Attics were at their peak midway through the 20th century, when homes throughout the western world were built with pitched roofs and sloping rafters. Driving through some older suburbs today, there is something aesthetically charming about this type of roof design.
However, attics have had a smaller role to play in modern construction as the needs of a 21st-century homeowner have changed.
Changing economic climates and priority shifts have basically discarded the need for an attic altogether. Plus, installing roof vents or other attic ventilation, attic insulation, and element controls can be costly and time-consuming, making it unattractive to many new homeowners.
However, there is some evidence that some kinds of attics might be making a comeback. In this article, we briefly explore why that might be the case.
Does Every House Have An Attic?
No, many houses do not have an attic at all. Even houses with sloped roofs sometimes opt for a high cathedral ceiling over an attic floor.
Houses with attics are usually a lot older. Therefore, modern homes with attics are typically built by people who have the cash to splash and a little more time on their hands. Attics are certainly less common in younger, emerging communities and countries.
Attic or No Attic? Why Not All Houses Have Them
Having an attic in your home today is a choice made by either yourself, the local building authority, or the developers directly involved in the construction of your home. Attics are not as common in modern homes, where builders lean more towards trusses than rafters for roof framing.
Because of their design, rafters are associated with more space and easier insulation. These things lend themselves more to building an attic or converting roof space into an attic space or living space.
However, rafters are not particularly cost-effective, as they require specialist help to meet building codes. They generally delay construction because much more work goes into producing and installing them.
That is why modern developers find themselves leaning more towards trusses, an innovative and cost-effective way to frame your home’s roof.
Apart from being innovative and more cost-effective, roof trusses are a high-quality product that offers better support for your roof. Trusses are the more popular option for builders today, which is why attics are not as common anymore.
The two major drawbacks of trusses are that they do not offer much space or flexibility. This severely limits opportunities to convert the area between the roof and ceiling into an attic space.
Attics are frowned upon in some communities because they are generally considered a fire hazard or a dark space conducive to spiders and other pests. That is why attics might be less popular in hot climates like Australia than in cold climates like England.
Why Have An Attic In Your House?
You are most likely to build an attic in your house because you have a large family or expect to have a large number of people living in your home. This means you will need the additional square footage for livable space.
It is also less complicated and more affordable than building a basement if additional living space is what you are going for.
If it is not the living space you need, you might build an attic for a home office because you primarily work from home. An attic can be an outstanding home office or study if done right.
You might also have an attic in your house purely because you need the extra storage space that an attic provides.
When insulated, attics are outstanding for making your home more energy efficient. Among other things, insulating your attic prevents heat from escaping your house in the fall and winter months, which saves you additional energy and reduces your bills.
Attics will create a buffer between your living space and the external elements during the spring and summer months. This will save you money on air conditioning as well.
Is an Attic Necessary?
Attics do not feature prominently on the list of priorities for modern builders and homeowners. Several factors have contributed to that change in thinking, but the short of it is that attics are no longer necessary for most people.
While additional space is still an important issue for homeowners, most contemporary homes (for people who have the money) are just being built with extra space anyway, eliminating the need for an attic.
For those who still want to use the attic for storage, it has become increasingly apparent to modern homeowners that basements are actually more convenient than attics.
This trend is also the product of living in a world where we are more concerned about safety. Walking down to the basement is more convenient and safer than crawling up into the attic.
While the modern trend is generally moving away from attics, some exceptions make the rule. In some communities, pitched roofs are making somewhat of a comeback, and the attic is a direct product of having that sloped roof style.
There are also some places in the United States (and around the world) where terrain and geography make building basements an unattractive option. Therefore, an attic is a more agreeable alternative for older home designs.
Conclusion
Attics have generally been phased out of society for practical reasons like cost, time, and changing trends. Young people might often like the idea of living in an attic because there is a sense of adventure to it, but it is not always the most practical.
While there are building products like ridge vents designed to improve ventilation in an attic, high levels of dust are typically inevitable. People with sensitive lungs are likely to have the most difficulty with this.
The head clearance in your attic, while manageable, also presents a safety hazard to you. You could bang your head against the rafters during an emergency or while moving around in a drowsy (or drunk) state.
Excess heat in the attic can cause sickness and death. Given that heat rises and the attic is closest to the roof (which is most exposed to the sun), there’s not much you can do about this other than excellent ventilation and insulation.
While not necessary, it can still be worthwhile for some people to build attics in their homes. It just depends on your priorities and how you protect yourself from hazards like extreme heat.
