Insulated Attic Ladders

[diggler306]

Guys I've been thinking lately about what I'm going to do for attic access in the garage.

I've already framed a 22"x54" opening in blind anticipation of an attic ladder (I'm at the pre-drywall stage)...... BUT then I go on Home Depot's website and see that an insulated Fakro ladder is freaking $515.00.

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/att...lated-lwt-22-1-2x54-300-lbs-10-ft-1-in/864243

I'm a frugal person, but being in the Great White North I have to be mindful of heat loss, so an uninsulated hatch isn't going to fly. I'm also not giddy over paying $566 tax in for a ladder either.

Question: Has anyone bought an uninsulated one and insulated it themselves? Is that possible?

What about other genius ideas? Like maybe a hatch "hood" that would rest on the ceiling joists encapsulating the stairs, and would of course be insulated. Pull down the stairs and move it out of the way.

At this point I'm thinking it's maybe not so bad just using a step ladder with an insulated pop-up door hatch I can make myself.

Less Insulation: http://www.homedepot.ca/product/att...ted-lws-p-22-1-2x54-300-lbs-10-ft-9-in/864297

No Insulation: http://www.homedepot.ca/product/attic-ladder-wooden-basic-lwn-22-1-2x54-250-lbs-10-ft-1-in/864268

Thanks!

 

[toolmiser]

My neighbor has a pull down attic ladder and in addition to weatherstripping, he installed a layer of Styrofoam over the "garage" side of the cover. He then covered the insulation with Masonite (tempered hardboard) and made real thick trim to finish it out. It isn't real eye appealing, but he isn't building a church either. I've also seen online of companies that have a "bathtub shaped" unit of Styrofoam hinged in the inside of the attic that folds down. That would depend on the attic space you have.

 

[TLCObsession]

First off - air sealing is even more important than the insulation.

Just box the sides high with plywood. Then build a cover hatch out of multiple layers of 2" pink board. In use - pull the ladder down, walk up and lift the hatch cover off. I have probably built a dozen of these for clients over the years.

You can jazz it up with plywood and handles, door gaskets etc, window latches if you want it tight, but you get the idea. Make sure to air seal the gaps between the drywall and the stair unit, caulk both edges of the trim when you apply it.

 

[Tripp2012]

This is what we have in our house it zips open and closed and I think it's helped a lot.

http://www.atticladdersplus.com/att...addders.html?gclid=CMSf-9iakcECFUMF7AodGHQAhw

 

[Two Sheds]

I built a box to fit over the ladder in the attic out of 2 1/2 inch polyiso on a wooden frame, hinged on one end, and with a rope on the other end going to a pulley and a counterweight (actually an empty paint can partly filled with rusty bolts). Properly balanced, it was easy to push up out of the way. The tricky part is getting a good seal with the weatherstripping around the bottom edges. If I did it over, I might use thicker polyiso for more R's.

 

[tractordude]

Attach some insulation to a light piece of plywood or corrugated plastic, and slide it over the hole before you put the ladder up.

 

[AZ Pete]

Since you don't have dry wall up, why don't you construct a recess for your attic ladder so that it is mounted six inches or so into the attic when closed. Then use rigid insulation on the door as in your $566 example. The finished door would be flush with the ceiling. Also weather strip the door to make a good seal against loss of heat.

 

[diggler306]

First off - air sealing is even more important than the insulation.

Just box the sides high with plywood. Then build a cover hatch out of multiple layers of 2" pink board. In use - pull the ladder down, walk up and lift the hatch cover off. I have probably built a dozen of these for clients over the years.

You can jazz it up with plywood and handles, door gaskets etc, window latches if you want it tight, but you get the idea. Make sure to air seal the gaps between the drywall and the stair unit, caulk both edges of the trim when you apply it.

Yes, air seal is definitely important. Great suggestion, thanks!

This is what we have in our house it zips open and closed and I think it's helped a lot.

http://www.atticladdersplus.com/att...addders.html?gclid=CMSf-9iakcECFUMF7AodGHQAhw

I like that!

I built a box to fit over the ladder in the attic out of 2 1/2 inch polyiso on a wooden frame, hinged on one end, and with a rope on the other end going to a pulley and a counterweight (actually an empty paint can partly filled with rusty bolts). Properly balanced, it was easy to push up out of the way. The tricky part is getting a good seal with the weatherstripping around the bottom edges. If I did it over, I might use thicker polyiso for more R's.

