Here ya go!

Before you finish the attic, be sure it is structurally capable of carrying the live loads you're planning for. Many are not.

While growing up, our neighbors had a tree house the kids hung-out in. It did not have a bathroom. Standing or walking under the west side was not a good idea.

My south office is in the attic space above our detached garage. Having to come into the house to use the bathroom gets me off my butt every so often.

It's very likely that you can't even convert the attic garage to legal living space. It won't be much good without a bathroom added to it, even if it has the foundation, joists, and roof height to make that work.

No bath only works if you want the kids to get arrested for indecent exposure, and your trees to get extra ”watering”. Neighbors are not nearly as forgiving of “checking the moss on the tree” as they used to be.

A teen hang-out with no bathroom isn't a problem at all.

Not a problem.

Opportunity for stories told years from now.

Gotta have stories.

At that age you can go hours and hours without needing a bathroom.

For teens, no bathroom would be fine. Yes, it’ll be cold at times but at least you’ll see your kids every so often.

"At that age you can go hours and hours without needing a bathroom."

Unless you are on a highway in a car on vacation.

And especially if there are no restroom options for the next 40 miles....

Isn't that why you drive a car with 4 doors when you have kids ... to create a "toilet room" when you open the doors on the same side!

It was never advertised as one of the "features and benefits" of any sedan I bought, but I can see with, well, hindsight, that it was a missed advertising opportunity.

“hindsight” snort laugh

Addressing @littlebug Zone 5 Missouri's comment, the toilet wouldn't concern me, but other kids having access to the space would. I'm not inferring your boys aren't good kids, but once it gets around that there is a hangout, accessible from the outside, no need to see the parents, it could be very enticing.

chispa - Do you stop the car?

Ah, teens!

I also wonder about “ supervision “ with this detached space. Which was not the original question, I know. Although , when kids are somewhere else entirely, then there’s no checking at all, so it’s natural to see benefits of being the hangout house. I was just wondering if you’ll feel ok walking out & up the stairs randomly to check, as might do with basement or upstairs game room, what time the room “ shuts down”, lock up & similar things we do before heading to bed. Insofar as thinking about investing in remodel of the space. Not discouraging , just interested. And whether the space would lend itself to a parent art studio or something after kids grown up.

I'm thinking that we don't want to do this after all.  My kids will just have to use our living room after all.

If they did not consume food or beverage until after they hang out it would increase the chances of success.

Why the focus on such bad behavior? Teens gonna do what teens gonna do, regardless of a little drywall and a couple floor cushions. Besides, maybe you want to use the space to get away sometimes.

Adult hangout, no bathroom, with the kids in the living room. So you have an excuse to come into the house to check on them. Or, put the laundry room in attic, too. Just kidding, I don't think you will have a problem, really. Go for it.

Honestly

Have an adult attic hangout space accessible behind a bookcase and do not tell the kids.

I'm with you, 3onthetree. I often see comments here about putting kids' bedrooms near the parents, so the kids can't sneak out at night - like kids can't crawl out the window!

No one is accusing the OP's boys of bad behavior. What I read is sharing advice; adults who have reason to believe kids need supervision and as parents it is our responsibility to give it to them. Here is one example. Some kid brings a bottle of booze up to the hang out. One gets very drunk, falls down the outside stairs and is seriously injured and dies. Guess who is responsible? Guess who is getting sued? Social Host Liability Law.

So, teens gonna do what teens gonna do, and that's why parents do what parents gotta do.

@C P, good choice. In a few years you may want to put a bathroom up there when one of the boys comes home to visit and brings his wife and your new grandchild.

First, verify it can be converted to living space without having to tear it down and start over with a rebuild.

Second, after the conversion/rebuild, never ever open up any of the numerous ”Mountain Dew” soda bottles that you may find there.

We had a separate guest house that was used as a teen hangout and we never had any issues. They had a TV, great sound system, pool table and drum set. When the boys were younger it was just a group of boys hanging out. We only got girls included in junior/senior year. They all came through the main front door, so we knew who was visiting ... we also had security cameras outside! We kept an eye on what was going on, has some sight-lines into the space and walked in there with snacks every so often!

My kids always asked permission before anyone came over. I would rather be the house they choose to hangout out in and get to see/meet the friends regularly. My kids also chose not to hang out with kids that caused drama or got in trouble.

My parents trusted me to drive into NYC clubs at night with friends when I was 19. That only came after we had a party at our house and my parents met all my friends in person. Some of you must have been really "naughty" kids to be so paranoid about what your own kids might do! ;-)