Storing guitars in the attic

[JSett]

Not sure if this is the best subforum to post this question but seemed the closest.

Storing guitars in the attic...is there a safe way to do this? Obviously the temperatures swing a bit over the course of the seasons up there but is there a way to use the space while protecting the guitar? Strings off, truss loosened, in a hardcase

Or is this a really bad idea? I have no proper storage space left in our little house but there's some things I'd like to stash.

[GreenKnee]

It would 100% depend on your attic.
All of my guitars live in the attic but it has been converted to be used as a room with dorma windows, central heating, etc. Temperature swings shouldn't be too much of an issue if there is any sort of insulation up there and they're in hardcases. The only thing I would be worried about is humidity/damp - we all know how quickly beer spills go mouldy on cases and things in practice spaces that are humid/not well ventilated. I've had to reupholster a couple of manky Ashdown fabric heads and cabs in my time (why the fuck would you use that material on amps!?) and I imagine this would carry over to the lining of cases if left in humid/damp environments.

[JSett]

It would 100% depend on your attic.
All of my guitars live in the attic but it has been converted to be used as a room with dorma windows, central heating, etc. Temperature swings shouldn't be too much of an issue if there is any sort of insulation up there and they're in hardcases. The only thing I would be worried about is humidity/damp - we all know how quickly beer spills go mouldy on cases and things in practice spaces that are humid/not well ventilated. I've had to reupholster a couple of manky Ashdown fabric heads and cabs in my time (why the fuck would you use that material on amps!?) and I imagine this would carry over to the lining of cases if left in humid/damp environments.

Yeah, ours is just boarded out on the floor but still just a regular loft. It's insulated and doesn't suffer from any damp at all but it is almost as cold as outside in the winter and obviously hot as fuck in summer like all attics/lofts get. Maybe it'd be worth throwing in a fistful of silica gel packs into each case just as a precautionary measure.

FWIW these aren't vintage guitars, but I still don't want them warping/rotting/etc and I don't really want to resort to a storage unit

[sal paradise]

I had (empty) soft & hardcases develop mould/damp from keeping them in a cupboard that was essentially plasterboard over the external brick of my
Victorian terrace. So the brick wasn’t even external as it were.

That was in a v old attic conversion where where the rooms are damn cold in the winter. Doubt there’s much except roof beams between the slanted ceilings & the roof felt.

[JSett]

I store all my hardcases up there already and I actually pulled one out I hadn't used for about 4 years just last week and it was absolutely fine. I even found a pedal inside (it was a Rat, surprise surprise)

[GreenKnee]

I wouldn't worry too much about the temperature swings with the guitars being in cases - we've got a very mild climate compared to most of the world and nothing changes instantly here so everything has time to warm up and cool down relatively slowly.
If your attic space is purely for storage then it might be worth putting the guitars in the middle of the room where temperature swings will be slowest when compared to the eaves where it will be quickest.
I'm not sure how well silica packs in the cases would work, overtime I suspect it may remove all the moisture from the wood and actually be bad for the guitars. I don't actually know though and so hopefully someone can chime in who has more experience with it. New guitars ship with them in the cases though so maybe it's a non-issue.

[GreenKnee]

I store all my hardcases up there already and I actually pulled one out I hadn't used for about 4 years just last week and it was absolutely fine. I even found a pedal inside (it was a Rat, surprise surprise)

I don't think you've anything to worry about up there. Just keep checking in to ensure no new leaks/damp have appeared and you should be all good

[øøøøøøø]

I wouldn't do it.

A pretty useful principle is "don't store guitars anywhere you wouldn't leave an animal."

Cold = dry (usually), and hot = damaging to instruments.

Attic storage is perfect for guitar cases, however, and that's what most of my attic storage is taken up with.

If you can spare the room at all, get several multi-guitar stands and keep them out in the house in a space-efficient way.

Otherwise, it may be worth considering whether a guitar that's used infrequently-enough to be stored in an attic must be kept at all

[JSett]

I wouldn't do it.

A pretty useful principle is "don't store guitars anywhere you wouldn't leave an animal."

Cold = dry (usually), and hot = damaging to instruments.

Attic storage is perfect for guitar cases, however, and that's what most of my attic storage is taken up with.

