When our partner’s father passed, I was the first person to invite her mother to come live with us.
- She’s as wonderful as an angel and I knew I could build a small apartment in the attic where she would be while still having some independence and privacy.
On top of that, 1 of our best friends is a construction supplier and provided to help me at a discounted rate! He told me that it’s essential to approach a project love this correctly. You can’t choke off your entire apartment with zero modern air ventilation, as that’s the primary purpose of an attic in the first place. So instead of insulating it, every one of us built walls and ceilings slightly offset from the attic structure so ambient air could still ventilate underneath the rooftop. Surprisingly, there was enough space up there for a studio kitchen suite with a tiny kitchen and powder room. All of this required additional electrical lines, however every one of us also had to figure out a solution for modern heating and cooling. At first I wondered if every one of us should just get a window a/c and an area wide furnace and call it a day, however instead I found a superb rebate deal on a ductless mini split device. After upgrading, I mailed in the rebate form and acquired $400 back that every single one of us used for other building costs related to the attic apartment. I hope that our father-in-law likes his current attic apartment and is comfortable up there. If we’re lucky, the ductless mini split for our Heating, Ventilation and A/C system will perform well. It sure beats a lame window a/c and an area heater.