Insulating Hollow Core Attic Door

The access door is in our closet which is fine except the fact that the crawl space has very little insulation and neither does the door.

Insulating hollow core attic door.

There is a hollow core door with a magnetic latch that allows access to this space. But on very cold days the doors feel cold to the touch. My thought is to attach a solid piece of 2 high density styrofoam insulation to these doors. Provide little in the way of.

Hollow core doors are not hollow they have an internal support structure usually cardboard glued between the panels. Since heavy mass is what blocks sound better than anything else using heavy sheets of vinyl will prevent noise from entering through the door. Exterior installations of these doors can lead to delamination and deterioration above and beyond the insulation issues. Even a new solid core door is not as expensive as four or five cans of insulating foam and the time and effort you would spend insulating it.

Glue a 1 to 2 inch sheet of foam insulation to the back of the door. In the closet of an upstairs bedroom there is a door about 3 4 the size of a normal door that leads to an unheated attic space. Mass loaded vinyl can be installed inside of the door s core or on the inside of the door in the room. The air in these attic closets is not conditioned.

Add foam insulation sheet. As you can see using the flame test the door is a little crooked which leaves a gap at the top and the bottom which allows cold air to flow into our closet. The previous owner had stapled batt insulation to the back of this hollow core door but it s clearly not enough and the magnetic latch is pretty pathetic at holding the door tightly sealed. Luan plywood doors are certainly impossible to fill with spray foam the veneer is only an eighth of an inch thick or so even the styles of the door are very thin and wouldn t resist the force of the expanding foam.

Often pre primed or painted for quicker installation. Most doors especially those with a hollow core dampen sound without blocking it. So they re not drafty. Cost less than solid wood doors.

You can purchase pre cut attic door insulation material at your local home improvement store or online. Add fiberglass or rigid foam board to back of hatch. Replace your hollow core door with a solid core door. After you have replaced the weatherstripping you ll want to cut a piece of fiberglass or rigid foam board to size and nail or glue it on the back of the hatch door.

Less susceptible to expansion and or contraction. Your best bet is to order replacement doors for the door openings and select insula. Lighter weight makes them easier to install. It gets pretty chilly in that closet during the winter months since the door is a simple hollow core wooden door that does very little to keep out the cold air in the attic.

The makeup of a hollow core door is significantly different with a honeycomb cardboard interior encased by fiberboard or veneer compared with the all wood composition of a solid wood door.