Attic Stairs Across Joists

Most homes will have a ladder of stairs that lead up to the attic.

Attic stairs across joists.

Cut the drywall straight across between the two joists connecting the ends of the two cut lines on the far edge of the attic access hole. Now that you ve cut your joists it s time to frame the new opening. When a load is applied to a joist it creates a tension in the wood along the top edge. Step 3 before cutting the joist first brace it to prevent sagging as you re cutting it.

Single story house built in the 1940s. 2 how much weight could the ceiling joist hold. Where possible pick a size and location for your attic ladder that enables it to fit between existing ceiling joists or trusses. If the attic joists are not adequate one way to strengthen the floor for live loads is to sister the old joists.

Part 6 shows you how. Sometimes the ladder may fit into an existing attic accessibility hatch. Hopefully the attached pictures provide additional info. In the case of 2x6 joists you can pair them up with additional 2x6 joists by nailing them together side by side.

Sistering is the process of adding a new joist next to each existing joist. Standard joist spacing for the installation of attic flooring materials is 16 inches on center oc meaning the distance from the center of one joist to the center of the next joist is 16 inches. Ceiling joist are 2x4. Click here to purchase the easy access attic ladder by werner.

The screw should be between two joists. Attic ladder kits are made to fit between existing framing in the ceiling that is the flooring of the attic. 1 can the joist be cut to make room for the attic ladder. Saw through the joist s being careful not to cut through the ceiling and making sure the cut ends of the joist s are flat and vertical.

Remove the loose section of drywall.