Been meaning/wanting to do this for a LONG time. Finally got some foamboard from HD a couple days ago, and built it this morning. Waiting for the PL300 to set up so I can put it up there. Going to run some weatherstrip around the edges to get a real good seal too.
Looks good. Did a similar one but used 1x6 for the sides and filled it with batt insulation. The weatherstripping is a good move.
I figure the stairs are acting as one huge hole in the ceiling. I may also put some insulation of some kind in it. Anything I do is gooder than what's going on right now.
I bought one of the premade foam ones from HD, siliconed some 1/2 inch ply to the top for weight so if a door gets slammed in the house it doesn't lift up off the foam weatherseal. For my sister's son's bedroom . He was always complaing how cold his room was. Made a HUGE difference. Those can be made smaller for can lights and bathroom fans too.
I think it will really help. I made my box out of plywood and then added 3.5" fiberglass bat to the inside walls. I like your design better. Only thing I would suggest is some more insulation on the top of it. That foam board does not have a good R value. To seal mine I stapled a 4" wide piece of leftover carpet on the floor and the box sits on top of the carpet. Weather stripping might be your best bet though. Very gooder idea you had, you lose a lot of air up those pull down stairs.
The spring brackets are in the way of completely filling the box, but I'll do something to put more insulation in there. Original idea was to just use Great Stuff, but I may abandon that idea. Time will tell. Gas, nope, not a thing.
I fixed batts over the same type of box. I put hinges on one side so that when I push it open all I do is use a stick to prop it open. Has been that way for years. Some years go by without me going up there once.
Mine is similar, 2" rigid foamboard. Used aluminum tape to assemble the panels and built a 2x4 box around the hatch for the box to fit in. It's a no brainer, so much heats escapes through the pull down.
Great idea Larry. I may try to incorporate that into my cover. My wife goes up there much more than I do. It's her storage area.
I use 2" foil-backed Poly-Iso foam board for lots of stuff around here. Really helps. R-13 I think, gets better when you double it.
The way this thing is framed in is limiting how thick I can go with the foam. I'll be putting it up before bed, then make some mods to it soon.
Well, I forgot the shims that are in the way of this setting down where it should. I'll have to cut those off tomorrow, but at least it's up there holding some heat in.......I hope.
Trimmed the shims off this morning and the box sits down inside the framing, except that, because whoever installed the stairs put it in about 7 times out of square and umplumb, it's not sitting all the way down. It's pretty tight against the framing all the way around though, so should be keeping a lot of heat in the house. Hard to tell today, because the temps are up and the wind dropped out to virtually nothing. The kitchen seems to be a bit warmer. Next up is the dryer vent.
This is a pic of the joint drying process. You'll notice the high tech "clamps" being used if you look closely. This is how the box fits in the opening. The box is square and flat. Diagonal corners.
Well, the existing vent has so much lint built up, I've not been able to clean it and it's stuck in the open position. So, I have a new one to install and that should greatly reduce the amount of cold air coming in through the dryer. We're due for a several day warm-up, so it'll be done soon.
unsquare, unplumb and unlevel ? Went a little bigger with the box and got on top of the joists fairly flat. Hook and loop strap to keep it in place. Pretty good indicator if someone has been up here because apparently putting the strap back is rocket science. scribe to custom fit and then mark it so it never goes in 180 ?
