How To Install a Crawl Space Access Door
I recently moved into a new house and realized that it had a huge crawl space underneath it. After inspecting it I realized that I would need to hire a company to help me to complete a crawl space encapsulation so that I didn't face any issues with damp and mold. However, the crawl space under the house was really difficult to access, so I needed to think of a plan for how the workmen were going to get in and out of the crawl space. I tried to think of some ways to create an access point and, in the end, I decided to install a crawlspace access door in the corner of my home office.
I documented the process, in case anyone finds themselves needing to do the same. Here's how to do it, in 4 steps.
Step One - Mark Out the Door
The first thing you’ll need to do is select where your door will be located and mark it out. Make sure that the door is located between two joists, and then mark the area to be cut as you see in this picture.
Step Two- Cut the Opening
Once you’ve marked out the square for your door, you’ll need to cut the opening. Cut through your carpet on three sides using, ensuring you don’t cut the carpet on the side where you will put the hinges. This way, your door will be hardly noticeable when it's closed. To cut the carpet, use a box knife. Once the carpet cutting is complete, you can begin cutting the wood. The wood can be cut on all four sides, as you’ll be reattaching with hinges at a later time. To cut the wood, you can use a circular saw.
Step 3 - Add the Hinges
Now that you have you’re opening, you can go ahead and install the hinges for the door. Install the hinges on the side with the uncut carpet, and ensure that the door has room to open and close properly.
Step 4 - Add the Finishing Touches
Once the door is in the right place and fully attached to the hinges, you can then go ahead and complete the finishing touches. The carpet flap that covers the door will need to be secured on the top of the door, so it doesn’t become a hassle when opening and closing. You can do this simply by gluing the carpet to the wood door. You may also want to add some sort of locking mechanism so that your crawlspace door can be secured properly at night.
So there you have it, a simple 4 step plan for installing your very own crawl space access door. If you have any sort of DIY knowledge, you should find that this project is fairly easy to complete, and it shouldn’t cost you more than $20 or so for the materials. I hope that you found my guide useful. Good Luck!
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
This is a great idea, however, I question why locking mechanisms would be placed on the underside of the door to lock it, when you would be outside of the door, inside the house if this is meant to be access to a crawl space?