How to Install an Attic Access Door - Easy DIY
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- čas přidán 6. 09. 2024
- In this five minute video I give you tips and show you how to cut a hole in your ceiling, how not to electrocute yourself and create and install an access door that keeps your home insulated. This one anyone can do with a circular saw and some nails.
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I live in a house built in the 1870's. We want you check the insulation so went up into the crawl space attic. There we found a old small trunk. Maybe 3 get by 2feet. Inside was a signed note from the original home owner and the men who help him build the house. 12 men in total. It took over 8 months to build. It also contained a newspaper and a few photos. One was of all of the men who built the house standing in front of the house after it was built. Another was a picture of the living room furnished. Another was if the kitchen furnished. It was a pretty cool finding. I took the stuff to a archivist to have the pictures preserved and framed. The newspaper is in a special box that is acid free to preserve it. When I sell the house theses items will stay with it. Oh I forgot to mention there were some old tools also that they said in the note they were used to build the house with. Those hang in my husband's workshop in the basement.
This is super cool! thanks for sharing.
👍Hume builds👍 Come on people, his explanation was on point, basics were given. Now others can add to this information as they please. Young man you did well.
Haha I appreciate that! 😄
Just a note, the commentary should be done over the video of you doing the install not breaking away from the install to a still shot of you explaining. Makes it hard to watch when someone is looking for info to try to dig though the video for the install bits.
interesting, but it’s pretty much how not to do it. I really appreciate the effort there and at least it showed me one way to do it. The romex right by the entrance space looked a bit sketchy.
If it works, it works 👍
I just created one access point in the closet today and was able to do recessed lighting for one room. Need more access points and more recessed lighting for 3 more rooms
Thanks for the tutorial! I’m in the midst of a renovation and need an access hole. Your idea will be perfect for my project.
Glad to hear!
I install attic stairs every day new construction. In Florida fire code requires 1x4 yellow pine. But any trim applies. The easiest way to install attic stairs is the case the stairs prior to installing. This way I take the cased stairs up the ladder and pin it in place using my 15 gauge finish nailer. It’s easy with two people but at 60 I can still do it alone. I open the stairs and drop them and run a few 15 gauge nails in the frame. This is strong enough to drop the stairs and support my weight to shim and screw it off or nail whichever you prefer. Mark out my ladder, cut it and I’m done.
The craziest thing i ever found in an attic..... Okay! I was renting a house in Venice, CA, about six blocks from the beach. I was living with my (then) occasional gf Kelly. One morning, when kelly was out, i noticed a hatch in the hallway ceiling. Being a broke-ass 20-something, i had visions of untold treasures stashed in the attic, and i wanted my share! So i put a stool on a chair on a rickety table and squirmed my way into the attic. Oh snap, i didnt bring a flashlight! Well whatever. Treasure, right? So i start looking around and as far as i can tell there is no treasure there. I crawl back to the hatch and notice a giant stack of yellowed newspapers (The Evening Outlook, a now defunct Santa Monica newspaper) On the very top of the stack there's a section of the paper, it's like the community section or something There's a photo in the middle of the page that evoked the weirdest of David Lynch, with a little Diane Arbus thrown in- the caption says "TEEN TALENT WILL SPARK HARVEST FAIR", and in the picture are two creepy identical twin girls, an older teenager playing a banjo, and a dorky kid who was about the same age I had been when the paper came out (circa 1973) I'm laughing at the sheer cheesiness of the whole thing and then i read read the caption: "Kristy and Kari Koeppe join John Smith and Chris Watts at the Harvest fair last sunday. WTF? I AM CHRIS WATTS. I took another look at the photo and decided it was definitely not me, and looked around the attic to make sure no one was messing with me.... still, I suddenly started feeling very sweaty and uncomfortable, so i shimmied out that hatch, slammed it shut, and never opened it again!! I still have the photo somewhere= i will post it when i find it! EDIT: found it! tinyurl.com/yck2f9p2
Chris, so you are nosing around the attic of someone else's house, looking for some of their things to call your own? By the way, the twins are my sisters.
@@WriterandPhotographer Well, i was paying rent, so i get to nose around in the attic! Are they really your sisters? That's awesome if true. Did you show them the newspaper photo?
Since you described them as "creepy," I thought I would be funny and say they were my sisters. jk@@wattsyvfx
Thanks for the tips. I enjoyed the video. I didn't think of the insulation on the door idea
Thanks! The insulation helps a bunch
Some large animal has been going into the attic above the garage but there's no access door to get up there and inspect. I want to make sure he's gone and there's nothing else going on before I close it up. Adding an access door now... thanks!
WOW i thought tis was difficult. Thank you so much for this nice and short video. Great work!!!
Definitely one of the funniest contractors in the world
Thank you found a snow sled red in our attic
Nice!!
Big up good work 👏
Thanks 🔥
Can a fan be placed in place of the access door to pull heat from inside living area and pushing heat out of attic and pulling cool air from window unit in other room???
😢
Don’t think anyone would suggest that
What you're describing is called a whole house fan. And similar to this video, it starts with cutting an opening in the ceiling. There are many different kinds of attic fans and ways they get mounted. The one I installed in my last house sits atop the joists. Only gravity holds it in place. This allows you to remove it for the cooler months, replacing the opening with an insulated hatch, much like the one in this video.
I already had an existing access hatch, but did not consider repurposing it. Why? (a) That hatch was too large for what the fan required, (b) That hatch was in a closet, and I wanted the fan centered and barrier-free within the house, (c) I wouldn't want to have to push a heavy fan up and out of the way every time I wanted to get up there in the summer. (d) It's easier to make the seasonal switch from up in the attic than down below.
