To Cover and Insulate the Attic Door

During our energy audit, Thom said that an attic door opening loses a lot of heat and the usual sealing and insulating methods don't address that. I said that Battic Door, the company that makes the fireplace damper pillow we bought, also makes an attic door cover (hence their name). He said the low cost made that worth trying.

Using the instructions at http://www.batticdoor.com/StairCover.htm, I measured the attic opening. I chose the cover with the reflective shield and insulation. It came within two days. Once assembled, it would be too big to get through the opening, so I took the pieces into the attic, folded the cardboard into a box, set the insulation into the reflective cover and then slid the box into the tight, shiny cover. I couldn't set it in place immediately, though, because the top of the cover, which is taller than I realized with the insulation added, was too tall on one side of the opening for the slanted beams.

I used a couple of other boxes to test how to easily make one end of the box fit the angle. The hammer method just made a hole. Making two cuts, refolding and using a lot of mailing tape did the trick. Now the cover fit under the slanted beams to seal the opening. I put the weatherstripping that came with it where the cover meets the wood around the opening. Before it was set in place, I could feel plenty of cold air coming down through the open door, but not anymore. I folded up the stairs and closed the door and it fit.

To put away some boxes, I lifted the cover to one side. The next time, my husband suggested I prop it up at an angle using a mop instead, which gave me more room to move boxes. We're pleased with the attic door cover and I highly recommend it.