I'll probably go this route, but less advanced (no pulley system) to begin with.

Thanks for the suggestions. Nice to hear how others have gone about it, and I can feel better about saving a few $$.

 

[Worsedog]

Something else to consider now that you aren't paying that exorbitant price, get a set of metal stairs. I have the Werner metal stairs and they feel a 100% less likely to fold up on me than the last wooden ones I had.

 

[y'sguy]

here's is what I installed in mine a couple of years ago. my favorite solution of all the attic ladders I've had. Easy to add an insulated door or box cover solution as other have suggested. Originally I felt it looked flimsy or not strong enough but it has worked great. decent price, compared to your 50+ version.

http://www.atticladdersplus.com/small-opening-attic-ladder/werner-televator-small-opening-attic-ladder-10.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwtb6hBRC_57Pvyfn66LsBEiQAtlFVu2eh51phgXKYWPNPl63bfjv0iX_SljMije5vuOE0U3AaAlEU8P8HAQ

 

[Jack90210]

First off - air sealing is even more important than the insulation.

Just box the sides high with plywood. Then build a cover hatch out of multiple layers of 2" pink board. In use - pull the ladder down, walk up and lift the hatch cover off. I have probably built a dozen of these for clients over the years.

You can jazz it up with plywood and handles, door gaskets etc, window latches if you want it tight, but you get the idea. Make sure to air seal the gaps between the drywall and the stair unit, caulk both edges of the trim when you apply it.

That's pretty much what I did, though I used regular FG insulation. And ditto on the air sealing. Made an enormous difference in how long the woodstove kept the house warm.

The only thing not obvious on the pics is that the board in the middle (that supports the insulation) is held in place by strips above AND below it, so that you can lift it directly (without pushing out the insulation). The height of that middle board is set by how much clearance you need for the stairs.

 

[Plump]

My stairs are just pushed up to the ceiling and secured with carabiners. The hatch/door is hardiboard with foam on the back with strips of foam and hardiboard around the opening to cut out air loss.

The hatch is cut into two sections so I could have it close to the side of the garage (out of the way of vehicles, etc). It bends open to close against the ceiling as well as to the knee-wall in the attic. Both sections then stay open with magnets on the back. Works great, 7 years in.

 

[diggler306]

Something else to consider now that you aren't paying that exorbitant price, get a set of metal stairs. I have the Werner metal stairs and they feel a 100% less likely to fold up on me than the last wooden ones I had.

I wholly agree. The only reason I was looking at the wood was because that's all that was available in the insulated version. I would much prefer metal.

That's pretty much what I did, though I used regular FG insulation. And ditto on the air sealing. Made an enormous difference in how long the woodstove kept the house warm.

The only thing not obvious on the pics is that the board in the middle (that supports the insulation) is held in place by strips above AND below it, so that you can lift it directly (without pushing out the insulation). The height of that middle board is set by how much clearance you need for the stairs.

My stairs are just pushed up to the ceiling and secured with carabiners. The hatch/door is hardiboard with foam on the back with strips of foam and hardiboard around the opening to cut out air loss.

The hatch is cut into two sections so I could have it close to the side of the garage (out of the way of vehicles, etc). It bends open to close against the ceiling as well as to the knee-wall in the attic. Both sections then stay open with magnets on the back. Works great, 7 years in.

Thanks for the visuals guys! Jack, that's near exact what I envision building. Do you have weather stripping along the bottom edge or sides at all to create the seal?

Probably go with something like this guy then and save a couple hundred: http://www.homedepot.ca/product/attic-ladder-metal-basic-owm-22x54-300-lbs-10-ft-1-in/867397

 

[ripperd]

What about other genius ideas? Like maybe a hatch "hood" that would rest on the ceiling joists encapsulating the stairs, and would of course be insulated. Pull down the stairs and move it out of the way.

That's exactly what I did. I used 2" white polystyrene and a harbor freight foam knife. Then put it all together with construction adhesive. I also put a softer foam seal around the bottom of it. It was quite cheap. You could probably double the thickness to double the R value. Basically pull the ladder down, see the big white box. Climb up ladder, push the box up and move it over, get up into storage area. Do the reverse when leaving.