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Is It Worth Renovating the Attic?

Sep 25, 2021

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Renovating, remodeling, or “finishing” your attic could be a great way to get more storage space, improve the insulation of your house, or add another bedroom to your living space.

However, depending on the current condition of the attic, this could be a time-intensive and expensive process. Is it really worth renovating your attic?

The Potential of the Attic

First, understand that there are many different ways you can renovate your attic – and many ways to get value from it.

For example, you could:

  • Create an extra bedroom. An older child can get some extra privacy, or you can make room for a new child added to your family.

  • Make a game room or playroom. If your kids run around the house too often or if you just want a private space for some board games, you could turn the attic into a game room or playroom.

  • Establish an entire living space. If you want to rent the house eventually, you could turn the attic into a completely separate living space, with a bedroom, bathroom, and even a small kitchen.

  • Improve the secondary function of the attic. If your attic is currently a storage space, you can make it nicer simply by adding insulation, improving the flooring, and adding and painting drywall.


The Potential Value

From these options, you could find value in several ways, such as:

  • Allowing your family to grow. If your family is growing, the extra space offered by the attic can be a lifesaver. It can make sure your kids each have their own bedroom or give the entire family more breathing room with more recreational space.

  • Hosting relatives or temporary guests. If you frequently host relatives, or if you plan on having temporary guests through Airbnb (or something similar), the extra bedroom offered by the attic could be perfect. Depending on your intentions, this could also be a great way to make extra money.

  • Converting the house to a rental. Finishing the attic could be a major financial advantage if you convert the house to a rental. If you have multiple units in the same house, you can keep per-unit rental prices low while increasing your total income.

  • Increasing the resale value of the house. Attic renovations tend to increase the resale value of your house. It’s rare to increase the value of a home by more than you spent on the project, but if you’re selling the house eventually, you should be able to at least recoup some costs.


Some of these have a calculable monetary value, while others are more subjective. You’ll need to weigh these benefits carefully, considering their personal appeal as well as their inherent objective value.

The Costs

On the other side of the equation, we have the costs. Sure, you can increase the value of your home and give your family more space to live and move around – but is it worth it?

The average cost of an attic renovation in the United States is $40,000, but the range is quite wide, with simple and inexpensive projects costing just a few thousand dollars. You can count on somewhere between $30 and $200 per square foot, depending on the layout of the attic, the intensity of the renovation, and the materials you choose.

Of course, the monetary expenses aren’t the only cost you’ll need to consider. You’ll also need to think about the time, stress, and effort associated with the project. If you’re doing the work yourself, you can count on spending dozens of hours on renovating the attic, often in difficult conditions. Even if you’re hiring contractors, you’ll have to go through the effort of finding the right people and managing the project to completion.

Is It Worth It?

So what’s the bottom line? Is an attic renovation worth it?

There are a few important variables to consider:

  • Your goals and potential gains. What are you trying to accomplish and how much value will you really get? For some people, an extra bedroom is well worth a $10,000 investment. If you spend $5,000 and increase your home value by $6,000, the investment is a no-brainer.

  • The condition of the attic. You also need to think about the condition of the attic. Some attics can be renovated and converted to serve a different function with minimal effort – but others require a total overhaul, making them harder to justify.

  • The time and monetary costs of the project. If you can do the work yourself or find an inexpensive, reliable contractor, the project’s going to look more attractive.


If you can secure a good working arrangement and finish the attic with a reasonable amount of time and money, it’s often worth the effort. Whether you want an extra bedroom or just a little extra value for your home, it’s certainly worth considering.

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