Attic overlap of the house - the device design and
In the construction of a private house before the arrangement of the attic it comes to the last. Since there is always not enough free space, this room is usually used for organizing seasonal storage of things, arranging residential attic or installing the necessary equipment.
Depending on the nature of the use of space, the attic floor unit is selected, the material from which it is assembled, also in the carrying capacity. In this article we will tell you how to properly equip the attic of a private house.
Attic device
The attic is a room bounded by the slopes of the roof and ceiling of the residential floor. This room can be used as a seasonal storage place or for the purpose of organizing additional living space. Depending on the nature of use, attics of residential buildings are divided into the following types:
- Residential. The residential attic of the house is called an attic, it can serve as an additional bedroom, living room, bedroom or study. To use the attic as a living space, it must have a ceiling height of at least 2.2 meters, natural lighting, ventilation, thermal insulation of ramps.
- Uninhabited. Non-residential attic can be used to install any technical equipment, storage organization. In this case, the height of the attic room may be less than 2 meters, there may be no natural lighting, and the thermal insulation of the ramp is replaced with the insulation of the attic floor.
Important! Performing repairs or renovation of the house, it is important to immediately determine how the attic will be used to correctly calculate and design the attic floor. From this will depend on the type, material, distance between the beams, which will provide sufficient strength and bearing capacity of the structure.

Functions
The design of the attic floor depends on the size of the house and the nature of the use of the roofing room. The attic is a kind of air gap separating the heated space of the first floor and the roof and insulating it. Its floor performs the following functions:
- Carrier. The overlap between the upper floor and the attic perform the carrier function, so they must be strong enough, reliable, because people move along it, equipment is installed, storage places are installed.
- Isolating. The room of the unheated attic has a temperature not much higher than the street one. Therefore, the overlap performs a thermally insulating function, preventing the cooling of the heated residential floor. To keep warm in their composition includes a layer of insulation.
Remember that temperature, comfort, and safety of living in the house depend on the correctness and quality of work on the arrangement of the attic. Therefore, it is better to entrust the design, installation or repair of floors professional craftsmen.

Overlap device
Since the attic floor combines the insulating and carrier function, it has a multilayer structure. Its components, complementing each other, are combined into a single system that provides strength, carrying capacity and durability. If you list all the layers of the attic floor, starting from the attic side, it looks like this:
- Fair floor. A clean floor is a decorative floor covering that covers a rough attic floor. If the roofing room is residential, then for the arrangement of the finished floor use laminate, treated wood, linoleum, parquet. In the non-residential attic of the finished floor may not be at all.
- Rough floor. Draft flooring is called the flooring of the boards, which pounces on the logs. For its installation using a cut board 4-5 cm thick, in order to save it, you can replace it with an unedged one.
- Lagi Lags are called durable, flat boards or bars, which are laid perpendicular to the floor beams for floor installation. Between the lags are usually laid insulating material, protected by a bottom layer of vapor barrier, and a layer of waterproofing on top.
- Beams. The framework of the slabs consists of strong, thick beams, which are mounted on the protrusions in the walls or embedded in them. Beams carry the entire aggregate weight of the structures, so they must have a large bearing capacity.
- Ceiling trim. From the bottom of the ceiling, sheathed with a finishing material, for example, wood or drywall, to give an aesthetic look to the ceiling of the residential floor.
Note! Thermal insulation and vapor barrier are just as important components of a structure as floor beams or logs, as they protect the wood and insulation from drying out, wetting and condensation. If you forget about the insulating layer, the overlap will not last for a long time and after 2-3 years it will need repair.

Kinds
For the construction of attic floors, you can use different in weight, carrying capacity, durability and, of course, the price of materials. The choice of the type of construction depends on the nature of the use of the roofing room, the total weight of the ceiling and the equipment to be installed in the attic. There are the following types of attic floors:
- Wood. For arranging the overlappings of a private house, you can use wooden beams with a section of 150x150 mm or 200x200 mm. The advantage of this method is that the tree is very durable, but light material, so it does not exert additional load on the foundation of the structure. In addition, a great advantage is the affordable price and availability of this material. However, attic with wooden beams is used only if the size of the house does not exceed 6-10 meters, as this is the maximum possible length of standard lumber.
- Metallic. Metal beams can be used as beams. They are very strong, withstand enormous weight without deformation, however, they themselves weigh decently. In wooden houses, metal floors are practically not used, but for brick and aerated concrete structures - this is the best option.
- Reinforced concrete. Molded floor beams made of reinforced heavy-duty concrete are used for large houses, as they are heavy and long.
Consider that in most cases the attic flooring on wooden beams is the best option for a private house, a summer house and a small cottage. It has the best ratio of price and quality, and with the correct calculation and compliance with the installation technology, repair will not be needed soon.
Construction requirements
Installation, repair and reconstruction of attic floors require a well-considered approach, because the safety of using the house depends on them. In order to determine the maximum possible load that a structure may be subjected to, an engineering calculation is performed, and then, based on the calculations, a project is drawn up. The attic flooring has a number of requirements:
- Load bearing capacity. This indicator depends on the material from which the beams are made, as well as on the distance between them.
- The distance between the beams. The maximum allowable distance between the wooden beams, permitted by building codes, is 4 meters.
- Resistance to temperature changes. Beams must withstand temperature fluctuations well, since the difference between the temperature of the air in the attic and the living room exceeds 4 degrees.
- Impermeability. The overlap should protect against the penetration of cold air and moisture from the attic.
When designing, it is important to take into account all requirements for beams in the attic floor, so that the design is sufficiently strong, reliable and durable. The distance between the bearing elements of the floor should be calculated in accordance with the loads placed on it.
Mounting technology
If you have a certain construction experience, it is quite possible to install and repair attic floors with your own hands. This operation is performed at the final stage of roofing. Installation of attic floors is carried out in the following sequence:
- Beam installation. Для небольшого частного дома используют деревянные перекрытия, изготовленные из бруса сечением 150х150 мм или 200х200 мм. Они укладываются на кирпичную или бетонную кладку стен.
- Installation lag. Perpendicular to the beams, lags of planks with a section of 150x50 mm with a step of 60 cm are installed on the edge.
- Laying insulation material. Insulation is laid between the lags to prevent the penetration of cold air from the attic.
- Laying of a draft and fair floor.
- Sheathing beams below for ceiling decoration.
Consider, to increase the service life of the attic floor, you can use wood treated with antiseptic. In addition, if you warm the attic floor, then you need to provide waterproofing and vapor barrier.

