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
Legal obligation to pay taxes associated with owning property or earning income. For example, a real estate owner must pay property taxes. ...
The term over-improvement in real estate defines a substantial and somewhat exaggerated land improvement compared to other properties in the area. For example, an individual builds at a ...
People say time is money. The old-age cliche applies more than ever in our case as we define what the Time Value of Money (TVM) means. You’ll find the term time value for money ...
Government owned lands, for conservation purposes or for specific uses such as dams and hydropower. Public lands are owned by federal, state, and local governments. Many public lands are ...
Flood insurance is a type of home insurance created to protect a homeowner’s property against damages caused by floods. Flood insurance is typically not included in the regular ...
Form of real estate organization created by an agreement between two or more individuals who contribute capital and/or their services. Advantages are: it is easily established with minimal ...
The appraisal approach is used to estimate the value of an asset, based on various factors to reach the closest educated guess of the asset. While an appraisal approach does consider the ...
Small furnace placed between the studs of a wall. It is typically electric, but in the past more frequently was gas. ...
Tax deduction permitted upon the transfer of property from one spouse to another. The deduction is allowed under the federal gift tax for lifetime transfers or under the federal estate tax ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.