If your family is growing and you need another bedroom, or if you’d like to add a suite for guests, you might be able to find all the additional space you need under your roof. Creating an attic bedroom is a good way to gain living area without building an addition. An attic bedroom remodel is also a good investment. According to Remodeling Magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value report, a remodeled attic returns more than 83% of the original cost, based on national averages.
Attics are good candidates for remodeling projects because the basic structure—a roof and floor—already exist. Although the pitch of the roof usually dictates sloping interior walls and restricted headroom, people often find these quirky characteristics charming and desirable.
Remodeling an attic has special requirements: providing a stairway from the floor below, adding adequate insulation, building interior walls, and installing dormer windows for air, daylight, and emergency egress. The cost of these projects, plus standard costs for installing heating and cooling systems, finishing surfaces, and adding a bathroom, equate to total construction costs of about $190 per sq. ft.
The return on your investment in an attic remodel varies by region. In the South Central part of the country, where labor costs are low, the return on an attic remodel exceeds 90%. Where labor costs are generally higher, such as the Mid-Atlantic region (an area that includes New York City), the return on an attic remodel is less than 75%.
National average cost, 15x15 ft. attic remodel, with 5x7 ft. bath:
Job Cost: $49,346
Resale Value: $40,992
Cost recoup: 83.1%
Regional info:
Pacific
Mountain
West South Central
East South Central
West North Central
East North Central
South Atlantic
Middle Atlantic
New England
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