An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of
a house or other building. Attic is generally the North American English term
for it. As attics fill the space between the ceiling of the top floor of a
building and the slanted roof, they are known for being awkwardly shaped spaces
with exposed rafters and difficult-to-reach corners. While some attics are
converted into bedrooms or home offices, complete with windows and staircases,
most attics remain hard to reach and neglected, and are typically used for
storage.
It is a word ultimately derived from the Attica region around
Athens, Greece. Attics can also help control temperature in a house by
providing a large mass of slowly moving air. Hot air rising from lower floors
of a building often gets retained in the attic, further compounding their
reputation as inhospitable environments. However, in recent years many attics
have been insulated to help decrease heating costs since on average,
uninsulated attics account for 15% of the total energy loss in a typical house.
