The attic is a great place to create a cozy room. Previously, a door led to the attic outside the house, and a ladder was used to get there. But it is inconvenient. For those who want to use this room as comfortably as possible, they should make a hatch in the attic with their own hands. There are various ways. Consider the most popular of them.
Attic hatch functions
This hatch, regardless of the design, provides thermal insulation, serves as a vapor barrier for residential premises, blocks access to the house to mice and other rodents, provides access to the attic, and serves as a ceiling for smoke and fire from the lower rooms in case of fire.
Installation site selection
The place where the hatch will be organized should be selected so that when it is opened upwards, nothing will prevent it. The design of the manhole cover should harmoniously fit into the interior of the whole house. If you plan to use a stationary staircase, then it should not interfere with walking around the room, and again - it should correspond to the style of the house.
The fastening of the hinges of the cover can be from both wide and narrow sides. Hatches in the corners under the rafter system can interfere with free access to the attic. When making an opening, do not get on the floor elements.
In the case when the floors are concrete, the opening must be made at the junction of two plates. If the ladder is retractable, then the place for the hatch must be selected in such a way that nothing impedes its extension. It will be the most user-friendly design.
Types of hatches and materials
You can make a hatch to the attic with your own hands according to two drawings - with one lid or with two. The first option is the easiest to implement, and the second also provides an inner cover.
The standard attic hatch is a wooden frame and fiberboard. Between these elements is a polystyrene foam sheet. The thickness of the latter can be from 30 to 60 mm. So that the manhole cover can tightly adjoin the opening, make a round gasket and put it into a pre-made groove on the box.
The manhole cover can be metal or wooden. You can use insulation materials or do without them. The most basic thing here is the open / close mechanism. The height of the box depends on the characteristics of the stairs. Often the height does not match the thickness of the floor. But this is not scary - this parameter can always be “adjusted”.
Creation of an aperture
To make a hatch to the attic with your own hands, the first thing you need to do is cut out the opening. If you already have a hole, then you can skip this step. First, marking is necessary. The hole should be 50-60 mm wider and longer than the hatch box. Then this gap will help to compensate for the size of the boards from which the box will be made. The material that remains from the ceiling can be used as a roof cladding (of course, if it has an aesthetic appearance).
Making the frame of the opening
Boards come in handy for the frame. Their thickness should be approximately 20-30 mm. It is such a board that will help to obtain the desired strength. The box can be round or square. In the second option, each corner must be right. If you look at the drawings of the hatches in the attic, made by yourself, then the standard size of the box is 600x1200 mm. These dimensions are suitable for any home.
However, the opening can be of any size - it is necessary to focus on personal preferences. After the frame is assembled, it is installed on a seat in the ceiling.
How to make a cover?
The simplest scheme of the hatch to the attic, which is being implemented with one's own hands, provides for a cover made of the remnants of the overlap material that formed after cutting the opening. Those who have the skills to work with wood can easily make such a structure.
It is a wooden structure with slightly larger box sizes. The door consists of a frame, as well as fiberboard or chipboard. Inside there is a heater. As fasteners, you can use glue, screws or nails. After assembly, the door should be reinforced on the reverse side — a transverse bar can be used as an amplifier.
Next, the door is mounted on the box with hinges. The loops themselves can be fixed both on the long and short sides of the box. The place of attachment of the loops is chosen according to the ease of use of the hatch. In which direction the hatch will open, the owner himself chooses. It depends on individual preferences.
Finishing and insulation
As for insulation, it depends on the level of thermal insulation of the upper floors. If the floor is warm, then there will be enough insulation of the hatch in the attic (with your own hands to do it quite simply) with one layer of heat-insulating material. But soundproofing will have to work hard.
If the room is cold, then insulation should be approached more extensively. Usually a layer of vapor barrier membranes is laid, and then sealing materials - the operation scheme is standard here. Do-it-yourself warmed hatch to the attic can be done quickly and easily, if there are materials. Next should be engaged in exterior decoration. Naturally, this is a diagram of the simplest attic hatch. More complex solutions are retractable ladder systems. Installation in this case will be significantly different.
More complex designs
The hatch can be equipped with a staircase. Work also begins with the creation of an opening. And all other stages depend on what type of design will be selected. It must be said right away that it is difficult to make a staircase to the attic with a hatch with your own hands. This will require investment of time and labor.
When assembling, it is important that the dimensions of the retractable staircase, the door to the attic, the opening and the thickness of the ceiling overlap coincide . Often, such hatches can be bought, and do-it-yourself installation only.
For installation, the entire structure is raised to the attic. Then a frame is fixed in the opening. After that, the opening and closing mechanisms are installed. When opening from such a hatch, a ladder will leave. This is a very convenient solution.
Original Styrofoam Hatches
For the manufacture of the structure, it is necessary to make a large opening in the ceiling, and, accordingly, a large frame. Further, a cover is made of foam plastic 200 mm thick. The box should have a thickness of 100 mm - the lid will enter into it. The latter is cut out so that it can fit tightly in the box. In this case, the upper part of the lid should completely cover the walls of the box. The installation of loops and mechanisms is not needed here. The lid is very light and easily lifted by hand.
Useful options for hatches
In order for the door to the attic to open comfortably and silently, it is equipped with special closers, similar to automobile ones.
Also, the door should be equipped with a convenient handle. If the hole is
secret, hidden, then for it you can build a special hidden opening device - it can be a cable, stick, button. The staircase system in this case will be more complicated. With this system, you can completely hide the stairs and make the opening invisible.
Conclusion
There are many options for how to make a hatch in the attic with your own hands. We considered the simplest that any home master can put into practice, having simple materials and a basic set of tools. Such a hatch can be fully exploited, and if you equip it with closers and a folding ladder, you will get an even more convenient mechanism to use.