Framing An Attic Closet

Make sure the joists in the attic are suitable to carry weight.

Framing an attic closet.

Cut each sole plate and top plate to the desired length. Decide on the size of floor and remove insulation from between joists in that area. Depending on the span you ll need at least a 2 by 8 joist under foot for flooring. In closets where the ceiling slopes very close to the floor or the knee wall is very short low shelving can often be installed along the walls behind the hanging areas.

Use a framing square to make sure this will be perfectly perpendicular to the front wall. If the closet has a side wall return lay out the top plate and sole plate in the same way. A slanted wall closet while not ideal is better than no closet at all. Do not add insulation between heated spaces.

Attic closet with rod suspended from the sloped ceiling closet. We worked from 8am until 4 15 and got the bulk of the closet built. Cut 2 x 4s to the fit the length and width of the plywood and nail them flat on all four edges of the plywood as a base plate for the studs. Framing the opening can be easy if you can locate the ladder so that it is parallel with the existing ceiling joists.

Often times with sloped ceilings you need to think outside the box when it comes to a storage closet. If you want your attic space to have a flat ceiling you ll need to add collar ties to the framing. Mark the top plate and the sole plate together for stud locations using a square and a pencil. Framing nail a sheet of plywood to the existing floor joists so the short sides align with the joists and the long side is perpendicular to the joists.

Collar ties are horizontal members that like rafter ties extend from rafter to rafter but.