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Attics for Animals and People Older homes usually have attics - that with a little bit of elbow grease and a little bit of $$, can be converted into a cozy private, living space, for you and your pet(s)! The first time the idea came to me, I was driving through British Columbia Canada and happened to notice a house built along side a hillside. Up on the ROOF, there was a small doorway with a ramp that sufficed as a bridge off the roof, to a dog run on the hillside. On the ramp, basking in the sun, lay a beautiful German Shephard. "where was a camera when I needed it!?" - what an ingenious idea!

If you can stand up in your attic, then you can use it. If you live with seasonal weather, your attic won't cost more to heat in the winter, because heat from your home, rises to the attic. (you may want to get a small ceiling fan, that'll help push down excess heat = back into your home) Whether cat or dog, animals love being in attic windows because the height gives them a view that keeps them busy watching things for hours. As any pet owner can tell you, pets cost money and pets also need their own space! If you have an unused attic that's big enough for you to stand in, then maybe you're missing out on space that could be used by you and any pet member in your family In this sequence, I share with you the simple but efficient means that were used in 2003, when we expanded from one house to two houses, to accomodate the needs of the shelter. The second house, was only 450 sq ft. but there was an attic, with space, that was much needed. The house was old, but the climate was dry and the dryness had assisted in the preservation of the old wood beams. Otherwords, if fixed, the attic could hold weight because the floor and beams were strong enough.

When I first viewed the house, I had to use a ladder to get up through the hole in the ceiling from the first floor, to verify that the attic ceiling upstairs was high enough for me to stand up in. Through broken floor boards here and there, I could see 12" thick beams at intervals of 3'. That was good enough for me, it was workable. (homestead was built in 1912) First thing on the list was to build some stairs, then get some insulation and panel on the walls and ceiling so I could seal it even more with a texture mixture. Once the ceiling and walls were complete, I had to fix the floors and set up house. The picture here to the left shows a bit of the hap-hazard way the panel was placed over the bare ceiling frame that we insulated, in prep for my special wall texture. The window had been enlarged by the time this pic was taken, bringing in a ton of light from the southwest. It added all the light the attic needed. (the top picture with "Jumper" in the window, gives you an idea of what the attic looked like when it was almost complete.

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