build access door through wall into attic - how would you?
 

I've got an upstairs bathroom and 3 closets that need access doors built that will allow a person to crawl through to get into the attic. Since this is Texas (hot) and this is from conditioned space into unconditioned space, the doors also need to be insulated (probably using foamboard).

I'd like the doors to look decent. I'd kind of like them to "blend in" with the walls as much as possible. Having them insulated, I think, adds a bit of complexity.

2 of the doors will definitely open in. 2 of the doors may be able to open out which is nice/better in some ways but probably adds more complexity to have the face flush with the inside wall.

The openings are 36-44" tall and 18-22" wide.

I've been thinking:

1. frame the holes (already done, one or two may require a header, then finish with corner bead for a square, finished, flush look.
2. build a small hollow door with foam board insulation as "fill." Frame out of 2x2 (or maybe even 1x2) with 1/4" ply for the face (maybe use 3/8" lightrock for the face in the bathroom). Then at least 2-3 layers of 3/4" foam insulation in/behind the frame. I'd originally thought of having a plywood face on the back of the door too, but I'm not sure if that's necessary.
3. some sort of door stop with weatherstriping along the edge. Or maybe a tear drop shaped weather stripping to seal the gap around the door.
4. Possibly using one of those magnetic door catches (bump the door and it pops open) for the bathroom.
   http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1726341625.jpg
   Maybe the same for the others or something else (small hook and latch or something simple

Any other thoughts? I've seen some folks that build a frame and attach that to some drywall so the face is drywall. I could go that route in the bathroom where visual aesthetics is more important. I could probably still build the door similarly. I've been using 5/8 fire rated drywall in the house to help with sound, but for a door like that it seems like a "lightrock" 3/8" or 1/2" would be better, still with a frame and foam board. I think you can sometimes get half sheets, or small sheets at some HW stores.

In the closets, the doors will likely be all or mostly hidden behind clothes or boxes so smooth plywood should be "good enough"

Any thoughts, why that won't work, inadequacies, improvements?

I would do something with trim that makes a seal, maybe mdf wall paneling/wainscotting? Make them open into the room and the trim plus a magnet hold them closed.

I would also consider making the door a crawl entry, not walk in. Easier to hide.

You don't want hot air coming in.

Smaller than what you want...but my house has three of these upstairs. They require some bending and sliding, but they aren't used often. They are 14X22"

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1726345419.jpg

Steve, no. 2 is twist-o-rama.

Use a hidden cabinet hings (because they are adjustable) for the out swinging. Get Classic core plywood. Due to the MDF outer layers, they stay straight. Glue rigid panel in back due to its lightweight and that helps keep doors from twisting during seasonal changes. Will the area around the door be drywalled? If so, use a metal drywall J-bead, square that up during install and mud over that for that perfect finish. Make sure the gap between the door and the edge of the drywall bead is 13/32" and the 3/4" door will fit perfectly. Cut door to fit hole last once all drywall work is done

Use the none self close hinge (I like Blum) and a baby safety catch so there's no need to have a handle. Upon finish, all you see is a 3/32" gap.

https://www.amazon.com/Rev-Shelf-RL-201-1-52-Lock-Security/dp/B00KYBAJ1K/ref=asc_df_B00KYBAJ1K/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693129867830&hvpos=&hvnetw= g&hvrand=7002340911737847136&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt =&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030984&hvt argid=pla-308793711723&psc=1&mcid=debe06b7d72f306fb5f705039a c9170f


In terms of sealing the gap for better insulation value, just use a rubber window gasket on the attic side.

Hope you understand the chicken scratch and the mess.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1726346634.jpg

Good info, thanks!
Yep, drywalled. Good stuff, thanks again.

Awesome!

The holes are already there, some are bigger, some are smaller depending upon location.Opening into the room is the easiest for sure, and probably the easiest to do, seal, and insulate.

Post some pics of what you're dealing with and I might be able to come up with some ideas. Initial thought is use some premium pine boards for the jambs. Frame doors with 1x3 premium lumber and insulate with 3/4" foam board in the center of the frame. Use another 3/4 piece of foam with the foil facing as the interior "facing". This should give you around R-9 I think. Put paintable birch on the side facing out into the room or closet. For the door stop I'd go with a premium 1/2" thick board using a router or run it through a table saw to give yourself a gap to put weather stripping in. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, look at your front door and how the piece that acts as the door stop is cut to allow for weather stripping.

just a photo I found on the 'Net that's close to portraying our situation. The framing of the walls is 2x4.
https://www.retrofoamofmichigan.com/...Insulation.jpg
I need to make access doors in the knee wall in 4 corners of our home. The hole (gap between the studs) is 18" on one, and ~22" on the other 3. And the height will vary from 36" - 44" depending upon location.

Have you looked up "knee wall access door"? If you're dealing with drywall, You can pretty much make the opening a common size couldn't you?
Just an example.
https://marwincompany.com/knee-wall-access-doors.php

Qh, its on the knee wall. Flip that and make it vertical. Frame it just like a mini door and insulate the exterior with rigid foam. Pretend you are building a cabinet door Use a piano hinge to keep one side rigid or jsut use hidden cabinet hinges like I mentioned. Does blended in mean no frame and just 3/32" gap? With paint, it will only have 1/8" or under but expansion will sometimes cause it to bind do bevel your saw and cut a 2 degree or slight bevel on the strike edge. it will never stick on ya unless you have huge wet/dry seasonal changes. Since its only 3/4", there shouldn't be any issues.

On my post, its 3/32" not 13/32.

