Randall's Blog

Work on the attic is winding down. This project was really a bit of an afterthought but when we realized how little living space (and places for bookshelves) we had...

I posted some photos earlier of the insulation process. The insulation was done on September 4th. Since then I have been spending a lot of time in the attic and it has been coming along pretty well. The carpet was installed on November 3rd which makes it look a lot more like living space.

I had to finish the new window that was put in before the insulation was done. Brian, the window contractor, suggested a larger window when I mentioned finishing the attic. It looks great AND will allow escape should there ever be the need.

I decided on a mix of drywall and thin wood paneling planks to finish the walls. This was for a couple of reasons. I really don't like drywall (and I'm not that good at working with it). Also, it was easier to bring the wood up into the attic than 4x8 sheets of drywall. Lastly, it gives a bit of continuity to the attic space as the attic in the Epping house had a similar kind of walls and ceiling.

One of the main parts of the new attic is the built in bookshelves. I reused some lumber from the "room divider" I made for the Epping house "big room." Space for books was a primary goal of this project. Behind the bookshelves is a storage area - also a big priority.

The other main area of the attic is the closet area. We wanted more clothing storage and I decided to put up some cedar planks. There was a lot of custom millwork done for this project.

This is how it looked before any work was done:

Just a few more pieces of trim to go and I'll be DONE!