Attic Floor method ?

[Joe_Carrick]

How would you create an Attic Floor?

 

Assume a second floor that is basically like an attic (roof comes down to the floor) and you have dormers (both shed and gable) with the exterior walls aligned with the walls below.  The roof is a 12:12 pitch.

 

I see 2 ways of doing this:

 

1.  Make the second floor just 1-1/2" tall.

2.  Make the second floor a normal height and move the roof down to the floor elevation.

 

Which method would you use and what are the pros/cons?

[kMoquin]

I make the second floor normal height and move down the roof planes. The pro being spaces in the dormers have the proper ceiling height or collar tie height.

 

The "story and a half" Cape is a common type in the Northeast. The roof sits on second floor knee walls that may be 2, 3, 4-ish feet tall.

 

I cannot really compare the two as I have never tried doing it with a 1 1/2" second floor. A con might be if you intend to show space under the roof you'll need to create a third floor that is open to below. Might get fussy with room definitions?

[dshall]

I would you the 1-1/2" method whether I was going to manually build roof or use auto build roof.

 

The move roof down method works too.

[Alaskan_Son]

I think I'm with Kevin in the Move Roof Down camp.

[Joe_Carrick]

So then the next question is:

 

Would you attempt to use the Auto-Dormer Tools or would you just create the Dormer Walls manually and Build the Roof?  I find that the Auto-Dormer Tools are a bit difficult to control.

[kMoquin]

Manual dormers.

I never use auto dormers. They seem to be too far from where my design needs to be that it is easier to create from scratch than modify the auto dormer.

[Ridge_Runner]

I make the second floor normal height and move down the roof planes. The pro being spaces in the dormers have the proper ceiling height or collar tie height.

 

The "story and a half" Cape is a common type in the Northeast. The roof sits on second floor knee walls that may be 2, 3, 4-ish feet tall.

 

I cannot really compare the two as I have never tried doing it with a 1 1/2" second floor. A con might be if you intend to show space under the roof you'll need to create a third floor that is open to below. Might get fussy with room definitions?

My method also. I also agree with Kevin about the manual dormers. I seem to never get the auto dormers to work right - at least how I want them work. I do many of my house plans using this method where the owner doesn't want a full 2-story.

 

Mike

[MoeGia]

I start with a 1.5 inch floor, build the roof, then raise the ceiling height as needed for the dormers. I always build dormers manually.

With our insulation standards we are now sitting the rafters on top of a 2x6 plate which sits on top of the floor. I almost always have an attic level floor.

[CJSpud]

Manual roof framing or are you considering attic trusses ... or a mix of both?