Insulating Hollow Core Attic Door

Hollow core doors are not hollow they have an internal support structure usually cardboard glued between the panels.

Insulating hollow core attic door. 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. 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. Add fiberglass or rigid foam board to back of hatch. At the time my builder compromised with me and installed pretty decent weather stripping on these doors.

Add foam insulation sheet. So they re not drafty. 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. There is a hollow core door with a magnetic latch that allows access to this space.

Less susceptible to expansion and or contraction. 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. Exterior installations of these doors can lead to delamination and deterioration above and beyond the insulation issues. Since heavy mass is what blocks sound better than anything else using heavy sheets of vinyl will prevent noise from entering through the door.

The air in these attic closets is not conditioned. Often pre primed or painted for quicker installation. This works well if you re insulating an attic or storage space where the foam door won t be seen. Provide little in the way of.

Many door makers stipulate that interior grade hollow core doors be installed only in interior partition separation applications. Mass loaded vinyl can be installed inside of the door s core or on the inside of the door in the room. 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.

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. Cost less than solid wood doors. Your best bet is to order replacement doors for the door openings and select insula.

Lighter weight makes them easier to install. My thought is to attach a solid piece of 2 high density styrofoam insulation to these doors. Glue a 1 to 2 inch sheet of foam insulation to the back of the door. 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.

You can purchase pre cut attic door insulation material at your local home improvement store or online.