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
Increase in the value of property arising from holding it. The gain is realized only when the property is sold at which time it is taxable. An example is the increase in the appraised value ...
Past action of a property owner or tenant. ...
The meaning of a guarantee covers a legal and financially-binding agreement signed between three parties involved in real estate or financial transactions. In this document, typically ...
See effective tax rate. ...
In a construction loan, payments made to a contractor as the various construction stages are completed. The contractor uses progress payments to pay the various subcontractors and suppliers ...
Cash outlays required to maintain an investment position. ...
Book value is a quintessential term used in the financial world and the real estate business. Though, there are slight differences in its interpretation in these two areas of ...
An offering of securities, stock and/or debt, directly to investors rather then through the public exchange markets. An advantage of a private placement to a real estate business is that ...
If you are involved with real estate, chances are you've come across the term "convey" or conveyance. But what does convey mean in real estate? This term is crucial whether you're buying, ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.