My attic is difficult to navigate. This ranch house has a 26×56 footprint with a standard gable roof and a ~ 5/12 pitch. I have one small ceiling access that utilizes the Werner Televator ladder. I have sufficient attic lighting, but just a couple of walk boards that are interlaced among the various truss supports (down the middle of the attic, but not in a consistently straight line). Like most DIY’ers, I go into the attic for one project or another. However, working up there is very frustrating. The access ladder is all the way on one end. As most of you know, it’s almost a certainty that you will always take every tool with you into the attic except the one you need and that you’ll invariably be no where near the access ladder when you realize that you need to go back downstairs to retrieve something. Walking around up there requires me to hunch over the entire distance and keep one hand free for steadying myself as I try to stay on the walk boards and out of the joist bays. For an old guy with arthritis, that’s easier said than done.
I need to come up with an easy way to shuttle tools and “stuff” along the length of this attic. I’m thinking of some sort of trolley or conveyor that would run the length of the attic and be operable from either end. Any suggestions?
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Clothesline.
Sounds like a plausible idea, but I'm not sure what materials would be sufficient for the need. I'll give that some thought. Thanks.
I feel your pain. I have a 2:12 attic. The solution I came up with was to cut in another access on the other end. That cuts your trip in half.
I also put a bunch of additional wood up there to make moving around a little easier.
The other thing I made a rule about is any new electric will home run to a J box near an access. So far so good. Smurf tube does a good job for all of this.
I created a catwallk by attaching parallel 2x6s on edge across the truss chords, then covering with plywood sheets lightly tacked down. There's 8" of space underneath, not enough for the full depth of insulation, but if blown tight its enough that the rest will never be missed. (In fact, the guys who blew in more cells loved it.)
One idea I've considered is placing a small assortment of vital tools at a couple of strategic locations in the attic...and just leaving them up there permanently. It might save a few trips back down the chute occassionally.
I also considered building a small railroad up there that would encircle the entire perimeter of the attic. Seriously. I got the idea while watching a little battery-powered train circle overhead at our local grocery store. That thing runs all day in a loop that probably extends a 200 feet or more. If I could fabricate something along that line that could handle 20 pounds or so, that might be just the trick. Of course, installing it might require more effort and expense than it's worth.
Oh well, I guess that's why they say "Necessity is the mother of invention".
I left my old cordless drill up in the attic for about a year once. Was wondering where the hell I'd put it.
5-12 pitch, man, yours is ROOMY!
I cut ab bunch of plywood pieces that were 32"x18" or so... I could fit them through the hatch and tack them down so I had something to slide on.
Also, I've found old drawers to be pretty handy tool boxes for the attic. The are narrow and shallow enough to fit up the hatch, but still easy to slide around.
Well where do all of your wet tools drain too?
:)
The cellulose insulation is very absorbent.