If you can spare the room at all, get several multi-guitar stands and keep them out in the house in a space-efficient way.

Otherwise, it may be worth considering whether a guitar that's used infrequently-enough to be stored in an attic must be kept at all

Some good points.

The guitars in question are ones I'm picking up cheap and storing as some kind of investment. I'm gradually amassing stuff and our house is very, very full.

[sal paradise]

The tidiness of your pedalboard/home setup is quite the marvel and contrast vs the maximalist collector you seem to be

[JSett]

The tidiness of your pedalboard/home setup is quite the marvel and contrast vs the maximalist collector you seem to be

I'm quite happy to admit I'm a bit of a contradiction when it comes to that both me and my wife are terrible hoarders for trinkets, odd ornaments and vintage furniture. Plus I like walls to be full of art. Hers extends into clothes quite a lot, mine is the ebb and flow of gear.

If I could convince her to throw out maybe a hundred pairs of shoes out of the 250-300 she has I would have space to store some guitars hahahah

[Embenny]

Some good points.

The guitars in question are ones I'm picking up cheap and storing as some kind of investment. I'm gradually amassing stuff and our house is very, very full.

If you want to be able to sell those "investments" at a profit, you really need them to sit in a climate-controlled environment. Otherwise, it's a roll of the dice as to whether their condition will warrant a higher price than you paid for them.

Do you rent or own? If you own the place, it would be worth properly insulating the attic and then using it for storage.

[JSett]

If you want to be able to sell those "investments" at a profit, you really need them to sit in a climate-controlled environment. Otherwise, it's a roll of the dice as to whether their condition will warrant a higher price than you paid for them.

Do you rent or own? If you own the place, it would be worth properly insulating the attic and then using it for storage.

I actually hate the term 'investment' when it comes to guitars, makes it kinda sound seedy/soulless. Speculative flipping is probably more accurate. I'm got the opportunity and means to scoop up some of the guitars people are struggling to sell thanks to the recession for cheaps and I'd like to be able to sit on them for a few years without having to work around them being in the way.

We own our place. There is thick insulation on the floor under the boards but none really on the slopes. I guess that would need boarding in to do properly.

Maybe I should rethink the attic idea.

[Embenny]

If you want to be able to sell those "investments" at a profit, you really need them to sit in a climate-controlled environment. Otherwise, it's a roll of the dice as to whether their condition will warrant a higher price than you paid for them.

Do you rent or own? If you own the place, it would be worth properly insulating the attic and then using it for storage.

I actually hate the term 'investment' when it comes to guitars, makes it kinda sound seedy/soulless. Speculative flipping is probably more accurate. I'm got the opportunity and means to scoop up some of the guitars people are struggling to sell thanks to the recession for cheaps and I'd like to be able to sit on them for a few years without having to work around them being in the way.

We own our place. There is thick insulation on the floor under the boards but none really on the slopes. I guess that would need boarding in to do properly.

Maybe I should rethink the attic idea.

Yeah, I wasn't trying to mock the investment aspect - nothing wrong with buying low and hoping to sell high. It's like stocks, but in a market you understand better. I've often joked with RIORIO about how my percentage return on guitar flips easily outperforms the stock market, so if I want to make a data-driven decision, I should probably just make guitars my retirement strategy . Keeping a guitar for 6 months and selling it at 10% profit is a 20% annualized return, a dream result for an investment portfolio.

But yeah, if you want to sit on them for a few years, it would be worth properly insulating the attic. Would likely drop your energy/heating bills as well (though probably not as much as it does for us here in Canada). In Canada, we have government grants and tax breaks and such for energy-efficient home upgrades (including attic insulation), so maybe check out if anything like that exists in the UK. The easiest way to access them here is to call the heating or electric utility company, they send over an inspector to see what's oldest/leakiest/least efficient in your home, and then give you a report summarizing which programs you qualify for. It's usually broken up into things like a $2k rebate on insulation, $1k rebate on a new hot water tank, etc.

Worth looking into. You might not be out much cash for the upgrade, and then the rest is earned back in lower utilities over the next few years.

[JSett]

There are some grants here but they're notoriously hard to get. Plus, there's the ballache of actually clearing the space to do the work...there's almost as much stuff up there as is in the living areas

I really need to clear a load of shit out really.