Improving Your Attic

A brick hearth off exposed chimney, a Franklin stove, convertible couches, and attractive floor covering made this attic warm, cheery and livable. Such improvements may be possible in your attic.

Consider these points when you set out to put all that fine living and storage space to work

Not long ago, researchers representing il the Home Improvement Industry conducted a survey to determine •what projects were foremost in the minds of American homeowners. These researchers discovered, not surprisingly, that most owners have one of two big remodeling projects that they hope to do—either finish off their attics, or finish off their basements.

If your home has a large expansion attic, it's natural that you should think of putting all that space to work. The typical expansion attic has room for two or three bedrooms, a bathroom, and enough space under the eaves to store all your possessions. Doing the finishing yourself, you can provide thoroughly livable new rooms at a mere fraction of what it would cost to add the same size rooms on the first-floor level. To assure a good, sound job there are points to consider.

Floor Joists

Floor joists must be strong enough to carry the additional loads you will place on them. If you have an attic that can obviously be made into rooms, chances are the builder made the floor joists large and strong enough to hold the weight he knew they would eventually have to carry.

A joist table tells you what sizes are needed to carry certain loads. For instance, those that are only 2x6 and are spaced 24 inches apart, haven't the strength to carry an ordinary attic floor load over a span longer than eight feet. On the other hand, 2x8 or 2x10 joists, spaced 16 inches apart on their centers, can adequately carry attic loads over unsupported spans of from 12 to 15-plus feet.

Requirements of different communities vary as to the size of floor joists you need in your attic. It may be advisable to find out what your local building code says about this subject, and to make sure that you abide by it.

Maybe you'll have to add extra joists. If so, that job, of course, comes first. Remove the floor boards that are on top of the existing joists. Next, take out the bridging— the pieces of wood or metal attached from one joist to the other. Now add new joists, nailing them firmly to the old ones. To be of use, these joists must rest firmly at each end on the same partitions that the old joist rests on. In this way, the weight of the floor will be carried down to your foundation, or to girders in the basement.

If you have 2x6 joists now, you may want to add 2x8s or 2xl0s. Attic headroom will be less than it was before—in the case of 2x10s, four inches less. This will not create any new problem unless the resulting headroom would be less than seven feet or

Floor and Framing

Once you are sure that your floor joists are adequate, move on to the subfloor. As a general rule, this rough flooring is not seen in the completed room. Therefore you can use utility-grade lumber here. You probably have some subflooring already in place. Most homes are built at least with an attic catwalk—a cross-section running from one side of the house to the other, and about five feet wide. You may have to extend this walk to the width necessary for the big rooms you plan. The wisest course is to use the same material in the same thickness as that used originally. If you use lx4s, lx6s, or similar boards, use two nails to hold each piece of wood to each joist. Proper nailing will prevent squeaky floors later.

If you're starting from scratch with little or no flooring already in place, you might find it easiest to put down plywood—either the 5/8- or ¾-inch thickness. The sheathing grade of plywood is not expensive, and since it comes in sheets 4 feet wide and 8 feet long or longer, you can put down a great deal of floor in a hurry. Plywood also tends to strengthen the house and it affords a flat surface for a finished wood or tile floor.

For the best results, long ends of the sheets should run across the joists. Edges of the sheets should rest securely on joists. If the joists have been put down so that they are precisely 12, 16 or 24 inches apart —measuring from their centers—the plywood can be put down sheet after sheet with no sawing.

In laying a subfloor, you'll become aware of why attic remodeling is so popular with home handy men. Even if you're a dub with a hammer, your mistakes won't show at this stage. Nails that have not been put in properly, hammer marks on the wood, even gaps in the floor usually will not be seen once the finishing surfaces are applied.

Next step usually is to erect the knee walls—the short walls on the sides of the room under the slanting ceiling. They run up from the floor to the rafters and form the skeleton framework for the new rooms. These knee walls are generally 5 feet 6 inches high—a figure which many architects have settled upon. This height is not so low that you will continually bump your head in the room, and not so high that the attic room will look like a long, narrow corridor. You can put furniture along the sides, using the center of the room for traffic.

