Knee Wall Detail In Attic

In the photo at left the kneewall is the short wall with the door in it.

Knee wall detail in attic.

Support and follow me. Although kneewalls can help turn attics into living space they often present insulation challenges. Determine the angle of rafters by setting the scrap piece of 2x4 in a vertical position against the side of a rafter. In most instances they are no taller than 3 feet but some builders may custom fit them according to the roof s shape and size.

Step 8 install supports photo by geoffrey gross. But you do so at the expense of floor space. Typically the knee wall is covered with plaster or gypsum board enclosing the useful part of the attic space not necessarily high enough for a person to stand up while the remaining small space under the eaves is only useful for storage. Framing basics for attic knee walls along the sides of your loft or attic space.

The problem with many kneewalls is that they have fiberglass batt insulation with nothing covering them on the attic side as shown in the photo below. Step 9 insert dresser photo by. If you aren t sure whether or not your attic contains knee walls go and look around the edges. Kneewalls short walls under sloped ceilings are common in story and a half homes and in bonus rooms above garages.

Knee walls are short usually wooden walls installed around the sides of an attic where the rafters meet the floor. What are knee walls. Screw two support braces to the attic floor right behind the knee wall. The knee wall in an attic drops down from the rafter to hide the pointed angle where the rafter meets the attic floor and to make the attic feel a bit more like a regular room.

Most builders install fiberglass batts between the studs and some type of blown insulation between the floor joists. The knee wall forms the wall of the attic room and it also creates an enclosed space under the eaves behind the wall. You can see the image below for an example of a knee wall. Also be sure to remove any insulation.

The space behind the. Build the supports out of 2x4s making sure they re flush with the sill of the cutout. The knee wall will be built on the floor of the attic and then tipped into place against the rafters. The knee wall provides support to rafters which therefore need not be large enough to span from the ridge to the eaves.

One of your 2x4s will act as the bottom of your wall and will not be cut. Use a hammer to remove any knee wall studs from the opening. Unlike other kinds of knee walls this kind of wall extends all the way to the rafters but because of the slope of the roof it is shorter than a full height wall. An attic knee wall is a short wall that extends from the floor of an attic room to the roof rafters.