Attic Hatch: Do-it-yourself Insulated Attic, Dimensions Of Fire Hatches, How To Make Drawings And Diagrams

The attic space is a convenient and necessary element of any private home. It is an excellent place to store working tools, various building and household materials, food for long-term storage, as well as a space for arranging a cozy living room.

If there is an attic, then there must be an attic hatch. Its construction is a matter that requires investment and certain knowledge.

Features of the

The design of an attic hatch must be reliable, simple and safe to use. When installing a hatch, it is important to take into account a number of important nuances: the slope of the roof, the location of ceilings and beams, joints of ceiling concrete slabs.

It is best to install the hatch inside the living space.… It is cheaper and safer, since this option does not require the construction of a large capital staircase, which can be used by unauthorized persons when trying to enter the territory of the house from the street side. It is also an element of safety, because the service hatch also serves as a fire-prevention hatch.

The attic hatch must provide a vapor barrier for living quarters (the property of protecting the structural elements of the house and the roof from moisture and preventing condensation, in the form of water vapor inside the insulation) and protection of the living area from the penetration of rodents, large insects and other inhabitants of attics. Also the staircase leading from the attic should go to the free space of the living room of the house, without blocking the passage inside.

If the attic is not heated, then thermal insulation seems to be completely useful. Separately, it is necessary to designate fire-fighting functions - the ability to prevent the spread of fire and smoke from the lower floors of the house in the event of a fire. And finally, the last important detail to pay attention to is the design of the exterior.

Views

Attic hatches differ in the material of manufacture and in the type of opening (top and bottom). The main materials used in the manufacture of hatches are wood and metal. Metal hatches are reliable and durable, but require additional thermal insulation, and are quite heavy, which makes them potentially more traumatic when opening or closing.

Wooden - lightweight, good heat retention and attractive from an aesthetic point of view. In addition, wooden hatches are easier to manufacture.

Therefore, it is most preferable to use wood.

When planning the design of the hatch, the choice of the type of ladder also takes an important place.

Ladders are of the following types:

attached - these are the simplest and cheapest;
retractable the stairs are folded like an accordion;

folding - presented in the form of a book;
telescopic - are the most compact and ergonomic, their structural elements tend to fold into each other (like a "step ladder").

In preparation for the installation and assembly of the elements of the attic hatch it must be borne in mind that the weight of the ladder must be supported by the attic door … Otherwise, it is fraught with breakdowns and injury. Also, a high-quality attic staircase should be equipped with a framing device that serves as additional support, reducing the likelihood of accidental falls and serious injuries. The sliding sunroof can be easily mounted on a plasterboard surface.

Folding attic stairs are composed of several elements or sections. When folded, the ladder looks like a compact unit built into the hatch door. Ladders should be equipped with anti-slip pads or recessesthat are designed to ensure safety in use. It is best to choose a flush-mounted insulated lifting attic hatch.

For an exit on the ceiling, the cold option will not work, since a lot of heat will be lost.

Materials and tools

An attic manhole consists of two main parts - a box (box) and a door (cover). The main load-bearing element is the box. It is made from the most durable types of wood: oak, birch, larch, aspen.

When making a box yourself, the easiest way is to use a wooden beam. Working with him does not require a high level of skill of the performer and the use of complex instruments. But also for the manufacture of the frame, boards with a size of 25-30 mm are suitable … It is this thickness that can be considered optimal to ensure the required strength.

The standard box size is 120x60 cm … Available in square design. In general, the choice of geometric shapes and sizes is based on the individual preferences of the owners of the house.

The box consists of four parts, fastened together at an angle of 90 degrees with wood glue, self-tapping screws or nails.

Some experts recommend making a notch in the upper part of the beam to fit the cover, while others indicate the advisability of installing additional support boards.

The choice remains with the contractor.

Similar standards apply to the manufacture of the door. The simplest model of the hatch cover structure is a frame, sheathed with boards and made of a bar with a section of 20x40 mm, with a heat-insulating material located inside. The assembled cover is reinforced with a cross bar, and then sheathed with plywood or fiberboard on the reverse side. A vapor barrier film with expanded polystyrene can be used as a heater or mineral wool.

In addition, a door handle and a closing device can be installed. The lid is attached to the box by means of the most common hinges and self-tapping screws, and a rubber sealing material is glued along the entire perimeter at the junction of the door and the box.

The list of basic required tools includes the following:

scrap;
sledgehammer;
puncher;
electric drill;
angle grinder (grinder);

screwdriwer set;
hacksaw for wood;
measuring instruments (building ruler, measuring tape).

How to do it yourself?

Any construction work begins with drawings and careful measurements. The next step is to select the installation site. The rules for the location of the attic hatch in wooden and concrete structures are different.

