Definition of "Attic"
An attic is an accessible room or space between the roof rafters and ceiling joists of a structure. The attic can be completely finished as a habitable place, complete with floors, insulation, beds, and furniture, like just another bedroom or home office. But when giving an attic definition, one can also refer to a sort of vacant space, unfinished, used as a storage room or not even that; just a gap filled with vacuum and void at the top of a house.
Why not filling this empty attic space? Lazyness, maybe. But that’s not to say that empty attics serve no purpose to the home; they are not really “dead” spaces. Attics serve the purpose of naturally controlling the temperature in the house by providing a large mass of slowly moving air. The heat produced by the residents in the lower floors get retained in attics, warming the home as a whole for longer periods of time. In fact, without proper refrigeration and ventilation, during the summer an attic can become an inhabitable place because of the intense heat. So much so that a modern building code will advise that even unoccupied attics should get proper ventilation from attic fans so there’s no accumulation of heat and moisture, thus reducing the proliferation of mold and other indoor allergies that could be creeping up on whoever lives in the house.
Because they are not proper rooms, attics are known to have unconventional shaped spaces, slanted ceilings, and are usually accessed through a hatch via a stair that serves no purpose but to connect the regular living space of the house to the attic.
Also called garret or sky parlor, the word attic comes from the Attica region of Greece as a nod to their architecture style which favored low decorative facades atop of a story in a building.
We hope our attic definition didn’t make you scared of all the indoor allergies that could be creeping up on you because of the lack of attic care and maintenance. But if it did try to declutter and make your home feel like new; we get the appeal of holding on to things, but one of those things you’re holding on to might be a disease, so declutter and live a healthier allergy free life!
Popular Real Estate Terms
Insurance coverage for any risk that can cause physical damage to the insured item. ...
Agreement to transfer funds to a third party. ...
Room containing a toilet and wash basin, but does not include a shower or bath tub. ...
Post-like components of wood that comprise a building frame. For example, a building code in a locality might require that studs measuring two-up-six be used for the exterior part of the ...
CE Shop has become a widely used and popular term in real estate. But what does it mean? “CE” stands for continuing education, and in the real estate business, it implies a ...
In commerce and business, margin as a general term is defined as by the difference between the amount of money spent on a product and the selling price of it. The margin usually appears as ...
Same as term REIT: Type of investment company that invests money in mortgages and various types of investment in real estate, in order to earn profits for shareholders. Shareholders receive ...
Under current tax law, real estate is depreciated under either the straight-line method or modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS) method. See also MACRS. ...
The number of units currently occupied in a facility, neighborhood, or city, stated as a percentage of total capacity. For example, a hotel has 80 rooms available for guests. Its average ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.