Attic Height Requirements

The united states fire administration estimates that in just a two year period from 2006 to 2008 close to 10 000 residential attic fires occurred resulting in nearly half a billion dollars worth of damage.

Attic height requirements. Attic conversions are an affordable way to add livable space to your current house but consider these regulations requirements and considerations first. All attic spaces shall adhere to the following requirements. Finished is important to remember when you re measuring an empty attic space. To pass code there must be at least 70 square feet where the ceiling height is 5 feet or.

Flooring ceiling and wall materials and other elements will reduce headroom and floor space and it s the finished area that matters. While a professional remodeler can explore your attic s potential a good rule of thumb is if the existing distance between your attic floor and ridge peak is less than 8 6 increasing the roof height will most likely be required. The basic space requirements for a finished attic boil down to the sizes of the finished rooms. With the expensive nature of home additions many homeowners look for creative ways to increase their living space within the existing footprint.

Habitable attic space must satisfy the same requirements that govern rooms in the rest of the house. The floor of the attic shall be level with the springing line 1 and at least one side of the sloping roof shall rest on the springing line only small openings in the form of dormer windows may be allowed on the side of the sloping roof. The maximum floor to roof height shall be 5m. If there are no obstructions on the passageway to the attic furnace and it has a minimum 6 feet 1829 mm height and 22 inches 559 mm width along its entire run the walkway length limit goes up to 50 feet 15250 mm in irc international residential code and has no limit in umc universal mechanical code.

Buildings with combustible ceiling or roof construction shall have an attic access opening to attic areas that have a vertical height of 30 inches 762 mm or greater over an area of not less than 30 square feet 2 8 m 2 the vertical height shall be measured from the top of the ceiling framing members to the underside of the roof framing members. 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. This 20 limitation applies to the minimum 30 height only low clearance attics.