boards. If the boards are tongued-and-grooved, you will have to cut through the tongues by drilling a starting hole and using a keyhole saw or with a circular saw set to the depth of the board.

Drill a starting hole for the saw just in from the edge of each joist and cut through the board at each end in line with the joist edges.

Lift out the damaged section; if it is nailed to intermediate joists, lever it free using a masonry chisel and a stout length of wood. Lever the board upwards at the fixings with a chisel until you have lifted the end enough to be able to slide the wood below it, while resting it on the tops of the boards on each side. Pushing down on the end of the board will spring the fixings from the joist. Continue in this fashion until you have freed the board. A complete floorboard can be removed in the same way.

Screw or nail lengths of 2in sq batten to the sides of the joists flush with the undersides of the old boards. Then nail a new section of floorboard to the tops of the battens.

Sagging joists

On wide, unsupported spans, the joists may sag in the centre of the floor, giving it a slightly “dished” surface. To overcome this, add packing pieces to the tops of the affected joists.

Lift the floorboards and place a straightedge across the joists at several points. Measure any gap between the tops of the joints and the straightedge and use the measurements to mark out lengths of softwood batten. These must be the same width as the joists. Plane the battens to size and nail them to the tops of the affected joists. Finally, re-lay the floorboards.

Walls are the first thing anyone entering your home will see. They should be kept clean and in good repair.

There are many ways to finish walls. Probably the most common is painting. Paint preserves and beautifies many objects. It protects metal from rust, wood from mildew and plastics from sun damage. Paint also makes them easier to clean.

There are many types of wall coverings. Paper, plastics, and fabrics are some. Wall coverings can be prepasted and pretrimmed. Some are washable; and some are even treated for easy removal at a later date.

Paneling is easy to care for, and there are many different types to choose from.

Whatever type of wall finish you use, the job should be clean and neat. You should also know some of the chemistry of the materials and surfaces you are working with—what will mix and what may explode.

Painters will always have work. Even if the perfect paint—one that never wears out—is discovered, there will always be someone who doesn’t like the color!

Drywall is soft. It is best held in place with large headed drywall nails, screws or staples.

To prevent nails and seams from showing, nails are dented into the walls. The dents are then filled with drywall cement. Then you cover the seams with drywall tape and plaster over with drywall cement.

Finishing drywall seams. Apply compound over the seams and nail impressions. Work the tape into this compound. Smooth over, allow to dry, and sand.

In many modern houses, interiors are finished with drywall. Drywall normally comes in sheets, 4′ x 8′, 4′ x 10′, or 4′ x 12′. It is usually 5/16, 3/8, 1/2 or 5/8 inch thick. The most common size is 3/8 inch thick 4′ x 8′.

Drywall sheets are nailed to the house joists with large headed nails, screws, or staples. Nails are driven so that a small dent is made in the drywall. This depression is then filled with a type of cement and covered over with tape

There are three basic ways to finish drywall:

• Painting

• Wallpapering

• Paneling

You may apply paint directly to drywall. New drywall usually takes two coats: one to seal it and one to present an even, finished surface.

Wallpaper is becoming popular again. It comes in rolls and is applied directly to the drywall. Before it will stick, the drywall must be prepared with a glue-like coating of sizing. The trick in applying wallpaper is to avoid bubbles and match the edges and the pattern precisely.

Paneling is glued or nailed directly onto the drywall. Panels may be veneer, wallboard, imitation masonry, or some other material.

Moldings and baseboards finish off walls and ceilings. In older homes they are always made of wood. Most new molding and baseboard is made of synthetic materials which are more flexible and less likely to crack when nailed into place.