Give That Attic a New Life and Turn it Into a Man Cave

Attics are perhaps the most unused and neglected spaces in homes. Instead of using it as long-term storage for seasonal items like clothes, furniture, childhood memorabilia, sports, equipment, and other clutter, convert it into a liveable space instead — a man cave.

One of the best things about utilizing your attic is you get to add square footage to your home wherever you’re located, like Memphis or Kansas City. Spray insulation around the area and get build it however you want to. You add more space without building an entirely new addition and you spend only a fraction of the cost of full construction.

Converting Your Attic into a Man Cave

1. Make sure you have enough floor area and the space is suitable for conversion.

One of the first things you have to consider is if your attic meets building code requirements for conversion into a liveable area.

While building codes vary per location, you can go with the Rule of 7s for your attic conversion — the area should be at least 7 feet high, 7 feet wide, and 70 square feet.

It is also important that you ensure the attic’s floor is strong enough to support all the weight you plan to put on it. It is recommended that you consult with structural engineers or specialists before proceeding.

2. Decide what theme you want to work with and how you want it to look.

This one is a bit tricky because you also have to consider what your budget is for the project. If you don’t have much to spare at the moment, you can start by building a simple room and then you can just add on to it little by little as time goes by.

However, if you have enough, you can go for a themed look for your place of solitude. There are a lot of great ideas that you can find online.

Whether you choose sports, geek, casino, bar, or whatever theme you want, it gives your space a more manly character that establishes it as a man’s domain.

3. Clean up and get rid of all the junk.

Once you’ve already visualized what you want your space to look like, it’s time to get your hands dirty and go through all that clutter.

Understandably, attics are usually where you put years’ worth of junk. It will mean that you will have to do a major purge to get this thing going. Once you’re done decluttering and you’ve cleaned the entire place up, you are now ready for the actual work.

4. Consider accessibility.

Before getting to all the major construction work, you also need to consider accessibility. As an attic, a step ladder is a suitable mode of access to the space since it is seldom used. However, once you convert it into a liveable space, you are going to need a better flight of stairs to get there.

5. Think if you can DIY it or if you need the help of professionals.

Now, depending on the gravity of the project (and your own handyman skills), decide if you can do it on your own or if you want to get the services of a professional.

One advantage of DIY-ing is you get to save up a lot on labor costs. All you need to spend on are the building materials. However, this also means that you will have to dedicate more time to working on it, provided you’re a decent handyman.

On the other hand, hiring professionals ensures that the job will get done in a much better way at a faster rate. The downside is labor costs will eat up a lot from your budget.

6. Give it a personal touch.

If this is a place you see yourself spending lots of time in, then make it an extension of yourself by adding personal touches to it. If you can personalize your office or cubicle at work, then this is where you can go crazy with your decor and set-ups. After all, this is your man cave. It’s either you dive in a hundred percent or not at all.

Assigning personal spaces for each family member is easy if you just know where to look and how to utilize space. Making use of all that wasted space under your roof by turning it into an amazing hangout for the man of the house is a great decision and investment.