An Attic Explained

Put in simple words, an attic is the space directly under the roof of a building structure. Houses, as well as buildings, have attics located directly under their roofs. While more modern home and business owners may have renovated the attics in their structures, most older homes and businesses have more basic attics that are awkwardly shaped and hard to get to.

Some home and business owners use their attacks as nothing more than storage facilities. With exposed rafters and insulation, and corners that are hard to access, most home and building owners feel that a storage facility is the best way to make their attics useful. However, it is important to understand the typical temperature of an attic before storing certain items in such a hot and stuffy area.

While the attic may be a good place to store some items, it is not the ideal place to store others. For example, since it is so hot in most attics, items like old record albums can become warped if stored in a hot attic for an extended period of time. However, it is very common to store most items, like Christmas decorations, in an attic.

The reason attics are often so hot is because heat rises. The heat from the lower floors in homes and buildings rises and remains as an unmoving mass of hot air in the area directly above the roof. A great majority of the hot air remains in the attic due to lack of a ventilation system. When people choose to have their attics renovated, one of the first things they do is have some sort of ventilation system installed to help control the air temperature and uncomfortable conditions. No ventilation, as well as the fact that heat rises, both contribute to the hotter conditions in most attics.

Finally, another common downfall associated with attics is that certain animals like to make their homes in suburban attics. Rats are one of the several types of animals that don't mind the hotter conditions of an attic at all. Rats do not mind dealing with the excess heat, as an attic provides them a safe haven away from predators. Other animals who often make their homes in attics can include:

• mice
• raccoons
• and squirrels

It is not uncommon to find snakes living in attics, as well.

Without renovation, most attics are not useful for very many things. While storage is an option in attics, the hotter conditions should first be considered. Items that are easily damaged by heat should not be stored in an attic. In addition, there are many types of animals who find their way into attics to make their homes. In order to make an attic completely comfortable, renovation is almost always necessary.