Renovate an attic or attic

From attic to attic: the potential of the top floor to make an attic usable

Attics and attics they are often reduced to narrow spaces where we can put aside things we no longer use. In reality, thanks to their privileged position, they can be transformed into bright and beautiful environments to live in.

Transform the attic into an attic with VELUX solutions

Renovating these spaces means making aesthetic improvements and functional ones that increase the value of the property. Furthermore, the recovery of a habitable attic is excellent form of investment also thanks to the tax incentives that allow a large part of the expense to be recovered.
The top floor can be much more than a simple attic and represents a great resource to make the most of. Who needs more space and has an attic or a top floor used as an attic, you can renovate it, creating modern attics and gaining new habitable spaces or obtaining extra rooms to connect to the existing home.

With the right interventions, the attic or attic can become an office, a guest bedroom, a games room, a wardrobe corner, a hobby or relaxation space.

How to renovate an attic

The renovation of an attic It is a challenging but exciting project. Here are the steps to follow to make the most of an attic while always keeping the situation under control, not forgetting anything and being able to complete the project quickly.

To deal with the recovery of an attic you must first of all contact a qualified professional (architect, engineer or surveyor) who will verify the presence of the necessary requirements and the feasibility of the intervention, also making reference to any relevant regional laws.

This figure will be responsible for organizing any structural findings and will be able to handle the bureaucratic part and relations with the Municipality (request for cadastral survey, verification of property ownership, presentation of required permits, final re-registration, etc.).

Attic recovery, what to know

The designer will also take care of carrying out the renovation project, considering small improvements as well as major interventions, such as changes to the roof, opening new windows or creating systems.

Once defined the company to whom to entrust the work, the designer will be able to proceed with the joint presentation of the necessary permits.
These vary depending on the type of intervention you want to carry out, the municipality and the area in which the property is located.

The interventions and related ones permissions they can be:

• Free intervention (does not require any permit)
• Free intervention with Commencement Notice (CIL)
• SCIA
• Super DIA
• Building permit

We remember that to make structural changesopen new windows, modify the facade or change the intended use of the premises, it is necessary to present a project to the Municipality to obtain aauthorization to proceed.

However, if the configuration of the home is not changed, nor the facade, the walls are not moved and the systems are not modified, there is no need to submit any request. The simple replacement of windows together with other interventions of the same size falls into the latter case.

Requirements for the renovation of the attic

The minimum heights for habitability

When recovering an attic, a criterion to be observed is related to heights of the rooms which to be habitable must respect certain parameters.
Will be task of the designer ensure that the environment to be renovated has the necessary conditions and prepare the most suitable project accordingly. Because if we find ourselves in the case of an uninhabitable attic, the renovation project has no reason to exist.

Minimum habitable height of attic or attic

The national legislation in this regard (law 457/78, art. 43) establishes that:

• the minimum height from the floor must be 2.70 meters for living rooms and 2.4 meters for service rooms, such as bathrooms, corridors, etc.
• in mountain municipalities above 1,000 meters above sea level, a reduction in the minimum height of habitable rooms to 2.55 meters may be permitted, taking into account local climatic conditions and the local building typology.
• if there are lower heights in the room, they must be closed in a wardrobe or closet.

It is therefore advisable to check any limits or constraints, based on the municipal building regulations, at your municipality of residence.

Light and ventilation

In addition to the minimum height, the environment must have the right amount of light and a air exchange sufficient for residential use. In fact, non-habitable environments often lack openings for correct lighting and ventilation of the rooms. Transforming an attic into a habitable attic may therefore require the need to open new windows.

One of the parameters to be respected in the design phase is the so-called air-lighting ratioi.e. the ratio between the surface of the floor and that of the windows. For each type of home the air-lighting ratio must not be less than 1/8.
In some cases, however, regional laws have integrated and modified national legislation.

Attic habitability, the importance of light

The air lighting ratios are not enough to guarantee habitability. The actual lighting of a room is also influenced by its orientationthe presence of trees or other buildings, internal and external screening and the position of windows.

