We’re redoing an attic, and we want to make sure that we utilize all the space we have for storage. We’re going to wallboard and insulate the eaves, and want to have the space behind the kneewalls available for storage.
I’ve seen lots of examples of dressers and shelves put into kneewalls, but that’s not what we’re looking for. I want to have some kind of door that I can open and slide boxes through. However, these kneewall storage areas will likely be seldom used (and potentially behind a bed). So, I’d like them to look like wall.
Anyone seen any pictures of something like this? I was wondering if making the kneewalls look paneled would enable us to have some doors that blended into the wall.
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My attic has 5' kneewalls.
The rafters are insulated ridge-to-eave, so the area behind the kneewalls is inside the thermal envelope of the house.
The entire attic space is about 18-19' wide by 45' long, I have five doors on each 45' side. I put wainscotting throughout the attic, the doors are designed into the wainscot.
Behind each kneewall, the entire storage space is one large storage area, so if one door is blocked by furniture, you can go through another and still access the whole space.
I put a light on a pull string behind each door, five lights on each side, ten lights total. I included a couple of electrical outlets in there a well, just in case.
Half the attic is a game room, ping pong, darts, foosball, etc. The other half is a home theater of sorts, with a 133" screen.
Don't think I have pictures on the computer to load right now, I'll snap a few later if I don't.
Wainscotting is the way to go, but consider making the doors lift out instead of being hinged. When hinged you always need to worry about hinge clearance, dragging on the floor, etc.
To make them lift out you just capture the bottom edge behind trim, make the top trim be a handle, and run trim down each edge to hide the joints -- will look like "paneled" wainscotting. Use a magnetic or snap catch at the top to hold in place, maybe work a finger hold into the bottom of the top trim.
That's how I did mine, Dan, hinged at the top. And for just the reason you mentioned. I wanted no lip at the bottom so boxes could be slid in and out, and I didn't want the possibility of side-hinged doors with minimal floor clearance scraping the floor. I used magnetic catches, one on each side.They're not totally invisible, but they blend fairly well.I guess I have to get the camera out...
Here is what I did in our last house. The first panel is the access door, while the rest are bookselves. These are not deep - less than 10 inches. You could do panels instead of the shelves and have a similar look.
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I ran away from that thread. Was that question never answered?
My parents house is just like what DANH & MONGO were describing.
Works very well. Lift out panels is the way to go; my parents were even insulated.
Sorry no pictures.
Ebe