In the typical attic room, a knee wall runs in the direction opposite that of both rafters and the floor joists. It rests on a base plate—a 2x4 set on its wide side which runs across the joists, on top of the subfloor. This base plate serves as the bottom part of the framework for the wall.

First nail the plate into the joist with 16-penny nails. Next concentrate on the studs, or horizontal supports that provide the framework for the finished wall. These should be 2x4s, as long as the floor-to-ceiling height of the finished wall—5 feet 6 inches, if the usual custom is followed. Place a 2x4 upright atop your floor plate, holding the top of it against the side of a rafter. Make certain that it is completely straight. Don't count on eyesight. Use a carpenter's level. Now draw a pencil mark where the front edge of the 2x4 meets the rafter.

Repeat this operation at both ends of the room. Now take a straightedge—a length of lumber that is absolutely straight as proved by the sharp eye of the carpenter's level. Run it across the rafters, its bottom edge resting at the marks made by the pencil. Draw a similar mark on each rafter, using the bottom of the straightedge as a guide.

Cut as many knee-wall studs as you will need for the wall. Allow one for each rafter. If you cut them the same size as the finished floor-to-ceiling height, they will be l¾ inches higher than the finished wall surface. The excess will rest against the rafter, giving you a surface through which you can nail to the rafter. The front edge of each stud should meet the rafter where the penciled mark indicates. Nail each stud to the face of the rafter with 8-penny nails. Toenail the studs to the base plate.

A living room by day, a bedroom by night is this strikingly furnished attic apartment. Sofa at lower right of "day" photograph becomes two beds. Noteworthy are fireplace, recessed bookshelves and other built-ins that save space and have considerable eye-appeal.

If you plan to build in chests, bookcases and the like along the wall, determine how much space to leave open. Then frame for an area either equal to or greater than this width.

Framing for built-ins is relatively simple. A horizontal 2x4 can serve as the top part of the frame. Nail it to the studs on each side of the opening. If the space to be occupied by the built-in is as wide as this opening, cut studs to fit between the base plate and the horizontal top plate. Set them up the exact distance apart and nail them to the base plate and this top plate.

The other framing required for new attic rooms usually is of the conventional type. Decide what the height of your ceiling will be in the center of the room, where the rafters are at their highest point. A common height is 7 feet 8 inches. You will have top and bottom plates of 2x4s, each measuring l¾ inches high when in place. Studs 7 feet 4½ inches will be required. Their height, added to the 32 inches of the top and bottom plates, makes the total height of 7 feet 8 inches.
If possible, put your partition walls together on the floor. Then raise them into place as a unit. You can do this by first measuring how long the partition should be. Put down two sets of 2x4s which are the exact length of the partition. These will be the top and base plates. Next, lay out as many 2x4s as you need to serve as studs. Allow 16 inches between the studs, plus an extra stud at each end of the partition and also extra studs for each side of a door opening.

Put all the 2x4s in position on the floor, their 2-inch sides face up. Now you can start nailing the studs to the top and bottom plates. Spike through the plates into the end of each stud with two 16-penny nails.

When all the studs have been nailed to the plates, raise the frame. Position it so that the bottom plate is exactly where you have planned your partitioned wall. When you are satisfied with the position of the bottom plate, nail it to the joists, using 16-penny nails. If the plate runs parallel to the joists, nail it to the subfloor with 8-penny nails.

Your partition will not be exactly plumb at this stage. You'll have to brace it from the top as well. If it runs perpendicular to the rafters, you can nail it directly to them. Use a carpenter's level to make sure the studs are straight. If it runs parallel to the rafters, first nail two or three 2x4s between the rafters. Then nail the top plate of the partition to these 2x4s.

You can most easily frame your attic ceilings by nailing collar beams to the rafters. Some of these may be in place already. These beams are needed to hold together the rafters on opposite sides of the house and thus strengthen the roof.

Builders often leave an attic with beams nailed to every third set of rafters or so. If the floor-to-ceiling height of these beams is what you want for your attic rooms, your job is simplified. Run a straightedge under these existing beams and mark the rafters to show where new beams must be placed. Nail 2x4s or 2x6s to these other rafters with 16-penny nails. If the ceiling span is less than six feet, 2x4s probably will suffice, because they will not have to support any weight imposed from above. For wider spans, we recommend that you use 2x6s.