All these elements combine to determine the average daylight factor, FmLDwhich must not be less than 2%. Often, for the same window surface, the amount of light varies greatly depending on the type of window inserted.

It is possible to calculate, for example, with special software created by VELUX, VELUX Daylight Visualizerthe daylight factor with three different types of windows: a vertical window, a dormer window, a roof window.

Here is the result:
the vertical window and the dormer do not reach the minimum required by law regarding daylight factor. Therefore, the room is not only not up to standard, but it is certainly not even comfortable. The insertion of a roof window allows you to reach and even exceed the minimum required despite the glass surface being the same in the three cases.

This is possible for two main reasons:

• the window on the roof receives a greater amount of light;
• the internal lining allows a better and deeper distribution of light in the room.

Tax deductions for renovations

Renovate an attic to transform it into a habitable attic and redevelop it from the point of view of energy efficiency also allows you to benefit from significant tax breaks. Anyone who intends to transform the attic of their home into a habitable attic can take advantage of the Renovation Bonus.

Attic recovery, tax breaks

Il maximum limit of deductible expenditure is €96,000 for each real estate unit, beyond this limit you cannot take advantage of the deduction, but you can check if you can deduct excess expenses thanks to other housing incentives, for example the Ecobonus.

The credit is recoverable in 10 years. Furthermore, 10% VAT is applied on works and the purchase of materials. This tax bonus includes a deduction for renovation works until 31 December 2024.

Furthermore, if you decide to renovate the attic, the furniture will also cost you half thanks to the Furniture Bonusextended to 2024. This tax deduction is closely linked to Renovation bonus: you can deduct furniture and large appliances of a class no lower than A+ (A for ovens) only if intended to furnish properties on which you carry out renovation work. So, if you renovate the attic or replace the windows with the Renovation Bonus, you can save 50% of the cost of new furnishings.

The furniture bonus maintains the 50% deduction percentage: for the whole of 2023 the spending ceiling will be 8,000 euros, while in 2024 it will drop to 5,000 euros.

In case of replacement of old windows expenses incurred for the purchase and installation of windows and solar shading (external awnings and shutters) are deductible with certain expense ceilings. In fact, you can take advantage of theEcobonus with a deduction of up to 50%.

To replace the fixtures, new ones have been introduced since 6 October 2020 spending limits eligible for incentive purposes, which vary depending on the climate zone and window size.

Excellent investment: the renovated attic is worth 39% more

Recovery and redevelopment of the attic it is an excellent form of investment not only in terms of well-being, for the quality of light, privacy and panoramic views that can be had on the top floor, but also on an economic level.

Once renovated, an attic vale Indeed 39% moreas emerges from research conducted by the Polytechnic of Milan: only 5% of the Italian real estate offer is represented by attics, which are worth on average between 1,183 and 943 euros per square meter more than other real estate units. The average selling price of a attic to renovate is approximately 2,000 euros/m2 (3,066 in Rome and 3,606 in Milan), while that of the intervention is 819 euros/m2, for an average total cost of 2,819 euros/m2. It is possible to execute the attic renovation calculation in a few simple steps.
Recovery of attics advantages

Calculating an average sales price of 3,923 euros/m2, there is an increase of 39% compared to the invested capital. Especially in residential areas, where space is precious, the redevelopment of an attic is a safe investment.

End of article

THE EDITORIAL TEAM RECOMMENDS

IVELUX designers they offer theirs for free support for the phase of design and installation on site, simply request a simple quote, in order to receive support in the study of natural light, with customized solutions, details constructive and the predisposition of the opening to make the attic environment as liveable as possible.

VELUX appeared on the Italian market in 1968, gaining the trust of professionals, starting from an Italian region like Trentino Alto Adige, where an innovative approach to construction, respectful of the environment and attentive to the quality of the building, was already consolidated. live at home

Currently VELUX Italia is leader in its sector and is present throughout Italy thanks to a widespread network of over 2,000 retailers.

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