My attic hatch measures roughly 2' square. Presently, it has insulation on top of the hatch door (in the attic). Because some of the hatch sticks up above the insulation on the floor of the attic, I'd like to re-do the door so that the hatch insulation is inside the hatch.
Does anyone have any elegant design suggestion to allow the door to come down, rather than need to be pushed up into the attic? With 6-8" of insulation, a door that swings down seems infeasible.
I wouldn't mind simply pushing it up into the attic, but the small problem with that approach is that the hatch seems to have been build imperfectly: its bottom dimensions are slightly larger at the bottom than at the top (~1/2"), which could make pushing the door up less-than-ideal. Particularly if the door is snug enough at the bottom, which I would like it to be for air sealing purposes.
Best Answer
The standard solution for an insulated hatch cover has it resting on trim flush with the ceiling. You should pound or pack out the framing for the hatch so that it is tightest at the bottom (where it meets your ceiling). Add weatherstripping to the top of the trim on which the cover sits to prevent airflow when it is in place, and the insulation on top of the cover will prevent radiant/conductive heat loss.