Don't think that ceiling beams only five or six feet wide mean that you have a ridiculously narrow attic. Usually the high ceiling is less than half the width of the room. The rafters form the rest of the ceiling, sloping to the edges of the room. If your ceiling beams are only 5 feet long, your room may still have a perfectly presentable 12 feet of width.

Western Pine photos

Alter rough flooring is in. first step in attic finishing is knee wall. It is erected where headroom is too low; valuable storage is behind it.

At access door studs must be plumbed in both directions. Space beyond knee walls is frequently used for hideaway beds as well as for storage.

Surfacing Walls and Ceilings

The framework for most attic rooms is put together much the same way every place. What usually makes one attic room different from another is the material used on walls, ceiling and floor. In installing walls and ceilings, you can use an almost unlimited variety of surfaces. More products are available today than ever before. And you can use them in many ways.

Probably the most widely-used wall surfaces are panel materials. A major reason for their popularity is that they are so easy to put up. To cite one example of many: Plywoods with factory-finished surfaces require little or no further treatment once they're on the wall. You simply nail them in place and your job is done. You don't have to sand or fill or stain. All that work has been done for you in the factory.

You can get prefinished plywoods in widths from four inches to four feet, in heights up to eight feet, and in dozens of different patterns. Some have grooves that make them look like random planks. Others give a checkerboard effect. Others have plastic base surfaces which never need painting or other care, and which you can wipe clean with a damp cloth as easily as you wipe a modern kitchen counter.

You can also get hardboard products with a great variety of patterns and textures. Some of these wallboards or planks consist of a hard, semilustrous plastic surface, bonded to a tempered hardboard base. They never require decorating and they, too, can be cleaned with a damp cloth.

Hardboard photo

Marrow vertical strips of insulation board are easily attached to furring strips on the studs.

Wallboard. which is becoming increasingly popular for attic finishing, is inexpensive and provides a smooth, pleasant wall surface. The boards are merely butted against one another and nailed to furring over insulation. Where ceiling levels, acoustical tile will be installed in the attic pictured here.

How to install acoustical tile

Insulation Board Institute photos

If your ceiling is smooth and solid, adhesive can be used. Apply to the corners of each tile.

Begin application at center of room where predawn lines cross so borders will be equal widths.

Comers of tongues can also be stapled to furring. Start at room's end so all tongues are exposed.

Second tile is face-nailed at wall. Leave ¼ inch at wall for expansion. Two edges have wide flanges.

Standard molding may be used, as shown. Paint before installing to avoid marking tile and wall.

Most attic rooms probably are finished off with either random planking or gypsum wallboard. Wood-paneling is popular because it is easy for a home handy man to install. After the panels are in place and you varnish or stain them, you will have a warm, attractive wall which you need never worry about.

Wood panels are available almost everywhere in sizes up to about eight feet long and in various widths. This grade can be bought for about 20 cents a square foot. You'll find many different types to choose from—ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, white fir, Engelmann spruce, sugar pine, Idaho white pine, larch lodge pine, incense cedar, inland red cedar, mahogany, to mention just a few. The usual way of installing wood panels is vertically—from floor to ceiling. But you can also get good results by running them horizontally.

Vertical panels need extra furring since the existing stud framework does not offer enough wood to nail them to. That's because the panels are usually less than 16 inches wide and the studs are spaced 16 inches on their centers. But it's easy to install furring strips. These can be an inexpensive grade of lumber, one inch thick and three inches wide. Nail them horizontally to the studs—the first one at the foot of the wall, the next two feet above it, the third two feet above that, and so on. Place one strip at the very top of the wall, so that each vertical panel can be firmly nailed both at the top and bottom as well as in the center.

The tile, used on slope of this attic bedroom, contrasts well with wall of insulation board plank.

If the paneling is installed horizontally, you won't need furring strips. Each panel can be nailed to the studs at many places along its length. But the edge of each panel must rest securely against a stud and must be nailed to it. Otherwise edges of some panels will be left in air and will not give you a firm wall.

Another way—not recommended if you are just a beginner, or if you want to get the maximum use of your materials—is to nail the panels diagonally.

