Plastering over a wooden loft hatch - how?

[FiscoKing]

Hi,

I'm about to have a large loft hatch (4ft x 2ft) put in one of my rooms.

The hatch is spring loaded and has a ladder attached, so you just push it with a pole to unlock the door, then push it up again to clip it back into place.

I want to try and minimise the impact of such a large access hatch in the ceiling, and I've been told that it's possible to plaster over the hatch, leaving a small gap round the edge so the door will open. I have spoken to someone who has seen this done in a commercial premises, so it must be possible.

How do you get the plaster to stick to the wooden door? lots of scrim tape?
Or nail some plasterboard to it and plaster that?

If I have to cut some plasterboard to size, then wont the board crumble over time around the edge?

I'd be grateful to hear from anyone who knows how this is done.

The reason I'm asking is that the carpenter will be putting up the hatch soon, and I need to know what clearances to leave the plasterer when he arrives.

Thanks.

[edit]

I know plaster does not adhere to wood. What about Multi-Purpose Polyfilla - Powder? This stuff does stick to wood and would get the door level with the surrounding plasterboard skim.

 

[JohnD]

I'd go for a paintable smooth surface such as MDF, and paint it with a matt emulsion same as the ceiling. You will need to give it primer and undercoat first as the base colour is a lot darker. position your lighting to avoid direct illumination. Get the joiner to finish the frame flush and paint that the same.

the pole will mark the surface (I have a similar one) so maybe fix an eye to it that you can hook the pole into, to avoid poking the paint