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
The term action in personam is used mostly in legal proceedings because Roman law heavily influenced our judicial system. Many terms used in law have their roots in Roman law, not only this ...
Older property is bought usually by a governmental agency to be modernized and improved. In many cases, the deteriorating property is torn down and a new structure built. An example is ...
A landowner may not divert or redirect a natural occurring waterway from his or her property causing damages to another property. Waterway is normally construed to mean streams and rivers ...
Detailed financial accounting of all the credits and debits for the buyer and seller upon consummation of a real estate sale. ...
Reduction in taxes payable to the IRS or local government. A tax credit is more beneficial to the taxpayer than an itemized deduction because it reduces taxes on a dollar-for-dollar basis. ...
person's behavior partly genetic and partly learned through experience over time. Some people have good personal traits while others have poor ones. ...
Value of a company's or person's name and reputation, As a result, the business will have a competitive edge, and generate better-than-typical future earnings. ...
Horizontal supports for the ceiling of a structure. ...
The definition of the price-to-rent ratio is very important for real estate investors. This ratio is a measurement for the affordability of a particular rental property and tells investors ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.