Replacing Your Crawl Space Door
If you are getting your crawl space encapsulation done by a professional crawl space encapsulation company, you may want to consider investing money on a great crawl space door.
A crawl space door is often overlooked during the encapsulation process, so we recommend you have a well-insulated, air sealed door with every crawl space encapsulation system.
Crawl space door systems
Installing a crawl space door can sometimes be an arduous task. One of the things you want to make sure of is that the wood framing of the door or the door itself is not touching the ground. You don’t want water running into your newly installed crawl space encapsulation system from the outside ground during a rain storm. We have seen many homeowners and crawl space repair professionals try to build a crawl space door threshold with wood.
Most of the time they use pressure treated wood. But we have found this type of install to be ineffective even if caulked properly because over time the water finds a way into the crawl space.
Crawl space door foundation
The best threshold for a crawl space door is always going to be a poured concrete threshold. We recommend the height of the crawlspace door threshold be a minimum of 6 inches above the ground, but 12 to 18 inches is better if possible. The problem with this could be that you already have a small difficult to enter crawl space access. Adding a taller threshold can make your current door even smaller.
If this happens you may want to consider making the door wider or taller, so you can access your crawl space more easily.
Crawl space door framing
Make sure when you build a great crawlspace door system that you put the proper framing into place before adding the door we always recommend using pressure treated wood to build the frame. You also want to make sure that you use great weather stripping and long-lasting caulk. This will air seal the door to keep as much humidity out of the crawl space as possible.
This will also make it difficult for bugs and critters to enter your crawl space especially if you properly attach the crawl space vapor barrier to the inside door frame.
Crawl space door installation
Our crawl space door installation is always a plastic style door that does not rot and is also paintable. You can use pressure treated plywood to build your own door. There are many ideas on how to build a crawl space door on the internet. Crawl space door diy (Do It Yourself) projects may take a minimum of 2 days if you need to pour a concrete threshold. The concrete must have time to cure before adding the framing.
Crawl space door insulation
Since most of our crawl spaces are insulated with a foam board we also use the same foam board on our crawl space door insulation. Insulated crawl space doors are vital to a crawl space encapsulation system.
Depending on your climate and your local building code the R-value of the crawl space door insulation can vary but make sure you choose something that is easy to install and won’t be a nest for bugs and small rodents.
Crawl Space Ninja for Your Crawl Space Door Replacement
So, when should you consider replacing your crawl space door? That’s easy whenever it looks bad or is rotting or is not well insulated and air sealed.
If you are investing money into fixing your crawl space through crawl space encapsulation we recommend you replace the crawl space door. This will ensure the crawl space encapsulation system is done properly and make your home look even nicer with a brand new insulated crawl space door system.
Schedule your consultation with the pro’s of Crawl Space Ninja to repair your ailing crawl space!
14 thoughts on “Crawl Space Door”
Do you sell custom crawl space doors?
I am sorry we do not.
Wow – now that’s a crawl space door!!
Thank you!
We are designing a custom home with a conditioned crawl space. We are also aiming for Passive House standards, so the house’s conditioned envelope goes from under the foundation all the way up to the roof. We are trying to figure out where to put the crawl space access that doesn’t break the conditioned envelope (I’m thinking access through garage or outside defeats the purpose of having it conditioned and part of the envelope). Thoughts or suggestions on this?
Hi Stephanie, thank you for contacting us. I apologize, I am not as well versed on the new construction green building standards as others in the field. We mainly deal with retrofit projects versus new construction and by the time we are involved, we are addressing flooding, mold and high humidity. From my point of view, outside access is more beneficial because of the indoor air quality issues we face and having to remove moldy materials via outside versus dragging through the home. From a building envelope point of view and assuming you never have an air quality issue in the crawl space I think interior access is a great option. Hope that helps and thanks again.
Great video. What was the material used in the video? Thanks
thank you, it is a marine grade plastic.
What kind of screws do you use in marine grade plastic that will not fall out? What thickness did you use for the HDPE?
Oh and great video! What wonderful work!
thank you
we use deck screws and the ones that come with the door.
Hello. I live in a low lying tidal area that is prone to flooding. My house was built in 1958 and has a two foot crawl space with a sand floor.
I would like to improve my crawl space drainage and have made a plan for an interior perimeter drain to sump basins and pumps. Then I would encapsulate and condition the air.
Prior to this work I want to install an exterior entrance to the crawl space. I am considering an egress type window well with a cover. (it would only need to be two feet deep). And install an access door cut through the cement block foundation. I have found quite a few type of plastic type flush mount doors. I am concerned that the doors I am finding would not have a water tight seal to handle the frequent flooding events we see. And when the crawl space is encapsulated; would water leakage through the door become an issue?
Do you have experience with this type of situation?
We don’t get a lot of flood plane issues in Knoxville but I have seen folks run a pipe from the ground inside the exterior window well into a sump pump inside the crawl space or outside in order to prevent all the exterior door water from entering through the door. I hope that helps. Here is a video we did with a door well but not the kind of flooding you are experiencing. https://youtu.be/r3jQW5zi8w0?feature=shared