RESIDENTIAL // COMMERCIAL // INDUSTRIAL
FEATURES
A room inside a roof
With limited space available to build, some homeowners opt to create vertical spaces by building roof or attic rooms. We explore various options and how to erect them.
By Ntsako Khosa | Photos by TJ Roof Group
During installation, there is a process that needs to be followed.
The above is a classic example of what a completed roof room looks like.
Trevor Williams of TJ Roof Rooms describes a roof room as a pure green home.
“ It is a timber or steel structure cladded with Nutec and insulated with different types of insulation from wall to roof. It is then drywalled on the inside and has electricity and plumbing like a conventional building,” he says.
Williams and Andrew Gove, director at GWR Roofing, says there is a big difference between an attic room and a roof room.
“ A roof room is a room that is installed on top of a house, these rooms would have four square walls and a flat ceiling with a complete roof on top of the walls,” shares Gove.
An attic room is a room that’ s constructed within the timber roof structure, using the existing structure.
“ For an attic room, we keep the existing roof intact and create space within the existing structure,” adds Williams.“ These often have dormer windows that protrude from the tiles and have raked ceilings in some areas. Erection of these rooms is possible when houses have a steep roof pitch of more than 30 degrees. This is a requirement as the pitch increases the height of the ceiling area and therefore allows standing space within the roof,” says Gove.
“ An attic room design and installation include timber or steel construction and may comprise ridge beams and rafters or prefabricated attic trusses where a void is designed into the gang-nailed truss. Floors are usually made from shutter boards and walls are constructed from gypsum boarding,” Gove says. Many of the projects completed by GWR Roofing are designed to fit in with the existing style of the house to enhance rather than change the general architectural style.
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