Floor hatch getting installed...

[MoonMan2]

I am shortly to get a floor hatched installed so workers can gain access to my subfloor crawl space. It is going to be installed in the floor of cupboard.

Is there anything I should know?

Are these hatches normally on hinges or do they pull off and place down again?

Should I expect something like this

http://www.greatharbourcharters.com/Second Cabin floor hatch.jpg

Where they appear to have used the actual floor they have sawn off?

I am not expecting it to look nice as it will be under carpet in cupboard anyhow. I do want it to prevent any odours/drafs coming up from crawl space and to be easy open and close.

I am concerned about them sawing through floor joists too - I know I sound very worried...

Someone exolain please

 

[JohnD]

hinges will make it more complicated and need bigger clearance. A lift-out hatch will do. You can get a ring-pull handle that folds down flush for a few pounds. Otherwise a couple of finger-holes will do, but not where your heels might fall down them.

the hole will need battens or noggins all round to sit on. It will be stronger if no joists are cut, but if they are, the cut ends must be well nogged to adjacent joists or walls. Better, a supporting strut to the concrete sub-floor can be added too (it must have dpm underneath to protect from damp and rot)

ask for it to be made of WBP ply in 18mm or 25mm thickness to match your existing chipboard thickness. Chipboard is a rubbish material anyway. You can have a few large screws through the hatch to the joists or battens to hold it shut and prevent it creaking. Don't let him use nails as it will be so difficult to get up again without damage

An experienced carpeter will know all this and do the job quickly and easily.

 

[big-all]

i think you are going to get the floor cut along the joists and screwed back down when he has finnished you wont get anything more than that for £100

 

[JohnD]

yes, £100 is a very modest price if he is trying to make a living.

 

[DevilDamo]

Just out of interest, at what centres are the existing floor joists at because if they're 400mm, they're FAR too small to enable somebody to pass through and even at 600mm, that's do-able but not comfortable. I myself am not that big and I "just" managed to get access to a loft space through a loft hatch at approx. 600mm wide.

 

[JohnD]

if it is just 600 wide, it needs to be longer than that (not square) so you can climb through sideways and maybe at an angle. If they are at 400mm you would need to be quite slim.

With a floor, it is also useful to let the hole span two gaps, even if you don't cut the joist. It feels less claustrophobic

 

[DevilDamo]

Still... 600mm is still quite narrow, regardless if the hatch is rectangular and not square. And if the sub-floor would ever need maintenance as to take tools in/out then a little more space should be taken into account. I'm not talking about bulkier tools as they can be left on the floor, somebody climb in/under and then take the tools under from the top.