2 DIY Exterior Crawl Space Door Plans That You Can Make Today (with Pictures)
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Kristin Hitchcock
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While often overlooked, your crawl space door is vital for your home. If you don’t perform the proper maintenance and regular replacement of your crawl space door, you may end up with water damage, bugs, and rodents. Therefore, you must regularly replace your crawl space door whenever necessary.
However, replacing these doors is expensive. Therefore, you may want to use a DIY plan when replacing the door. Luckily, building a door isn’t difficult, but it will require a bit of forethought.
We’ve listed a couple of plans below so that you can choose the best option for your crawl space:
The Top 2 DIY Exterior Crawl Space Door Plans
1. Adjustable Crawl Space Access Door by DoItYourself.com
| Material: | Some door material of your choosing, hinges, finishes (if desired) |
| Difficulty: | Low |
| Adjustability: | High |
If you need a door that will fit any crawl space, we recommend this guide from DoItYourself.com. It explains how to measure your door properly, build a door, install the hinges, and finish the surface. You can use the guide to build a basic door or a stronger door with a more aesthetically pleasing design. Either way, it works well for spaces of all sizes and shapes.
The directions aren’t specific since the door is adjustable. However, it can work very well for crawl spaces of all sizes.
2. DIY Crawl Space Barn Door by The Cofran Home
| Material: | Plywood, other types of wood, paint, metal, and various aluminum pieces |
| Difficulty: | High |
| Adjustability: | Low |
If you’re looking for something a bit different, you may want to consider this crawl space door. According to this plan from The Cofran Home, it was designed primarily for indoor use. However, you can adjust it for outdoor use, as well. You have to make some adjustments to the material since the wood specified isn’t suitable for outdoor use.
Because of these adjustments, we recommend this plan for advanced DIYers only. It can be hard to know which modifications to make unless you have DIYed in the past.
If your crawl space entrance is a different size, you’ll have to do a lot of math to adjust this door. Some doors may be too heavy for this design to work at all.
For this reason, this door likely isn’t the best option for all homes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Kind of Wood Should I Use for a Crawl Space Door?
You can’t just use any wood for an external crawl space door. Because the door is functional, it is vital that it can withstand quite a bit of use and force. You don’t want to build a door only to have it break after a few months.
Plus, external doors must withstand the wind and rain. Therefore, the wood has to be weatherproofed and durable. Pressure-treated wood is the best to use on your crawl space door.
What Can I Use for a Crawl Space Door?
Typically, most crawl space doors are made using pressure-treated wood. We highly recommend carefully choosing a wood that can be utilized outside without rotting or getting eaten by bugs.
However, some crawl space doors are made of metal. Of course, metal often lasts longer, but it can be harder to work with. Plus, if the metal isn’t cared for well, it can rust. Therefore, metal isn’t necessarily the better option for all crawl space doors.
Should I Insulate a Crawl Space Door?
An insulated door will keep your house at the correct temperature and reduce energy costs. However, you don’t need to insulate all crawl space doors. If your home’s crawl space isn’t insulated for one reason or another, your crawl space door may not need to be insulated, either.
Typically, this is considered an “extra” step. However, it can help reduce your energy costs. Therefore, we recommend attempting to insulate your crawl space door when possible. It may take a little bit more work, but it is worth it in the end.
What is the Standard Size for a Crawl Space Door?
To ensure that the crawl space is accessible to most people, the door needs to be at least 18×24 inches. However, you’ll need to measure your crawl space to ensure you have the proper measurements.
Conclusion
Building a crawl space door isn’t difficult. However, the materials you use are vital. You don’t want to use wood that will decay or rot after only a year or two. For that reason, take time to choose your materials so that you don’t have to make a new door every few months.
We’ve listed two plans above to help you construct a crawl space door. Luckily, building a door isn’t very difficult in the least.
Featured Image Credit: Kaitlyn Wiggins, Pinterest
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