Mansard houses: interior features of the attic

Not always people used space over their own ceiling. For the first time the idea of building an attic over the apartment for residential purposes appeared with the French architect Francois Mansar. The idea was so appealing to the townspeople that they began arranging rooms for guests in the attic rooms. Thanks to the sloping windows, the room was particularly light, which quickly appreciated the Parisian artists, equipping the workshops under the roof.

House with an attic floor: features

To maximize the use of all premises of the building, the attic is ennobled during the construction process. Mansard roofs of private houses have a peculiar design:

• One side is strictly vertical, being a continuation of some of the internal walls;
• On the second, inclined part, install windows.

This one-sided arrangement of the roof is also called a "half-mansard", as opposed to a two-sided roof slope.

The presence of the attic always animates the appearance of the building, giving it a non-standard appearance. Yes, and the internal area of this room is different in its original form, because the ceiling is one of the slopes of the roof.

What kind of housing can be arranged in a "floor" room

Most often in modern attics have a bedroom, a cinema or a study. Along the normal wall can easily fit almost any large furniture. Special windows are cut into the inclined wall. If this part of the ceiling is completely glazed, it will be convenient to place a library or a workshop here.

It is very functional to use trapezoid areas of the room for built-in closets or bookshelves. In such a non-standard zone, a rather large dressing room will turn out.

In a well-insulated attic, the children's room will perfectly fit, there will be room for games, toys, and furniture of small dimensions. Mansard houses are an excellent option to equip a child with a separate room.

Another idea is to make a gym out of a boring attic. You can conduct communications here, make a bathroom, install a shower. Some owners make a billiard room out of a free space, or they put a table for ping-pong - a kind of home sports club.

Broken, with consoles, triangular and other outlines of roofs

Houses of the mansard type can be distinguished from other buildings by the presence of a roof of unusual shape. They come in 4 types:

• Gable (triangular, rectilinear) has the simplest and most practical design;
• The broken roof is put on another rafters system, forming 4 vertical walls and the same number of roof planes, which increases the useful area of the room;
• The top, which has remote consoles, is more difficult to design and assemble, but increases the footage due to the use of one vertical wall of the house;
• Two-level, arranged on supports of combined type.

Roofs for the attic of the first 3 types can be built on an already finished building, using lightweight building materials. The fourth construction is the most difficult option, which is designed and built with the house. It is possible to install two or more different level rooms.

What materials can be used to build housing in the attic

Overbuilding attic houses, arranging the rooms under the roof, use only lightweight materials. Here, do not use concrete and brick. Built-in pieces of furniture make of plasterboard, for the rafters take wood or metal. If the inner area allows, you can arrange partitions and divide the space into zones. In most cases, the room is decorated in a minimalist style or a mini-loft.

The main requirement for the project is the restriction of the mass of building materials.

What you need to know about the specific features of the attic insulation

Since the walls of this room are the roof slopes, a very important stage in the arrangement of this housing is its proper protection from the cold. In addition to laying the thermal insulation layer and waterproofing, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of roof ventilation. The experience of the previous builders has shown that the house with the attic roof is insulated for a special one. To prevent the condensation of water vapor inside the room, between the mineral wool and the sheets of gypsum board it is necessary to strengthen the film with diffusion membranes for better vapor absorption.

Mansard houses, more precisely, roofs, are exposed not only to external moisture in the form of natural precipitation. The warm air in the room can create condensation on the inside of the heat insulator. Over time, mold can develop there, or drops of water will flow down the walls, despite an absolutely whole roof. In the winter, the soaked insulation warms up, gradually deteriorating and losing its quality. For the same reason, a small distance is left between the mineral wool and the tiles for air ventilation.

About cons and pros

Mansard homes are considered a reasonably cheap option for housing. In recent years, even on the roofs of high-rise buildings erect similar structures, fixing them, so as not to blow them down with a strong wind. You can argue about the disadvantages and advantages of such an idea, there are supporters and opponents of mansard construction. Undoubtedly, improved in this way, housing expands opportunities to increase the useful area of the house. And from the architectural point of view, the curved roofs look very picturesque, decorating city buildings with sloping surfaces, upper verandas and an unconventional view.