In the house the only evidence of the stairs is a string dangling down.
Why is my attic so short.
Due to your attic s location at the top of your house it can be a major location for energy loss especially if you lack sufficient insulation.
An attic needs to be ventilated or you will drastically reduce the life of the shingles and roof deck too.
Figure out how you re going to get up and down from the finished attic space.
High temperatures inside your attic shorten the life span of shingles.
Chances are your attic is composed of 2x4 rafters and floor joists.
The best is soffit vents all around and a power ventilator close to the ridge pole.
Your vents should be larger if you have a large attic and thus your vents can be smaller if you have a smaller attic.
Enlarging an existing stairway or adding a new one will affect spaces below.
You can t have too much ventilation.
The exfiltration of warm interior air through your attic and the infiltration of cold outside air through your basement or crawl space could be to blame.
There are however problems that could arise with attic stairs.
Too little insulation and too many air leaks are common problems in many attics.
Make sure the addition of a staircase doesn t eat up too much space.
When built correctly the stairs are concealed within the attic itself.
Excessive heat deteriorates items you store in the attic and can cause moisture problems in your house.
From loose jambs gaps in the ceiling squeaky springs and cheap hardware to problems with the ladder itself a number of things might need to be constantly maintained.
You may walk along a plywood pathway and feel a little bounce in the floor and think hey maybe that s ok you may have plenty of head height up there in the middle and think it could work as a room maybe a home office with a desk and bookshelves where the ceiling gets too low.
Because of this a set of pull down attic stairs is the best way to reach the attic.
So look at your vents and make sure its size is appropriate for the size of the attic.
If your attic is cold in the winter it s either because the heating is off you have poor insulation and it s just escaping or the heating is being kept in the rest of the house good floor.