Attic door hinges and latch - DIY Chatroom

rirockhound · 11-03-2009, 03:44 PM

All:

finishing up the unfinished upstairs of my cape.
The builder had left it just framed, with a small attic access ~22" x 31.5".

We are going to bypass the drop down stairs since we won't use the attic for storage.

I'm thinking of building the hatchway out of 3/4" Birch smooth plywood, with insulation stapled to the inside, and probably one of the insulated 'tents' they make to cut down on heat loss.

My main issue is deciding on hinges and a latch that will hold the door, and be low-enough profile to not be ugly.

ceiling is typical sheet rock/skim coat.

thoughts on hinges and latch?

Bryan

bbieger · 11-03-2009, 09:10 PM

Sounds like European cup hinges would work well. They are easy to adjust and they make models that swing out and away when you open them. I think I may be missing something though. Why not attach drywall to cheap plywood? I would think this would draw less attention. The bigger issue is properly sealing of the hatch. A LOT if heat will escape to your attic if you don't have some weather stripping on it.

My attic hatch? Plywood, drywall four bricks and insulation that rests on a simple frame made of decorative molding and a 1" wide piece of weather strip foam. The bricks give the neccessary weight to seal the hatch. When I want in the attic I just lift the hatch up.