You'll find that wood panels go up easily. You must be sure that each one is nailed tightly to the panel that has been put in place before it. Joints where panels meet the ceiling and floor should be covered with trim. This procedure saves a great deal of time, because you do not have to cut the panels to a very exact length. You can make an error of an inch or so, but once the trim is applied no one will know the difference. The trim will cover up gaps between the panels and the ceiling and floor.

Sand cut paneling smooth, always with grain unless vibrating sander is used, as above left.

If color's to be added, apply before installing. Test on scrap first, !t looks darker on big area.

Wipe off wet stain for glowing tone. Shade depends on time stain stands on wood, longer the deeper.

Apply a good paste wax and buff alter installation. Pine paneling needs little maintenance.

Finishing of these panels often marks the difference between a routine installation and a spectacular one. Using a fine sandpaper, sand in the direction of the grain before the panels go up. If you intend to add a natural color to that of the natural wood, do that before installing the panel, too. In this way, you'll reach all the places on the panel which might be difficult to touch up after they are on the wall.

When the panels are in place, you can put on a final surface. Nail holes should first be filled. If you plan to lacquer the walls, next brush a quick-drying coat around them. Thin it with a putty mixed with the stain.

With most panels, the finished coat can be lacquered or varnished. The procedure recommended by the Western Pine Association is to remove high spots of the last coat with steel wool (3-0 or 4-0). Then do a thorough waxing job with a paste wax. This will accentuate the natural sheen and will provide a maintenance-free coating for the wood that will last many years.

The rules for applying gypsum wall-board are somewhat more complicated. However, this product costs less than wood-paneling. It will make a thoroughly acceptable •wall surface if care is exercised both in its application and in the necessary plastering work which follows.

If you start with the ceiling you'll get better results. Here you will need at least one helper. The wallboard comes in widths of four feet and lengths of eight to twelve feet and is difficult for one man to put on the ceiling by himself. Many do-it-yourselfers use a strong T-brace to balance the panels against the ceiling while the nailing is in progress.

You can get good results in a ceiling installation by hitting the nails with a back-hand motion. In this way, you can keep your eye on each nail while you hit it with the crown of the hammer. Try to put up the long sides of the panels so that they run across the ceiling joists. Wall-board installed this way strengthens the ceiling structure. It also leaves less joints to be taped later.

A damp sudsy tag easily cleans such pine built-ins; a new coat of paste wax restores natural sheen.

Drama on the top floor

The bold renovation of this Victorian attic by Architect Alexander Kouzmanoff entails ideas that May adapt to your needs. Note the sloping walls covered with waxed cypress paneling, expertly fitted.

Now strikingly modern the attic studio features built-in artificial illumination and' large circular skylight. Sunlight it admits contributes to growth of owners' plants.

Ben Schnall photos

Glass is used extensively, as evident in this exterior view. Old and the new blend dramatically in this major improvement. Note wishing well, modern chairs at right.

The all-open attic

Before improvement this typical attic bore the customary kinship to a junk yard. Floor plan at the right shows how the combination of privacy and open space was achieved. Remodeling created some 325 square feet of precious new living space.

Douglas Fir Plywood Assn. photos

Double-hung windows (above) were replaced with stopped-in windows with aluminum vents.

Panels of 3/8-inch fir plywood were nailed to these rafters over insulation, helped keep costs down.

A trick to remember in installing wall panels is that the upper panels should, always go in place first, installed at right angles to the studs. You can install these panels while standing on the floor. First line up each sheet on the floor in the very position it will occupy high up in the wall. You can see exactly where each stud will be. Now push a few nails partly into the wallboard near the top so that they will hit studs when the board is placed on the wall. Then raise the wallboard into place. Drive in the nails you started when the panel was on the floor. These nails will hold the boards in place while you complete the nailing.

When nailing panels, it's a good idea to start at the center and nail outward. The center of the panel will then be firmly in place while the edges are still loose. As you work toward the edges, you can press against the studs and make certain that the wallboard fits tightly all the way.

