“They measured the attic three times before they said a word about price. The answer was a stair on the other side of the house, and they were right.”
Tavares W.Attic suite, South Philadelphia
Attic and in-law suites for Philadelphia row houses
Measure the attic before you plan the suite.
We turn attics and back rooms into bedrooms, offices and in-law suites. Height and the stair decide what fits, so the tape measure comes first and the drawings come second.
- A one-page sketch before any price
- Philadelphia L&I contractor license
The headroom rule
Seven feet over half the floor, nothing counted under five
Codes differ in the details, but the common test is the same. Here it is on a real attic. We confirm the exact rule with the city before we draw anything.
- 1
The ridge
Seven feet of clear height here, measured from the floor to the underside of the roof, is the number everything else hangs on.
- 2
The low edge
Where the slope drops under five feet, the floor doesn't count as room. It becomes closets and storage built into the knee wall.
- 3
The way in
A door that opens onto a stair needs a landing, so we draw the door swing before we draw the wall.
- 4
The floor
Attic joists were built to carry boxes, not beds. We check their size and span, and add to them where the check says to.
Rules vary by code year and by the building official. Your drawing carries the figures the city applies at your address.
The other half
The stair decides what the room is
A suite with a steep, narrow stair is a storage room with a bed in it. Before we sell you an attic, we find where a proper stair can land.
Row houses are often 14 to 18 feet wide, and the stair has to share that width with the rooms below. We draw two or three ways to land it before we talk about finishes.
Common stair rules
6 ft 8 in of headroom along the whole run
Risers no taller than 7¾ in, treads at least 10 in deep
36 in of clear width and a handrail you can grip
A landing at the door, so it never opens onto a step
What we build
Six kinds of work, all under one roof
Attic bedroom suites
A bedroom with a bath or a closet-bath under the roofline, framed, insulated and finished.
Attic suitesIn-law suites
A private floor or back room with a bath on the same level, for a parent who shouldn't climb.
In-law suitesHeat, cooling and insulation
Roof insulation, a mini-split and sound control between you and the neighbor.
ComfortPermits and party walls
City drawings, permits and the paperwork that goes with the house next door.
Permits
Three ways to add a room
Which one fits a house this narrow?
Most row houses suit one of these better than the others. The measure visit tells us which.
| Ask about | In-law suite | Pop-up | Attic suite |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | In-law suiteA suite made from a back bedroom or the ground floor | Pop-upA new floor of framing above the old roof line | Attic suiteA finished room inside the existing roof |
| What it needs most | In-law suiteA bath on the same level and a way in that doesn't cross your rooms | Pop-upA party-wall check and an engineer's drawing | Attic suiteSeven feet over about half the floor, and a stair that can land |
| Life during the work | In-law suiteRooms below close while the plumbing runs | Pop-upThe roof comes off, so we plan around the weather | Attic suiteThe roof stays on; the dust is on the stair |
| Permits | In-law suiteA building permit, and zoning if a second kitchen would make two units | Pop-upBuilding and zoning permits, and often a talk with the neighbor | Attic suiteA building permit, plus zoning if the roofline changes |
| A good fit when | In-law suiteA parent needs a floor with no stairs | Pop-upThe attic is too low to use | Attic suiteThe attic is tall enough already |
Before we draw anything
The first week is a tape measure and a camera
- 01
Step 1: The measure visit
Two of us, a tape, a laser and a camera. We measure the attic at the ridge and at the low edge, find where a stair could land and look at the joists from below.
- 02
Step 2: A one-page sketch
You get the heights and two or three stair options on a single page, with what each one takes from the rooms below.
- 03
Step 3: A written scope
If the sketch works, you get a written scope and a price. If it doesn't, we tell you why and what would change the answer.
Sample reviews
What a measure-first job feels like
“The sketch showed how much of the floor counted as a room. I knew before I signed that the low corner would be storage, and it is.”
Nydia R.Attic bedroom, West Philadelphia
“My mother's suite is on the second floor with the bath right beside it. The crew covered the stairs every night and swept before they left.”
Fahad Q.In-law suite, Northeast Philadelphia
Sample reviews.
Questions
What row-house owners ask first
How tall does an attic have to be?
The common test is seven feet of clear height over about half the floor, with nothing under five feet counted as room. Stand at the tallest point and measure from the floor boards to the underside of the roof boards. The rule your block follows is the city's, so we confirm it on the visit.
Do I need a permit?
Yes, for a bedroom in an attic, a new stair, a dormer, a pop-up or any new plumbing. We draw it and file it with the city. Zoning is a separate question, and it comes up when the roofline changes or a second kitchen would make the house two units.
What about the house next door?
Row houses share party walls. Work that touches one can need a conversation with your neighbor and sometimes an engineer's letter. We look at the wall on the visit and tell you which kind of job yours is.
Won't it be an oven in July?
Not if cooling is designed in. A room under a roof needs insulation in the roof line and a way to cool it, and we usually use a ductless mini-split sized to the room. We say so in the scope instead of leaving it for you to find out.
My house was built before 1978. Does that change anything?
Yes. Federal rules cover paid work that disturbs painted surfaces in homes built before 1978, and most Philadelphia row houses qualify. Replacing windows and any demolition are always covered, and so is cutting into painted plaster. Small repairs of less than 6 square feet inside or 20 square feet outside are exempt. We follow lead-safe work practices on every older house: plastic containment, no dry sanding, a HEPA vacuum and a cleaning check at the end of each day. We'll tell you at the visit which parts of your job fall under the rule.
What will it cost?
It depends on the height, the stair, the floor, the bath and the heat. The pricing page lists what moves the number, what a written scope includes and when you get it.
Our reach
Row-house Philadelphia, block by block
We work where houses share walls, from South Philadelphia to the Northeast and the first streets past the city line.
South Philadelphia
- Graduate Hospital
- Newbold
- Girard Estate
- Packer Park
West Philadelphia
- Cobbs Creek
- Overbrook
- Wynnefield
- Spruce Hill
North Philadelphia
- Strawberry Mansion
- Nicetown
- Tioga
Northeast Philadelphia
- Bridesburg
- Holmesburg
- Oxford Circle
- Fox Chase
Delaware and Montgomery counties
- Glenolden
- Sharon Hill
- Narberth
We don't work in New Jersey, in Center City condominium buildings or in the suburbs beyond Narberth and Glenolden. We don't build new houses or take roof-only jobs.
Book a measure visit
Tell us about the attic
A few lines is plenty. We'll call or text to set a time to measure.
Phone(215) 555-0102
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 7:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- SaturdayToday
- By appointment
- SundayToday
- Closed