Make sure there are no wires pipes or ducts above the ceiling near the marked cutting.
Cutting an opening to fit an attic ladder.
Saw through the joist s being careful not to cut through the ceiling and making sure the cut ends of the joist s are flat and vertical.
Now that you ve cut your joists it s time to frame the new opening.
Cutting and or removing joists to provide an entry or access can be the most difficult part of the overall project.
You potentially compromise too many of the rafter cross ties by doing that.
I would not put the attic stairs ladder assembly opening at right angles to the ceiling joists.
Figure 1 shows the floor or ceiling joists after the access hole has been cut to install a new flight of stairs or provide an attic access.
Cut out the opening.
If the joists are installed at 16 inches on center you will need to cut one joist and attach a.
This part deals with framing the attic opening.
Instead you should place the cutout opening inline with the ceiling joists rafter ties.
Part 6 shows you how.
If the attic access hole is being cut for an attic ladder check the width of your ceiling joists.
If the ceiling joists have to modified in order to make it fit properly.
Mark the sides based on your measurement and the table provided.
Inspect your attic space to determine the ideal location to install your ladder.
Locate the joists in your ceiling.
Roughing an opening for fold down attic stairs 1.
This way you only need to cut one of them to make the room for the rough framing opening.
Covers how to select a location find studs measure and cut a hole install tr.
Make sure that there are no.
Werner provides a table telling you how much to cut off each side based on your measurement.
Just mark the cut point on both sides of the ladder square it up with your speed square and use a hacksaw or reciprocating saw to cut the excess off.
How to install an attic ladder step 1.
Measure and mark the opening.
How to open up access into your attic space for inspection and or insulation.
In part 5 of this series using werner s instructions to install the easy access attic ladder we looked at cutting ceiling joists.
Wear safety glasses a dust mask and work gloves before you begin cutting your rough opening.