Don't try to make exact measurements for ducts, fixtures or other objects which will stick out from the finished wall. It's easier to mark on the board approximately where cuts must be made. After the panel is in place, you can note where the pencil marks were made and observe bulges caused by the ducts or fixtures beneath. Cut through the center of the bulge with a small saw, letting the inside edges of the hole serve to guide the saw. In this way you can make a perfect cut in much less time than you would otherwise require.

You can use the same labor-saving technique to cut wallboard for windows or door openings. Just let the wallboard hang over a window or door opening and use the framework of the windows or door to guide the saw as it cuts.

Incidentally, these are the only times you need use a saw on wallboard. At other times—for instance, when you're cutting a piece to size for a space in the ceiling or on a wall—it's better to use a sharp linoleum knife. You need only hold a straightedge along the wallboard to guide you as you score the paper with the knife. Then bend the board along the line you have cut. Look on the side opposite the side you cut: You'll find a crease. Score this crease with the linoleum knife to break the paper. Then bend the board back in the direction of the side you first scored. You'll soon find that you can break off the wallboard with ease.

Sometimes nails pop after you put them in place. Remedy. Put a little water on the spot where the nail is driven in. This helps hold it in place and prevents popping. Drive the nail so that it causes a slight depression in the paper, but not hard enough to break or puncture it. Amateurs sometimes worry about creating these dimples, fearing that they'll show up in the finished wall. They won't: You can plaster them over later, and the walls will be completely smooth.

It's easier to install gypsum wallboard than to cement the nailheads at the joints. In fact, the plastering job is often what causes handy men to use other materials. However, you can do a reasonably good job with a little patience and a little practice.

It's important to get the joint cement to the exact, proper consistency. It should be about the consistency of ice cream— thick enough so that you can keep it on your trowel, yet thin enough so that you can easily place it on the wall. If the cement is too thick, it is hard to work with; if it's too watery, it will be hard to apply and will lack strength.

The purpose of the plaster is, of course, to conceal the joints and nailheads. First apply cement to the opening between the wallboard. This opening should be about an eighth of an inch -wide. Spread the cement into the opening and to a distance of about three inches on each side of it. Then use the reinforcing tape made for this purpose. Apply the tape to the whole length of the joint. Press it in with your plaster spreader so that it is imbedded in the cement. Use the spreader to remove all the excess cement and to wipe the joints clean. Just leave a thin film over the joints.

Bare 7 5-watt bulbs in roof peak are covered with luminous plastic sheets for soft indirect light.

Built-in wardrobe and drawer units conserve floor space. These were prebuilt and then installed.

The all-open attic (cont'd)

Storage divider separates children's area from parents'. Note sliding bunk and the built-ins.

Douglas Fir Plywood Assn. photos

Plywood desk under north window is designed for parents. Note spotlight above sewing machine.

Looking toward children's end of the attic. Note the spacious bookshelves on this side of the storage divider. Ends of the room are paneled with textured plywood. Children's desk is similar to parents'.

Detail photo of adult area, left, shows slìding-door closet, which has additional shelves, bookcase.

Parents' side of divider opens to reveal fold-up bed for guests and linen storage just above it.

No detail was overlooked. Desk has adjustable supports, will be raised as children grow older.

Dividing unit has generous space for children's clothes. Note second built-in wardrobe at right.

How to install an attic fan

The first step is to mark out on ceiling below attic area fan will occupy; then remove plaster.

Exercise care in chiseling out plaster to eliminate cracks about the opening, minimize tedious repair alter installation. Next, from the attic side, cut away the )oists even with the opening.

When you apply the first coat of cement to the joints, put a first coat over the nail-heads. Put the flat side of your trowel to the wall and press the cement into the dimple you made when you drove the nail into the wall. Next, turn the trowel so that its edge is flat against the wallboard. Run it over the area you have just cemented. By resting its edges on the flat wallboard, you will scrape off all cement not needed to cover the dimple.

After the first cementing operation, wait a day or so before putting on the second coat. This should be wider than the first. Feather it out on both sides of the tape and smooth it with your trowel. After this coat dries, sandpaper lightly over any little sections of cement which are higher than they should be. Sanding will get rid of lumps and irregularities. It may be necessary to apply a third coat of cement to certain spots and to sand lightly after it has dried. Don't paint until the entire wall surface is smooth.