As old as this house is and the fact that nothing is a standard measurement means, I probably can't use standard sizes. But I'll check it out.
Yes, our doors are vertical, not horizontal. In the closets, a frame would be fine, but in the bathroom, no frame, just the 3/32" gap would be ideal.

We do it all the time on some of the more modern house we work on. If you want me to clean up the drawing for you, I can do it later tonight. Learning how to make paella with my oldest while mom is kicking back with her feet up on the sofa watching Korean Drama. Wtf, we aren't Korean and do not understand one word of it and her and our friend Cindy Garcia are always glued to the TV and talk about the damn show.:eek: I don't get it? :rolleyes:

A hardboard door can be cut, fill with expansion foam for rigidity and insert the pine stick back in there in the lower section of the door. Its much cheaper to use a good grade of plywood with adj hinges in case it moves, making Steve the super hero when his wife complains about the sticking door with a simple half a twist of a screwdriver.

LOL!

Nope, I understand your diagram just fine. Thank you!

That's probably what I'm going to do. The house is pier and beam and does move a lot based on wet and dry periods since the ground moves a lot. Probably not a lot of danger of some of these doors moving much, but I'm sure there'll be some.

Good luck. I sneaked in to watch the vid on paella when I run into a jam on the stove and now I am checking Pelican. What an addition this place is. Let me know if you have questions.

We have several doors like that in our house going from rooms or closets into attic space behind them. They're just wooden doors with no insulation and there doesn't seem to be much heat transfer.

Walking thru the neighborhood this morning, and this door that someone had put out on the street as a freebee made me think about this thread. This door is about 4' tall.

After seeing this, I'd be tempted to celebrate the little doors instead of trying to hide 'em. I definitely march to a different beat, so I'm sure mine is a minority opinion.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1726429830.jpg

If there is any buried wood, or wood near ground level, take a a long thin screwdriver and see if it punctures it as low as possible. I'll post on my deck rebuild soon.

Also might want to channel uphill water around or away from the foundation with grading. That will also help in the longevity.

You can also buy https://www.homedepot.com/p/Wolman-1-qt-CopperCoat-Green-Below-Ground-Wood-Preservative-6-Pack-1904A/204746310 and spray/brush in on the low spots which will help with termites as well. It's got a strong odor even outdoors so be warned.


I just cut in a square space of 2x12 and have a basic drop-in drywall/plywood/glued foam layers/wrapped sides with aluminum tape so it slides block.
A drop-down ladder is on the upgrade radar, but they are not very well insulated and there might not be space.

My guess is that your house is fairly well insulated and has decent AC. Our place has horrible insulation, and surprisingly adequate AC (but REALLY old, 1991, and inefficient). Any source of heat (or cold in the winter) is noticeable for us.
Yeah, we'd wondered about and talked about that. And 2 of the spots upstairs have doors. One is boards connected but with 1/8" or larger gaps between them. May as well be no door, and all of the heat from the attic pours in. I've currently got the gaps taped with aluminum tape, just to kill the free air flow.

Several of the closets had home made doors, 3/4 ply, some with TnG bead board applied as doors. They weighed a TON.

Old houses and that was how it was done back then. When materials were available, they used it unless its a custom high end home where materials were pocket were deep. I torn apart homes that were built in the early teens and they were a huge improvement by 1930. Standard building code got much better and just the standard itself were much better.

Frame the opening, header off all openings, build simple plywood doors with 2x surround. Buy a 4x8 sheet of 1½" rigid insulation which will insulate all four doors.

If you're dealing with drywall rather than plaster, why does it matter? Frame the opening, patch the opening and mud.

BTW ya ought to see this new system I'm installing in my house. I bought a Bryant Evolution Extreme heat pump, Bryant Evolution modulating 98% efficient furnace and an Evolution system controller. The tech is just ridiculous! I did a load calc on my house then sized based on what the tech specs called for. The gas furnace and heat pump can vary output based on the load sensed by the thermostat. Based on the load calc, I can run the heat pump down into the teens before I hit the balance point. I plan to add Bryant zone dampers next year to zone the house. It's expensive but should be a considerable energy savings vs the system I installed almost 30 years ago.

Fortunately, no buried wood. The owner that bought the house around 1990/91 updated a lot of stuff (added central HVAC, replaced knob and tube with modern electrical, etc...). I'm assuming that person (or someone since then) has had the home leveled. All of the piers are cement, and all are on top of cement pads.

Our ground here is clay. We can go from saturated so that the yard gives under you if you walk through it, to so dry that there are cracks anywhere from 1-2" wide.

I am also going to have to create a hatch up into the attic at the peak as well. I don't need or have space for a ladder. I installed one in the garage of our old home.

The plan is something similar to that. I think I have headers in place in all of the openings already. The only rigid available easily around here is 3/4". But I do have a bunch of 3/4" so I'll stack a couple/few of sheets of 3/4".

I hate doing drywall, LOL!

The new HVAC sounds awesome! I'd love to have something like that at my place.

I get hating drywall work. But ultimately it might be cleaner, easier, and a better seal if you can buy a pre made door system and make the opening to fit. Frame the opening... sling a little board, use 90 minute easy sand compound so you can hit two or three coats quickly, sand, paint done.. Easy peasy. Probably have more time messing around trying to build and insulate the door.

I've been waiting on the weather to turn more fall like where I won't really need the A/C during the day. Once I see those temps in the forecast, I'm gonna tear out my old system and install the new. Shouldn't take me more than two days out and in. Btw, the dealer cost for the equipment, not pretty. I wouldn't want to pay the markup price. I'd bet a normal dealer would charge 15K or more for just the furnace, heat pump, evaporator coil, thermostat and for me a propane conversion. Then put installation on top of that. The price of technology ain't cheap.