Replies

1. 
   YesMaam27577 | Jan 01, 2009 06:32pm | #1

   Don't worry what it looks like when its open. That will be less than 1% of the time, and probably never when guests are in the house.

   If I were building one from scratch, I'd probably use hinges like those on the various doors in the house, and casing that matches also. That would probably require ####back-bevel of the latch side of the "door" to allow easy closure. And certainly, anything you do will require some sort of latch or catch.

   Politics is the antithesis of problem solving.
2. 
   zolton | Jan 01, 2009 07:06pm | #2

   One of the things you'll need to be concerened about if you add more material to the underside of the attic stairway is weight. The springs on most of these units are barely strong enough to keep the stairway and 1/4 inch cover held up and in place.

   Pulldown stairways are very big leakers of conditioned air into the attic. As such, they contribute greatly to heat loss in the winter and higher A/C bills in the summer. In the winter, all that warm, humid air flowing up into the attic can contribute to ice dam problems on the eave edges of the roof outside, as well as mold and mildew problems in the attic. In addition to the air leakage issue, pulldown attic stairways are very difficult to insulate. Several companies have come up with "tent" arrangements or foam boxes that can be installed over the folded stairway in the attic to address this issue.

   So, at the very least, you'll need to add a latch or some eyehooks - or something else - to hold the stair door up against its frame. And the points where the frame contacts the door should be lined with self-stick foam tape in order to cut down on air leakage.

   Zolton

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