But that was just my experience. Doesn't mean your idea isn't doable.
Keep in mind you'll also need to plug in or hard wire the fan within the attic.
trim piece, measures? What type? 4” wide x 1/2” thick and whatever length that you need?
I think those were 3” or so. But you can do whatever fits
Thanks for the video? Whats the material of the hatch lid? Is this a plywood? If it is whats the thickness? TIA
How the hell do you cut the trim to 45s? I hate woodworking. I got the hole and the frame installed on the truss and perpendicular. I’m assuming I need some kind of tool made for this
A woodworking triangle
We had a roof leak in a front of the house bedroom & I’m thinking of having a 2nd access put in. Our other access installed by home builder is in master closet. Makes sense for more storage access, right? 😄 But, it’ll also create nightmares for children for decades. 🤡 Should we do this? I’ll try to remember to post the costs involved.
Sounds good to me.. can always close it up if you change your mind
hope some one knows so in my bedroom walk-in closet there's is a Attic Access Door it's the kind you just push up and then move to the side my question is does it matter if the panel door is thin would it be ok if i put a new door that is at 1 inch thick or 2 thick does it need to be think?
As long as you can push it up and move it over shouldn’t be a problem how thick it is
@@humediy the opening is 22 inch x 22 inch width the panel is 24 x 24. to push it up and move to the side is 7 inch up the only way to take out the very thin panel is to turn it so it coming out corner to corner i think the panel is very thin because to take it out it had to be thin to go out corner to corner a thinker one maybe not fit inside corner to corner but i will try when i have a 1 inch thick panel
How much should i charge if doing for a neighbor????
30-50 an hour.
I have a ranch house and wonder if I can make an access door in the front hall closet. The inside wall is 4" from the outside wall.
As long as it’s a big enough hole to fit through
@@humediy Thanks for the quick response! I was concerned about the pitch of the roofline. I'll just request skinny service men!
@@linettearnold519 that makes sense! I cut a hole too close to a roof line before so I had to cut a new hole.
I didn’t get much, already knew this information.
Solid
Found my new project (Y)
😎👍
whats the trimm that u used called?
You can look up "primed trim board". Not sure the exact name, got it from home depot.
@@humediy thanks👍🏼
@@dc5duben96 sure thing!
"truss" or " trusses"
It doesn't look good. May be functional but those screws and that foam stand out.
If you want to make it look good hide the screws and paint it all the same color as the ceiling :)
trivial details haha
The door isn’t laying flat 😭
😅that doesn’t look right at all
It is now 😁
The end product looks terrible to be honest..
Lol you can always make things prettier if you want :)
You’re doing it the hard way.
Hook up a link to the easy way please
I don’t make videos. Case it out on the floor before you put it up. Then in place in the opening and nail the casing with 2.5” 15 gauge finish nails being sure to hit the attic framing. Then open it and shoot some finish nails on the inside. It’s strong enough to climb and put your screws or nails at the point recommend. Or you can put some screws in predrilled holes but don’t drive them home in case you need to shim. For construction screws is good to stand on the ladder and finish. I’ve done hundreds.
Please stop teaching things that you dont know!
yeah dominic? what do you suggest instead?
That looks like a bag of Cr”p Zackary here seems to think that you have to be able to do it better in order to talk about it. I don’t have to have the skill of being a painter, a plumber, a taper, an electrician. All you have to do is watch how they work and you’ll quickly realize they don’t know what they’re doing, or they do, in this case he tried. I’ve never done this before but I’ve seen it done and I know 1 thousand percent I can do it better. Yes there is a huge gap all around the size of Mike Tyson’s teeth, and those screws 😂 damn, you’re supposed to use thin finish nails. But whatever......
Works perfectly fine for me and other houses I’ve seen done the same way 👍
Damn. That’s the WRONG way to run the electrical. Yikes.
It wasn't a problem since that side of the house didn't have access. Can kind of do whatever you want if no one is going over there lol. Probably should be more protected now though!
This is really poorly done.
Definitely don’t do it like this guy did
Hume builds👍 Come on people, his explanation was on point, basics were given. Now others can add to this information as they please. Young man you did well.
I’m sorry, but this is not good. Not even for a beginner. I applaud your effort, but you chose to post this to help someone…and I just feel like someone should teach you the right way first. You can’t use the excuse that it’s hidden in the closet either. If you’re gonna do it, do it right. Take a little pride in your work.
But it’s hidden in a closet :)
Backroads , please post a link for your instructional video for an attic hatch .
Why did you screw in the Trim? It's trim.... it doesn't need to be screwed in to a stud. SMH
Lol no one sees it. And I didn’t have a brad nailer. Don’t worry though… I have one now! 😎
@@humediy glad to hear - could have just glued it. would have been just as good!
@@christedder8438 I would prefer to screw such that I could remove the trim if I need to replace the HVAC in my attic.. Watching this video now on how to build one out because we had to tear the old one down haha
It makes sense to use screws. This isn't like putting trim along a wall for purely aesthetic and sealing purposes. The fasteners are being used in an overhead application, against the force of gravity, holding up both the trim and the hatch door (and IHMO, the heavier the door, the better). And you know that trim is going to get smacked from time to time, especially if you store stuff in the attic.
I’m afraid I might find a body in mine. The previous homeowners SEALED the access that was in the hallway. I can’t imagine any good reason for this except to make it airtight - but I don’t think they even put any insulation over their botch-job. There needs to be access as the only access currently is via the garage - and a vaulted ceiling - making that space above horribly narrow. Don’t know if the previous owners were just incompetent or what. Suffice to say it is making it a real pain in the ass to top up the existing 1977 insulation.