I'll be lucky if this survives a year. Putting things back where they came from evidently is rocket surgery to my better half. It's in there pretty snug, and I used some foil tape on the corners, and also put some more of the PL300 on all the interior seams. Seems pretty stout for only being 3/4" thick. I have some leftover foam that I can use to back fill and increase R-value.
Still trying to figure out the best way to put some batts inside this thing. I'll need cutouts/pockets for the springs.
Yeah, the original thought was Great Stuff to fill the box. Adding another box on top would get unwieldy, I think. The roof pitch is 5/12, I think, so not a lot of room to move the box as is. I'm reconsidering the foam, then cutting out what's needed for the hinges after it sets up. Need at least a couple more cans. Shopping tomorrow.
Shopping for more foam didn't happen, but I think instead of trying to fill the box with foam, I'll get maybe one more can, use that in the box, then put more pieces of foamboard in. I used one large can of foam and it didn't even cover the bottom of the box. I'm happy to report that the kitchen is staying warmer with the box in place. I've been using just a small fire to heat the house, then let it burn down. The house seems to be holding heat a little longer. I'll know better in the morning....overnight temp is going to be about 10.
Forgot to mention that I also took the dryer vent off the back of the house, cleaned it, then put it back. The flapper actually closes now. Lots less cold air coming in now from that.
Dave, can you explain where this goes? Above the access panel through the ceiling? for heat retention?
ww, yep. I opened up the stairs, then up in the framing, I made a foamboard box that fits inside the framing for the stairs. I got the Foamular 3/4" from HD. Keeps a LOT of heat from going into the attic. The attic stair hatch, if not insulated in some way, acts kinda like a chimney. You can buy premade covers from HD (and others) that sit down on top of the opening in the attic.
Batts up underneath and another piece of the foam board glued along the perimeter to hold it in place? Like a insulation sammich. Can you use this up inside along the perimeter of where the door closes to the frame for extra draft protection? I've used it on older door frames where a kerf can't be put in to the jamb. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Frost-King-E-O-17-ft-Wood-Thermo-Plastic-Door-Set-WV21H/100138318 That is a worthy project your doing. FHC approved.
That's another good thought Jon. My idea was to put the insulation (unfaced) in, then another layer of foamboard glued in to hold it. I'll still need to cut out slots on both sides for the hinges.
Nope. From the foamular site........."Use readily available adhesives that are marked suitable for use with foam board" The PL300 is marked that way and worked very well. I wondered the same thing.
This fits inside the 2x frame and is pretty snug. There's a light at the top of the pull down, and when I turn that on with the cover in place, I might see a VERY small sliver of light along one edge. I'm callin' it gooder until I add more insulation. Temp was below 10 overnight, and when I got up, the whole house was still about 67. Even the kitchen, which is where the hatch is. The kitchen would normally have been at least a couple degs. cooler. The combination of fixing the dryer vent and doing the hatch cover has helped, but I still need to replace the back door, because I can still fell cold air coming through the kitchen from there. Then, if I can pull apart the rest of the exterior walls, and seal 'em up before my wife notices the mess, I'm gooder. That would be about 30 feet of a shared kitchen/living room wall, two small bedrooms, the bath, and laundry rooms. Forgot about a couple other walls too....total about 60' or so. Prolly shouldn't press my luck with the laundry pulled apart. I'm wondering how the newer hatches/ladders are setup re: the hinges. Might be time to consider a newer model.
Replacing the door is huge. I had an old single pane door out in the mudroom with an old aluminum storm door. There was so much heat loss that when we cooked pasta, the door window fogged over. I put in a new steel skin insulated door and new Andersen storm door, and now the mudroom is the same temp as the rest of the kitchen. No more drafts back there. Good question on the ladder hatch doors. I wonder if any have insulation around them. It would be a huge selling point.
The door has 3 small windows in a stair step config.....not sure how they did that.....that fog up all the time. I built an Oak storm door about 3 years ago, but the joints are all coming apart now and because of that the storm won't completely close. Kreg jig would help, or I'll probably just put a new storm up after I get a "real" door.Baby steps, and they all help.