You can paint or paper wallboard. If you choose the latter, make sure to size the board. Otherwise, you'll have a rough time trying to take it off. You may find that the paper covering of the wallboard comes off with the wallpaper.

Despite the time and patience required to install it, a gypsum wallboard surface has many advantages. When it's put up properly, it looks as good as a smoothly plastered wall. And it can be decorated in a wide variety of ways.

All-Open Attic

By using a little ingenuity, you can turn your attic into a striking and dramatic area like the one pictured here, belonging to the Leonard Spaniches of Tacoma, Washington. Their under-$l2,000 house was a two-bedroom tract home with an unfinished attic. But two daughters came after they moved in—and they wanted to push the walls out.

Their attic looked mighty small, and they wanted to avoid the cell-like feeling that comes when a small space is cluttered with small cubicles. They asked help in planning something that would be open from end to end, that would use partitions to provide adequate privacy without a closed-in feeling.

Architect Walter Widmeyer developed the effective approach shown here. The basic rectangle provided by the attic floor was cut in two by a six-foot divider which offers space for clothing and linens on one side, and a fold-out guest bed on the other.

A combination sewing and work studio for mother and father on the guest-bed side of the divider helps take the pressure off the overcrowded first floor. On the other side of the divider, Widmeyer provided an end counter, across the attic facing the back yard. This was organized to provide two desks and storage units for the two Spanich children. Beds roll all the way under the eaves like big dresser drawers when not in use. This device alone almost doubles the usable play space in the children's area.

If you do most of the work yourself, you can achieve similar results for about $1,500, including purchased electrical work. If you add a bathroom, figure an additional $600-$800. Use of fir plywood for the built-ins and to cover the rafters helped keep costs down.

Cooling Your Attic

Many homeowners have a special attic problem that does not exist elsewhere. The problem: Keeping it cool in summer.

On a sweltering, summer day, the attic may have temperatures of 110 or 120 degrees. With the sun beating on the roof all day long, the typical uninsulated attic is a virtual furnace toward evening.

You have to insulate heavily to make the room bearable on such days. You'll find that insulation is well worth its modest cost. You can get a batt 4 inches thick with aluminum foil covering for about 8 cents a square foot, and the cost of insulating material for the entire attic may run less than $150. It's well worth it. Thick insulation is about as easy to install as thin insulation, so any extra sum you spend on materials will not affect the ease with which you can put it in place.

Lau Blower Co. photos

Install headers around the opening for your fan as demonstrated here. (Continued on next page.)

The approved way to insulate an attic is to place the material along the knee walls, up to the rafters which form the upper part of the wall, up to the ceiling where it will rest directly on your ceiling, over to the rafters on the other side, down the rafters, and down the knee walls. The room is virtually enclosed in an insulated cover.

Excellent blanket-type insulation comes with an aluminum foil covering or with a heavy asphalt-impregnated paper covering. Both of these coverings serve as a vapor barrier. This barrier stops moisture from getting into the walls or ceiling and condensing into harmful puddles of water upon contact with cold air. This condensation problem is greatest in the coldest climates and in houses where a great deal of moisture is created indoors—from steam heat, generous use of hot water in bathing, cooking, cleaning, etc. In installing insulation, make sure that the vapor barrier always faces the inside of the house.

Aluminum foil is also effective in bouncing back rays of the sun. It is particularly useful in the attic. Even with insulation, however, attic rooms may remain too warm during the dog days of summer. You can use inexpensive fans to cool the room off and make it comfortable enough for sleeping at least.

An attic fan will take warm air out of the house and replace it with air from the outdoors. In the daytime, it may be possible to draw in cooler air from the north— or shady—side. At night, any outside air is usually considerably cooler than that indoors.

You can buy several different types of fans. An attic fan is generally made to be installed in an unoccupied part of the house. If you're going to make rooms in your attic, your fan should be installed above your ceiling—preferably over a ceiling grille in the center of the house. It will then draw hot air from all rooms below and push it out through a louver on an outside wall. Fans of this type run to diameters of 30, 36 and even 48 inches. Within a few minutes, they can cool a house as much as ten degrees.

