That ll just come back to haunt you when it s time to sell your home.
Do i need a permit to finish my attic.
She wanted to know if it was necessary or possible now to apply for the permit now what would be the circumstances if she wants to sell the house and the town will find out that she finished the attic without a permit.
Favorite answer not a whole lot as long as they dont know about it.
In rare cases especially in new construction homes the attic may have been built unfinished with the correct flooring in place with the idea that the homeowner could later on finish the space.
In most cases though the joists cannot support live loads and may not even be covered with boards.
Many municipalities require that a permit be issued to finish an attic so be sure to find out if you need one before you begin.
In most towns you need to get a permit for everything that you build new and sometimes things that you repair except for cosmetic work like paint.
Don t even think about doing an attic expansion without pulling a permit.
Finished is important to remember when you re measuring an empty attic space.
That doesn t mean you can t use the.
Flooring ceiling and wall materials and other elements will reduce headroom and floor space and it s the finished area that matters.
If you re finishing your attic insulating it to the proper r value can cause a dramatic loss of headroom if you limit yourself to fiberglass batts.
When a house is for sale and has a finished attic that didn t apply for a permit from the county how should you proceed with the sale.
To meet all three goals insulating your finished attic ventilating the roof and maximizing headroom use a combination of dense batt insulation rigid foam sheeting and air chutes.
You will also want to be sure to schedule any required inspections and stop work until they are completed.
To pull a permit you ll need to a detailed plan that s been reviewed by a licensed structural engineer architect.
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