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
Agreement between a lending institution and borrower where the borrower agrees to extend or spread the collateral of a loan to additional properties beyond the original mortgaged property. ...
Latin term meaning legal capacity to act on behalf of oneself. ...
The net leasable area is all the leasable area of a given building exclusive of non-leasable space such as hallways, building foyers, rooms devoted to heating, air conditioning, elevators, ...
Same as term right of first refusal: Right of an individual to be offered something before it is offered to others. For example, a tenant whose apartment is going to be converted to a ...
The most common definition of economies of scale refers to the decrease in production costs of a single item due to a business enterprise’s expansion. In short, mass production can ...
An interior wall dividing an area into two or more rooms or separate areas. The division of real estate between owners giving each an undivided interest. ...
Precalculated tables providing the present values of $1 or an annuity of $1 for different time periods and at different discount rates. ...
Personal income minus personal income tax payments and other government deductions. It is the personal income available for people to spend or save; also called take-home pay. It may be a ...
Cash outlays required to maintain an investment position. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.