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
Lessors of real estate play a crucial role in the leasing process. They enable property owners to boost their assets and profits while providing tenants access to dwelling spaces and ...
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 ...
Cement or mortar with a high moisture content developing it into a slurry solution allowing the ability to be poured or pumped into crevices, fissures, and masonry cracks and joints. ...
Circumstance where no people or contents occupy or are kept in a building for at least 60 consecutive days. The same stipulations apply to property coverages as found in unoccupancy. ...
Modeled after the English Georgian style, this architecture is a perfectly scaled grand symmetrical structure which is extremely formal and conventional in style. ...
The number of days that the lender guarantees the loan's rate and terms. Without a written lock-in agreement, the lender is free to change the rate and terms at the time of loan closing. A ...
Property deed in which the grantor limits the title warranty to the grantee. A grantor does not warrant a title defect to the property occurring from a happening before the time of his ...
Estimated price at which a partner in a partnership can buy out another partner. There are several methods for developing a buy-out estimate including market comparisons, appraisals, or ...
Latin: now for then. Descriptive of actions which are performed after a deadline has elapsed, but retroactively have the same effect as if they were carried out in a timely manner. For ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.