Draught Proofing and Insulating The Loft Hatch Trap Door

After having the loft fully insulated (see my previous post on the subject) it was time to address the problem of a poorly fitting loft hatch trap door. For a temporary measure I had put tape over the gap around the door to prevent the draught but of course condensation droplets formed on the tape where the cold air from the loft hit the tape.

Picture of the old loft trap door.

I thought the best solution was to cover the whole entry with a removable lid so set about making a surrounding frame up.

Showing the first tongue and groove board being glued in position on the frame.

Completed and painted cover looking from the loft side.

When painting the undercoat I added some Thermilate to the paint to improve the insulation of the cover. As can be seen from the picture below adding thermilate gives a slightly rough finish but one coat of gloss covers this completely. The trough is the tongue & groove joint so it gives a bit of scale to the finish.

I wonder if this could be used on the battening of a narrowboat before adding the wooden cladding to stop the often seen line of condensation. It could even be painted on the cladding if you have the time and patience. For more info on this thermilate go to http://www.thermilate.com/

          I have added this to the ceiling of a bow window that always went black and it cured it completely.

For added insulation I fitted carpet tile to the inside of the cover.

To fit the cover to the ceiling I drilled the 4 holes as can be seen which slide over the 4 bolts screwed into position around the hatch entry.

Detail of the bolt.

Bolt screwed into position.

As well adding draught proofing tape around the joint where the cover meets the ceiling I added it to the washers to give better insulation to the metal.

And here you can see the cover held in place by butterfly nuts..

      Note to Geoff in Wanaka....Mr Goldsmith our old wood working teacher would have been proud :)