Ventilation in January. Insulation in February. Safe Accessibility this month. Many times when I open the attic stairs and poke my head in the attic, I have said out loud, “What were they thinking?!” Both builders and homeowners are guilty of constructing or creating unsafe and hazardous attics when it comes to accessibility. Let’s visit briefly about both issues.
The design and construction of an attic should allow for safe access into the attic and around the attic to any mechanical equipment, such as HVAC and water heaters. Sometimes the equipment is installed before the attic is finished or attic stairs are installed, and then when the construction is finished, the equipment is difficult to access or impossible to remove from the attic one day when it needs to be replaced. I inspect homes all the time where there is dormant HVAC or old water heaters left in the attic because they were too big or difficult to remove from the attic. What were they thinking?! Pull-down attic stairs also get installed backwards all the time so that you have to then step over the hole to get to the equipment. What were they thinking?!
Electrical wiring, ductwork, exhaust pipes, plumbing, refrigerant lines, media wiring, antennae, alarm system component, and more will be installed or added in such a way that access is extremely obstructed to the HVAC equipment. What were they thinking?! Too many times, something winds up being broken, such as ductwork that has to be climbed over for service technicians to work on the HVAC equipment. Service technicians of all kinds are well-known for leaving their trash all over the attic and this can be hazardous too.
From the time you enter your attic to the location of the equipment, there should be safe and unobstructed access that is a minimum of 24” wide and constructed of ¾” plywood. Many attics cannot be altered because of the design and construction of the attic and installation of the current equipment. In those cases, you do the best you can do to make it as safe and unobstructed as possible.
Please don’t do what I saw in a house recently to create better access. The house was a $1.2 million 25-year old home on Lake Conroe and was a combination of truss framing and traditional framing. There were 4 HVAC systems in the house. To access two of the units, someone had cut and removed some of the members of the truss framing to open up the passageway. What were they thinking?!
Homeowners will too often place small boards loosely on top of the ceiling joists to walk into the attic and store items. These loose and often thin boards are extremely unsafe in an attic. Even a well designed attic with lots of space can be created into a very hazardous environment with loose and thin boards placed on top of the ceiling joists. There should be solid landing at the top of the attic stairs when entering the attic and solid and secure platforms and walkways to the equipment. To repeat, these should be constructed of ¾” plywood and at least 24” wide.
There should be at least a minimum of a 30” x 30” level work space platforms on the control side of the HVAC equipment and water heaters. Where this is impossible, again, clean out all the debris, make any adjustments that can be made, and do the best you can to construct whatever safe and secure platforms you can. By the way, I recommend using deck screws to secure the platforms and passageways rather than nails. This way, you can remove anything easily in the future, if needed.
Evaluate your attic and take the time to create the safest, most secure, and accessible passageways and work platforms possible. It’s a project that you only need to do once. You’ll have a safer attic and one that is also more appealing when you go to sell your home. Wish you safe access in your attic my friend!