In a wooden house, an opening is made between the beams, in a concrete one - at the junction of the slabs.

Arrangement of an opening in a concrete house is more difficult and in several stages:

First, a diagram is drawn on the floor, in the place where the hatch is supposed to be located (it is important to take into account that the size of the opening must exceed the dimensions of the hatch by a distance of at least 5 cm).
Through holes are drilled in the corners of the outlined square or rectangle with a puncher.
Next, an angle grinder makes slices along the marked perimeter.

Then additional holes are drilled at a distance of 15–20 cm from each other at the cut points.
By blows with a sledgehammer, concrete and reinforcement are removed with the obligatory cleaning of uneven surfaces and drilling in the end part of the opening of technological holes (to fix the box).
The installation process of the attic hatch begins with the installation and fastening of the box. Fastening is done with drop-in anchors. In a wooden house, the use of anchors is optional; instead, you can use large screws or nails.

After installing the box, the door hinges are installed. Of all the known types, when installing heavy and massive doors, straight overhead hinges are used - these are the most reliable and inexpensive of all. The installation process is the same as for conventional doors. The choice of the hinge fixing side is of a private nature.
The final stage is the simplest - it is the installation of the hatch cover, which is done using self-tapping screws.

The need for laying vapor barrier materials deserves special mention. This type of work is necessary if the attic is not heated. This is very important, since if the temperature difference between the living and attic areas exceeds 5 degrees, then all the moisture contained in the warm air and blown up will fall out in the form of condensation, accumulating on the inner walls of the indoor premises and insulation materials. Besides, the use of heaters and steam insulators helps to increase the sound insulation properties of the room.

As a vapor barrier material, conventional polyethylene or polypropylene films are used. After laying, the material is fixed (with strips or "sits" on glue) on both sides of the manhole cover body - bottom and top.

The most common thermal insulation materials are mineral wool and expanded polystyrene.

Mineral wool consists of fibers obtained as a result of deep processing of molten rocks and metallurgical waste. It is a high-quality insulation with good thermal insulation properties.

In addition, a very important advantage is its fire resistance. Mineral wool does not burn, as it is made of non-combustible alloys. Rodents, fungus and insects do not start in it. Its fibers are not subject to deformation; over time, it does not decrease in volume. Mineral wool does not accumulate moisture, the degree of absorption does not exceed 0.5%. It is characterized by good sound-absorbing properties, does not cause chemical destruction of metals (corrosion).

Mineral wool is transportable and environmentally friendly, has a long service life.

Expanded polystyrene or mineral wool is always laid on top of the vapor barrier foil (also on both sides). When working with insulating materials, it is necessary to use respirators to avoid the smallest particles of materials from entering the respiratory tract. The overlap should be with insulation … During the opening of the hatch, warm air should also not leave.

The "finishing touches" include the installation of fittings, namely:

door handles;
closing mechanism (latches, latches, bolts, locks, latch);
leading device (hydraulic, equipped with hydraulic cylinders or counterweight), designed for smooth and easy opening and closing of the hatch door and entrance.

This finish must be of high quality. As an alternative door handles can be replaced with a rope opening system … It is very convenient to use for people with disabilities, as well as for children and women. The rope should be tightly secured with the wall ring, ensuring that the hatch door is in a fixed position.

Tips & Tricks

The construction of an attic hatch, in principle, is not a difficult type of construction work. But in order to save time and effort, as well as for people far from the construction business, it is more expedient to purchase finished products, entrusting the assembly quality to professionals.

Installation of finished hatches does not require special skills. In addition, factory products are more accurate in fitting parts and structural elements, and are also more attractive (compared to many home-made samples).

Experts advise adhering to the following recommendations:

the manufacturer's warranty protects against unforeseen expenses;
among all available varieties of wood, larch has the best strength characteristics;
when constructing an attic hatch cover, it is most convenient to use the remnants of the material left over from sawing out the opening, which will help save money;
in the process of choosing the installation site of the opening, it is important to count so that in the future, when going upstairs, do not hit your head on the internal elements of the roof;

when working in a concrete room, the opening must be reinforced with metal corners;
treatment of wooden structures with an antiseptic (anti-rotting agent) increases the service life of the attic hatch;
if the attic hatch serves as a fire-prevention hatch, then it is more expedient to place the hinges on the back side so that the lid opens upwards;

fire hatches, as a rule, are made of high-strength metal, to which certain requirements are imposed. You can also use wood, but with the obligatory subsequent surface treatment with fire retardant varnishes (biopirens and antiseptics);
a fireproof attic hatch, which is electrically driven, must have a minimum number of gaps, and all existing ones must be filled with refractory materials.