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Our house has an attic conversion that is accessed through a simple hole in the floor via a rather steep flight of wooden stairs.
As I am now using it as a bedroom I would like to add a door to the room for privacy and heat and acoustic reasons.
I've put some thought into it and have had many ideas of how to approach it, from just a simple hinged plank of wood, to actually building a wall around the hole with a regular door at the top of the stairs.
But I'm not sure what the best way would be, or how to go about doing it. So I'd like to hear ideas and suggestions from anyone, and stories and advice from anyone who has done something similar before.
Here's what I've got:
A large hole, roughly square (will give dimensions if that will help, I just don't have them on me at the moment) at one end of the room, flush against the wall (ie at the end, the wall just continues down into the rest of the house) and slightly off centre.
A fence constructed around 3 sides of the hole (excluding the wall side) with an opening at the top of the stairs.
One side is barely accessable, as the ceiling slopes down, so the fence almost reaches the ceiling. I use that corner for storage, best accessed by standing on the stairs and reaching through the fence, as otherwise I'd have to crawl under the eaves.
The floor consists of MDF boards - I'm not sure if these are strong enough to fasten hinges to.
The fence posts do get in the way at some points - I've determined it won't be possible to simply put a piece of wood down, as it would have to be cut to avoid the posts and would leave a gap along the wall side of the hole. The fence may have to be removed or adjusted, but I would like to work with it as much as possible.
I need to know what kind of material to use for the door. It needs to be quite light I think, as the door will have to open upwards, into the room, so it will need to be pushed from underneath. But on the other hand, I would also like it to be insulating and acoustic dampening.
And I am looking for ways of building a door that hinges in the middle, opening in 2 or 3 parts. Or building up around the fence, creating a bulk head, with a small door in it.
If anyone's up for throwing ideas around I can provide more details, better descriptions, or photos to help. I'm willing to consider anything and I'm happy to just run to B&Q and buy a load of materials and get started!
As I am now using it as a bedroom I would like to add a door to the room for privacy and heat and acoustic reasons.
I've put some thought into it and have had many ideas of how to approach it, from just a simple hinged plank of wood, to actually building a wall around the hole with a regular door at the top of the stairs.
But I'm not sure what the best way would be, or how to go about doing it. So I'd like to hear ideas and suggestions from anyone, and stories and advice from anyone who has done something similar before.
Here's what I've got:
A large hole, roughly square (will give dimensions if that will help, I just don't have them on me at the moment) at one end of the room, flush against the wall (ie at the end, the wall just continues down into the rest of the house) and slightly off centre.
A fence constructed around 3 sides of the hole (excluding the wall side) with an opening at the top of the stairs.
One side is barely accessable, as the ceiling slopes down, so the fence almost reaches the ceiling. I use that corner for storage, best accessed by standing on the stairs and reaching through the fence, as otherwise I'd have to crawl under the eaves.
The floor consists of MDF boards - I'm not sure if these are strong enough to fasten hinges to.
The fence posts do get in the way at some points - I've determined it won't be possible to simply put a piece of wood down, as it would have to be cut to avoid the posts and would leave a gap along the wall side of the hole. The fence may have to be removed or adjusted, but I would like to work with it as much as possible.
I need to know what kind of material to use for the door. It needs to be quite light I think, as the door will have to open upwards, into the room, so it will need to be pushed from underneath. But on the other hand, I would also like it to be insulating and acoustic dampening.
And I am looking for ways of building a door that hinges in the middle, opening in 2 or 3 parts. Or building up around the fence, creating a bulk head, with a small door in it.
If anyone's up for throwing ideas around I can provide more details, better descriptions, or photos to help. I'm willing to consider anything and I'm happy to just run to B&Q and buy a load of materials and get started!
