What's the usual rule of thumb on the effort
required to convert an existing attic into a
room ?

Have an attic with conventional rafters in the
way (not the "W" type), and some plywood on the
ceiling joists as an attic floor.

Had one home inspector say that most attics are
designed for 20 lbs/sq ft loading, and that i'd
need to shore it up to withstand 40-60 lbs/sq ft
loading before the attic can be used as a bedroom
or such.

what's that involve ??? (work wise)

also, i have some rear steps that are made of
concrete with pieces broken off. one contractor
says he needs to tear it all down and rebuild it
from scratch (expensive proposition). since he
claims if he patches it, it could collapse on
itself. but the cracks and missing pieces aren't
that big. so i can't see how weight of the new
concrete filling in the cracks would cause it to
collapse.

another contractor says, no problem, i can patch
it up easy.

who's more credible here ???

You can patch it up easily. However when you are done you will have a
patched up set of steps with problems.

wrote:
What's the usual rule of thumb on the effort
required to convert an existing attic into a
room ?

Have an attic with conventional rafters in the
way (not the "W" type), and some plywood on the
ceiling joists as an attic floor.

Had one home inspector say that most attics are
designed for 20 lbs/sq ft loading, and that i'd
need to shore it up to withstand 40-60 lbs/sq ft
loading before the attic can be used as a bedroom
or such.

what's that involve ??? (work wise)

You need to get someone with the engineering knowledge to make some
plans first. That can be very expensive or it can be not so bad, but
someone has to do the numbers first. You don't want the neighborhood
handyman to do that. It will also need to pass local code inspection so
that could make a difference as well.

I would not trust any estimate given to you on-line.



also, i have some rear steps that are made of
concrete with pieces broken off. one contractor
says he needs to tear it all down and rebuild it
from scratch (expensive proposition). since he
claims if he patches it, it could collapse on
itself. but the cracks and missing pieces aren't
that big. so i can't see how weight of the new
concrete filling in the cracks would cause it to
collapse.

another contractor says, no problem, i can patch
it up easy.

who's more credible here ???

Structurally, will any of the patches need to hold weight? If so it is
not likely that the fix will work. It is also almost certain that if it can
be patched, it will always look patched.


--
Joseph Meehan

Dia duit