Yank_fan_2965" wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a 65 year old two story colonial and I want to finish the attic.
The problem is that I have no ventilation. There are no soffit vents.
There are no roof or ridge vents. There is paper faced fiberglass
insulation between the rafters extending from the level of the floor to
the peak of the roof (installed before I bought it), and I don't think
that there are any baffles between the insulation and the sheathing.
Joists are present and spaced at 32 inches. Were attics made 65 years
ago without ventilation? Am I missing something? I'd like to build knee
walls and install a flat drywall ceiling with recessed lighting just
below the level of the joists. But I don't want to do it without proper
ventilation. Any suggestions?

Do I have any options besides retrofitting soffit vents, ripping out
and reinstalling the insulation with baffles, and installing a ridge or
wall vent? The attic floor is covered with pine flooring, and I don't
know what if any insulation is present below it.

Thanks in advance to all who reply. And thanks to all who have helped
me here in the past.


Hey Yank -
I went through an attic finish project. Mine involved adding dormers, etc. I
created a small attic, added gable vents, soffit vents, spacers behind
insulation where i drywalled the rafters, etc. You will have a lot of
framing to beef up, possibly in the floor too. Do it right and it will be
nice. Do a hack job and it will have problems down the road.