Attic or storey - which option is better for extending the house

Sometimes space in the home becomes insufficient for all the family members. Children arrive, grow up, we work from home and need an office, parents come to live with us - these are just some of the reasons why more space is needed. The options are moving house, building a bigger house or extending your existing one. House extensions can be horizontal or vertical. For a horizontal extension you'll have to give up some of your green space and build from the ground up. Looking at it this way, a vertical extension seems more appropriate, simpler. You can do it by building a storey or a loft. What's the difference between them and what advantages comes with lofting your home I'll tell you in a moment.

A trip into the past

Many paintings and novels were born in bohemian attics. True, the main reason was the low cost of living, but let's not spoil the atmosphere. Have you ever wondered why it's called that, who 'invented' this living space? The name is linked to the French architect Francois Mansart and refers to a way of constructing the roof to enclose extra living space. Such aThe awning has four sides, with two slopes of different degrees of inclination, the lower slope being steeper than the upper. Windows are mounted on the steep slope. Nu Mansart was the first to make this type of roof, but he used it extensively on his own buildings, eventually becoming the 'godfather' of the mansard. The style was picked up by other architects and spread throughout Europe and then America.

The windows in these roofs were called skylight. The Lucarna is a small construction that brings the window upright, like the other windows of the building, although it is positioned on the sloping roof and not on a straight wall. Their presence along the entire length of the lower part of the roof makes the interior space very well lit.

In the meantime the term attic no longer referred only to the roof but also to a living space under the roof. This space is now very well defined and we may be surprised to find that not all the spaces that we consider to be attics have this status from a technical and legal point of view.

What the attic means in architectural and administrative terms

The attic is the habitable space immediately below the pitched roof of the house. Specialists emphasize that it is a habitable space, not a converted one. A habitable space is one that is high enough and well designed for a person or family to be able to work in. The useful height of a loft should be between 2.3 and 2.5 meters. If not, the roof must be raised.

Unlike the attic, the loft is not considered habitable space. Spaces under the roof that are small, narrow, with no access are considered attics. The top level of a building that is below the attic, even if it has sloping walls, is not considered an attic but a storey. In short, if it has a loft above it, it is not an attic.

The attic is administratively defined as the last habitable level of a house, immediately below the pitched roof, with walls sloping at the same angle as the slope of the roof. If you extend your home in this way you pay less tax because the tax for an attic dwelling is lower than that for a ground floor+story dwelling. The tax calculation takes into account a floor area 25% smaller than that for a storey.

Advantages of lofting

We've already seen the first advantage - the tax advantage - but before you pay tax on it, the loft has to be built. Below are some reasons why choosing this way of extending your home is more convenient:

• lower construction costs
• lighter than a new floor
• shorter construction time
• special appearance

The advantage on construction costs You can see it right from the design stage when you need planning permission. It costs less than building an extra storey. The most cost-effective option is the attic when there is already a loft of the required height. It is more of an improvement that involves insulating the walls, roof and floor, reinforcing the floors in the case of an old house (I had this experience), building partition walls, fitting windows, making routes and installing the heating and plumbing. These improvements, even the more complicated ones involving raising the roof or making access more convenient, cost less than building a whole floor from scratch.

Low loft weight results from using existing walls. Interior fittings are much lighter and do not overstress the structure. The low weight is an advantage in case of large shocks (earthquake).

Regarding appearance, the attic impresses us all. We have extended the house by installing a loft in the attic and have seen the reaction of friends and guests. The sloping walls, the recessed spaces, the sound of the rain on the roof, the light falling otherwise create a special atmosphere. That's why cafes, bookshops and even theaters are set up in such spaces. Modern materials and technologies, which provide excellent thermal and sound insulation, remove the last trace of doubt and leave room for the imagination.

Insulation, perhaps the most important aspect when designing an attic

If you set out to save money on attic insulation materials, you'd better not start attic insulation. Without good insulation it will be very hot in summer and very cold in winter, the rain will make a deafening noise, you will hear every cat taking its evening roof walk. There are studies that say that 25% of heat is lost through the attic, and in older houses the losses can be as high as 50%. That means almost half of the money you gave to heat your home has gone out the window. Isn't it better to invest it in good insulation?

When choosing insulation, don't just think about price. There are other aspects that are much more important. Consider that you are making a long-term investment and that the savings you make now may cost you much more in the future. Choose a material with good insulating properties and calculate the thickness needed to get the maximum result. If you have allergies or breathing problems or are a fan of natural products there are plenty of healthy options for insulation: wood fiber, hemp, jutecellulose, wool. The important thing is that the insulation is effective.

Good loft insulation contributes to the comfort of the whole house. Roof losses will be infinitely reduced and summer heat will be kept at bay. Installing the insulation correctly will also mean no more leaks on the roof or between floors.

It's not perfect, but it's often the most spectacular and least expensive option

If you have a tall and generous loft, it's a shame to think of another way to extend it. You won't lose out on storage space because the sloping walls of the attic allow for all sorts of useful layouts. And you'll have the extra living space in no time.

You can convert the attic into a bedroom for children who have grown up and can no longer sleep in the same room, a space to rest or meet friends, a totally separate apartment for one of the children or a work office. In fact, the possibilities are many, it's up to you, your wishes and your imagination.