Attic-fan installation (cont'd)

Lau Blower Co. photos

Fan mounts on simple platform atop the headers as at left here. Belt tension is checked and next comes electrical connections. Due to varying codes, it may be well to have a professional do hook-up.

Less expensive is a fan you can install in a window or other existing wall opening. These fans will also cool off an entire attic and make it suitable for sleeping on summer nights. Whether you select a fan to cool one room, several rooms, or an entire attic, you should know how to estimate cubic capacity. Fans usually are rated by the cubic feet of air they can remove in a minute.

According to engineers of the Lau Blower Co., you figure cubic content of the house (or room) this way: Measure the length and multiply it by the width. Say your house is 30 feet wide, 40 feet long. That's 1200 square feet. Multiply 1200 by the height of the house. If it has an expansion attic, the average height is probably about 12 feet—figuring 8 feet for the floor-to-ceiling height of the first floor—and an average of four feet in the attic over-all. Multiplying 1200 by 12 gives you 14,400 cubic feet.

An attic fan should change the air every minute in the hot weather belt of the South, and a minute and a half where temperatures are more moderate. So Southerners will need a fan with a capacity of about 15,000 cubic feet. Northerners will need one with a capacity of about 9,000 cubic feet. If this house were in the South, a 48-inch fan would do the job. In the North, a 36-inch fan would be required.

You can estimate the size of the ceiling grille you'll need by dividing capacity of the fan in cubic feet by 750. The result would be in square feet. A grille about 36x40 inches will therefore be suitable for the house discussed.

You'll also need to carefully choose attic-louver size—the opening in your outside wall—that you will need. It should be ten per cent larger than the ceiling grille.

All that is seen of fan is automatic shutter, switch on wall. Hatch serves as access to the attic here.
Installing a skylight

Wasco Products photos

Cardboard, cut to size of the projected opening, helps select best location for skylight. The unit should fit between rafters. Drive nails through roof from underside to mark comers of opening.

In installing an attic fan, try to insure quiet operation. Make sure that the fan itself is a quiet type—one with its motors mounted on rubber or some other material that will absorb shock. The Lau people say that how you place your fan also will have much to do with whether it operates with reasonable quiet. Place it so that it is its own diameter away from the opening in the ceiling. In other words, a 36-inch fan should be about three feet above the grille through which it sucks air from below. You can also reduce noise by mounting the motor over or close to a solid wall which will absorb some of the vibration.

A handy man of average skill can put an attic fan in place. You'll have to be careful about the wiring, however. Usual procedure is to run a separate circuit from your main entrance service. This should come equipped with an automatic switch which will automatically stop the fan and close the ceiling opening if fire breaks out in the house.

This safety device is not expensive. It works with a handy gadget known as the fusable link. When there's an excessive amount of heat, the link melts, breaking the connection with the fan motor, thus causing the fan to stop. At the same time it closes the grille to prevent a draft which would nourish the flames on floor below. Attic fans usually range in price from $75 to $200. Contractors charge about as much to install them. In doing the work yourself, therefore, you can save a substantial amount. And, above all, you'll be insuring yourself of a great deal of comfort.

Windows in Your Roof

A great deal of interest was created by plastic nose domes of World War II American bombers. For the first time, pilots could see all around them. Those plastic domes have had a remarkable history since then and have achieved permanent standing as skylights for modern homes. These roof windows of plastic are a big improvement over old-time skylights because they resist breakage and also provide more overhead lighting.

You may want to put a skydome or two in your roof, instead of a dormer in your attic wall. They can be installed at low cost. And they make any room almost as light and bright as the outdoors. By using skydomes, you conserve wall space for use as storage.

Makers of modern skydomes have overcome some of the objections to old-type skylights. For instance, they no longer cause intense heat loss in the winter or heat gain in the summer. Modern types come with two layers of plastic, and insulating air space between. They are, in effect, built-in storm windows.

Using corner nails as guides, outline opening with knife. Check with curb. Remove nails, drill hole, and cut. If a rafter is cut, make doubled brace of same stock, nailing it to each cut end and to rafters on each side. (Continued next page.)

