Building A Knee Wall In Attic

Step 9 insert dresser photo by.

Building a knee wall in attic.

Doing this is just one step in finishing off an attic to make it a useful space and it helps to insulate your attic space against air infiltration from the outside. Screw two support braces to the attic floor right behind the knee wall. Knee walls the walls that separate conditioned from unconditioned space in an attic can be a source of significant air leakage if a continuous air barrier is not provided to prevent unconditioned air from flowing under the knee wall and under the floor boards of the attic room. Knee walls are short usually wooden walls installed around the sides of an attic where the rafters meet the floor.

In most instances they are no taller than 3 feet but some builders may custom fit them according to the roof s shape and size. A knee wall is a short vertical wall roughly two or three feet high that blocks in that useless triangular space. In the photo at left the kneewall is the short wall with the door in it. But you do so at the expense of floor space.

Use a hammer to remove any knee wall studs from the opening. Knee walls provide the perfect way to turn an old abandoned attic into a useful extra room that can serve as a bedroom office or other living space. Support and follow me. However some types of walls such as pony walls that rest on a building s foundation or an attic knee wall cannot be properly referred to by both names.

The terms knee wall and pony wall are commonly used as if they were synonymous and both terms are often used to refer to the same types of wall structures. Build the supports out of 2x4s making sure they re flush with the sill of the cutout. Also be sure to remove any insulation. Framing basics for attic knee walls along the sides of your loft or attic space.

Music by kevin macleod pinball spring thanks. The higher the knee wall the greater the amount of useful wall space you create in your finished attic. You can see the image below for an example of a knee wall. Yesterday i was doing a home energy rating for quality assurance in augusta georgia and the house i was in had a bonus room.

Step 8 install supports photo by geoffrey gross.