Adding Joists To Attic

For 2x6s joists you can get away with some relatively light stuff.

Adding joists to attic.

Now that you ve air sealed your attic and basement check your attic insulation levels and add more if necessary. As long as they are not damaged the joists should be strong enough to allow you to move around in the attic for an inspection and to provide storage for typical boxed items. Joists of 2x8s or larger are able to support more weight. If the attic joists are not adequate one way to strengthen the floor for live loads is to sister the old joists.

Beefing up attic joists for living space. Beefing up attic joists for living space interiors. The floor structure of an attic is also the framing for the ceiling beneath it. If you find that you d like to store more weight consider adding an osb for attic floor.

The maximum structural improvement you can get by adding new 2x6s on top of the old ones is the same as the maximum you would get if you sistered them side by side exactly double. Depending on the existing attic structure a contractor might be able to sister the current joists by attaching new joists of the same dimension beside them. 3 place the batts into the space between the joists making sure not to compress the material together. Strengthening attic joists for live loads by sistering.

To properly add an attic storage deck start by measuring the largest area available that is not hindered by any ductwork. And preferably can avoid any existing roof support. Use a zippered insulated tent to keep the enclosure draft free attic tent at 7 attic cover insulator 120. Sistering is the process of adding a new joist next to each existing joist.

This is made up of ceiling joists typically 2x6 or larger boards. Affix rigid foam insulation to the attic side of the hatch or door. Pull down stair or ladder. Adding a 2 x 4 along the bottom chord of the 2 x 6 ceiling floor joist maybe helpful in stiffening the joist as well.

Add weatherstripping around the perimeter and a sweep to the door of a walk up attic. The overall strength of the flooring joists depends not only on the size of the span but also on the distance between the support. Gluing and screwing a 3 4 attic subfloor and providing solid bridging should also be considered. As a frame of reference a 2x12 has.

To eliminate any potential problems with wiring or insulation use two by four or two by six lengths to create a subfloor system for the new decking.