By Gene and Katie Hamilton

Finding more space to store stuff is a constant cry from homeowners. Our closets are too small and our garages and basements fill up as our belongings overcome us. We found untapped storage space in the attic that was just waiting to be utilized; all it needed was flooring to become a place to stash all our stuff. We used plywood sheets, readily available at lumberyards, cut into 2-by-4-foot panels and installed them perpendicularly to the floor joists with a screw gun.

A carpenter will charge $487, which includes labor and material, to lay a plywood floor in an area approximately 10-feet square. If you have basic carpentry skills and tools, you can do the job for $180, the cost of the plywood and screws. You'll save 63 percent and need a circular saw, carpenter's square and measuring tape to cut the 4-by-8-foot sheets into 2-by-4 panels so they can be easily moved up an attic stair and into place.

DIY Hassle Alert

The real work is muscling the panels up the ladder, so try to enlist the help of a friend who can hoist them to you. To fasten the panels to the floor joists, you'll be working on your knees, so wear kneepads to protect your shins.

Open the windows so there's good ventilation and use work lights so you can see what you're doing.

Here's more about attic flooring Choices in Attic Flooring.

Now you know the average cost to install an attic floor, which includes the labor and material, and what’s involved, so you can decide to do it yourself or hire a contractor. Don’t forget to adjust the cost to where you live by adding your ZIP Code.

Improvement and Repair Cost Updated 2019

The cost and time data is generated by averaging labor and material data from annually updated cost books used by contractors and refined by the authors' experience remodeling 13 houses. They are authors of 20 home improvement books and Do It Yourself or Not, a weekly column syndicated by Tribune Content Agency. The national cost can be adjusted by ZIP Code.