Another objection—that they let in too much light when you don't want it—has been overcome by the development of a translucent plate plastic and by color-tinted models which reduce and diffuse light. You can also prevent excessive light from coming through by using especially-made roller shades or Venetian blinds that enable you to direct the light as you choose.

Typical skydomes are made with aluminum frames. You just cut the opening in the roof and set the frame in it. Where the frame meets the roof, you apply a soft, pliable plastic flashing which closes the joints and hardens after a short time. This pliable flashing makes it possible for you to close up any tricky openings between the skydome unit and the roof. After it sets, you have a completely watertight unit.

You can get skydomes in a wide variety of sizes and shapes—circle, rectangle, square. For a handy man, it's probably best to stick to the square or rectangular pattern.

Once you make the opening in your roof, say officials of Wasco Products, Inc., Cambridge, Mass., the rest is as simple as "putting the cover on a jar." You can do the job in a couple of hours.

Cut a piece of cardboard to the size of the skylight you intend to install. The domes fit openings 19 by 19, 14 by 22, 14 by 48, 30 by 30, 30 by 46, and 46 by 46 inches. Circular domes are also available to fit openings 31, 43 or 54 inches in diameter.

Use the cardboard to help you select the best location for your unit. It should fit between rafters (sizes are made so that they easily fit between two, three or four rafters that are 16 inches on center). If you plan to use a unit that will require you to cut through a rafter, be sure to strengthen the rafters you cut by nailing cross-headers to serve as the top and bottom of the opening and as a frame for the skydome.

If your rafters are now covered by plaster or other material on the inside, drill a small hole in the center of the area where you plan to place the skylight. Probe with a wire until you locate the rafters. Carefully remove the ceiling finish from this section. At each of the four corners of the opening you intend to make, drive nails through the underside through the roof. When you go on the roof to remove the sheathing and roof shingles, you will have an accurate guide.

Using the corner nails as your points of reference, outline your intended opening with a linoleum knife. Double check your dimensions. Place the curb of the skydome on the opening you have marked and make sure the opening is properly lined up and the right size. Knock the nails out of their holes. Drill a hole through the roof at one corner and cut the opening, along the line marked, using a small saw until the opening is large enough to accommodate a larger saw.

Clear the opening of shingles. Cut off the roll of asphalt shingle roofing to about three inches on each side. Cut the corners of the roofing carefully so that you will be able to slip the flashing flange under it. If you have built-up roofing, set the flange on top of it. At three-inch intervals, nail the flashing solidly to the roof with aluminum nails. Try to nail into the rafters. Then cover the nails and joint of frame and roof with a generous coating of asphalt cement. Cut a four-inch piece of building felt over the cement, and put additional cement all along the edges. On a built-up roof, install a double layer of cement and felt. Then put a covering of cement and gravel over the top layer of felt.

Wipe the inside of the dome clean with a soft, damp cloth. Put the dome on the curb. Now put the retaining frame around it; secure with sheet metal screws.

Throughout the installation process, the skydome is protected by a thin coating which is applied at the factory. This skin can be pulled off, starting at the comer. Use wood molding to frame the inside of the ceiling opening.

You can get several accessories for specific purposes. A ceiling dome can be installed at the bottom of the well opening so that it is flush with the ceiling. This unit provides additional insulation and also helps to diffuse the light. It can be installed with a screwdriver. You can get it with a "Sky-shade" which enables you to shut out daylight or let it in as you wish.

Another idea is a hinged dome. You can open it from the inside and install fluorescent lighting between the bottom of the rafters and the top of the skydome unit. The hinged dome is necessary to enable you to change the fluorescent tubes. With light in the skydome, you have a fixture that serves you both day and night. ·

Skylight installation (cont'd)

Wasco Products photos

Clear opening, cutting roofing back 3 inches. Slit corners so flashing flange goes under it easily. On built-up roof set flange on top of it.

At 3-inch intervals nail flashing solidly, preferably at rafters, with aluminum nails. Cover nails and roof-flashing joint with asphalt cement.

Cover cement with 4-inch strip of building felt, as at left; add cement at edges. On a built-up roof use two layers of cement and felt. Dome is then placed on curb, retaining frame put over it and screwed on. Prebuilt skylight pictured is the Wasco Skydome, available in various sizes.

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