Benefits of adding an Attic Hatch Cover to your attic

Even if your attic is fully insulated, air still can escape through the gaps and cracks between the attic door and the downstairs living area. Attic hatch pull-down stairs are necessary to access your attic, however, they can cause a lot of air leakage to flow through when closed. The air that you paid to either heat or cool in your living area then gets sucked up into your attic and the unwanted attic air makes its way through your home. In addition to these problems, your pull-down stairs are a big area in your ceiling that is not insulated - and your attic can be 30ËšF in the winter and a blazing 130ËšF in the summer!

How does one resolve this issue? Answer: installing an attic hatch cover.

What is an attic hatch cover?

An attic hatch cover can come either as a zip-up cover or a removable board that tightly covers the space between your attic door and its frame. The attic hatch cover is installed to reduce airflow between your attic and the downstairs living area due to its tight seal around your attic door. 

How do I tell if I need an attic hatch cover?

The first sign to tell if you need an attic hatch door is by inspecting the area around your attic door and its frame. If you discover small gaps and cracks between the door when it is shut and the frame of the door, the air is definitely flowing through this area which you do not want.  If you can’t detect any cracks for yourself, another common sign that there is airflow between your attic and your downstairs area is if you feel the room(s) near your attic are slightly colder or warmer than the rest of your house. You may also notice that when you pass the door to your attic that it is warmer or cooler than the rest of your home. These are two other very telling signs that airflow is sneaking through the gaps and cracks around your attic door. An attic hatch cover will help prevent such unwanted air from leaking into your home. 

What types of attic hatch covers are there and how do I install them?

Attic hatch covers come in two different styles. A zip-up cover is permanently attached around the frame of your attic door which allows you to zip and unzip the cover when entering and exiting the attic space. 

The other attic hatch style comes as a light, removable board that fits over the attic door frame. Dr. Energy Saver’s own David Lewis Attic Hatch Cover ™  (named for our engineer who developed it) rests right over your pull-down stairs. It stops air leakage and insulates over the stairs. Made of lightweight SilverGlo™ foam insulation, you just lift it aside to go up into your attic, and set it back in place when you leave. You don’t see anything from the finished area of your home. SilverGlo™ foam insulation has graphite infused into the foam which bumps up the insulation value by 24% over standard EPS foam. It also has a radiant barrier (foil) on the flat lid to reflect heat back in during winter and out in the summer, so the insulation isn’t doing all the work by itself.

When properly installed, an attic hatch cover will keep that unwanted warm or cold air from your attic up there. This also means the air you’re either paying to cool or heat in your home will stay in your living area and not travel up to your attic as easily as before. 

Dr. Energy Saver dealers offer our exclusive David Lewis Attic Hatch Cover ™ to its customers. To learn how to install our attic hatch cover, click here.