Not always people used the space above their own ceiling. For the first time, the idea of ​​arranging an attic superstructure over an apartment for residential purposes came up with the French architect Francois Mansard. The townspeople liked the idea so much that they began to arrange attic rooms for guests. Thanks to the slanted windows, the room was especially bright, which was quickly appreciated by Parisian artists, equipping workshops under the roof.
House with an attic: features
To maximize the use of all the premises of the building, the attic is refined during the construction process. Mansard roofs of private houses have a peculiar design:
- one side is strictly vertical, being a continuation of any of the internal walls;
- on the second, inclined part, windows are installed.
Such a one-sided roof device is also called a “half-attic”, as opposed to a two-sided roof slope.
The presence of the attic always enlivens the appearance of the building, giving it a non-standard look. And the internal area of ​​this room has an original shape, because the ceiling is one of the slopes of the roof.
What kind of housing can be arranged in the "above-floor" room
Most often in modern attics they have a bedroom, a cinema or a study. Almost any oversized furniture can easily fit along a normal wall. Special windows cut into an inclined wall. If this part of the ceiling is completely glazed, it will be convenient to place a library or a workshop here.
It is very functional to use the trapezoidal areas of the room for built-in cabinets or bookshelves. In such a non-standard zone, a rather spacious dressing room will turn out.
In a well-insulated attic, a children's room will be perfectly located, there will be a place for games, and for toys, and for small furniture. Attic houses are a great option to equip a child with a separate room.
Another idea is to make your own gym out of a boring loft. You can hold communications here, make a bathroom, install a shower. Some owners make billiard rooms out of the gambling area, or set up a ping-pong table - a kind of home sports club.
Broken, with consoles, triangular and other outlines of roofs
Attic type houses can be distinguished from other buildings by the presence of an unusual shape of the roof. They come in 4 types:
- gable (triangular, straight) has the simplest and most practical design;
- the broken roof is placed on another rafter system, forming 4 vertical walls and the same number of roof planes, which increases the useful area of ​​the room;
- the top, which has remote consoles, is more difficult to design and assemble, but it increases the footage by using one vertical wall of the house;
- two-level, arranged on supports of a combined type.
Roofs for attic of the first 3 types can be built on an already finished building using lightweight building materials. The fourth design is the most complex option, which is designed and built with the house. Here it is possible to arrange two or more different-level rooms.
What materials can be used to build housing in the attic
When building attic houses, equipping rooms under the roof, only lightweight materials are used. It does not use concrete and brick. The built-in furniture parts are made of drywall, for the rafter system, wood or metal is taken. If the internal area allows, you can arrange partitions and divide the space into zones. In most cases, the room is decorated in the style of minimalism or “mini-loft”.
The main project requirement is to limit the mass of building materials.
What you need to know about the features of attic insulation
Since the walls of this room are roof slopes, a very important stage in the arrangement of this housing is its proper protection from the cold. In addition to laying a thermal insulation layer and waterproofing, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of ventilation of the roof. The experience of former builders showed that a house with an attic roof is insulated in a special way. To prevent the condensation of water vapor indoors, between the mineral wool and sheets of drywall, it is necessary to strengthen the film with diffusion membranes for better vapor absorption.
Attic houses, more precisely, roofs, are exposed not only to external moisture in the form of natural precipitation. The warm air of the room can create condensation on the inside of the heat insulator. Over time, mold may develop there, or drops of water will flow down the walls, despite having a whole roof. In winter, a wet insulation freezes, gradually collapsing and losing its qualities. For the same reason, a small distance is left between the mineral wool and shingles for air ventilation.
On the cons and pros
Attic houses are considered a fairly cheap option for housing. In recent years, similar structures have been erected even on the roofs of high-rise buildings, fixing them so as not to be carried away by a strong wind. You can argue about the pros and cons of such an idea, there are supporters and opponents of attic construction. Undoubtedly, improved in this way, housing expands the possibilities to increase the useful area of ​​the house. And from an architectural point of view, curly roofs look very picturesque, decorating city buildings with sloping surfaces, upper verandas and a non-standard view.