While most homeowners might devote little thought to their crawl space doors on a day-to-day basis, choosing the right one for your home is essential. Crawl spaces are often at high risk of pest and moisture issues, and the crawl space door you choose to install will play an important role in providing protection from those risk factors.
With that in mind, here are some ideas for choosing your crawl space door:
Ensure the Right Materials Are in Use
When it comes to crawl space doors, one of the first things you must consider is material. Traditional crawl space doors are often made of wood, which isn’t necessarily the best choice for such an application; proximity to the ground can expose the door to serious moisture issues, causing long-term damage.
Instead, homeowners can now take advantage of PVC crawl space doors. The material is widely used in many applications and provides an excellent solution to the primary challenges that crawl space doors face; it doesn’t rot or rust and is resistant to attacks by rodents and other pests.
In addition, PVC provides the strength and longevity you’ll want from a crawl space access door, able to stand up to the elements at any temperature; ultimately, the best crawl space door ideas that make use of PVC rely on the material for the entire construction.
Focus on Ease of Use
It’s likely fair to assume that you aren’t entering your crawl space frequently, but still, choosing the right crawl space door can make a world of difference when the time to pay a visit arrives. Whether you need to investigate potential leaks, flooding, or pest activity or are simply trying to make use of some storage space, you need reliable access.
Many door designs can cause serious issues when left alone for extended periods of time, which means that whenever you do come back to access the crawl space, you might have to dismantle or even destroy the door just to get in.
With that said, you must ensure that you choose a quality door with an effective design tailored to durability and convenient access, and avoiding metal hinges and latches is one of the best ways to do so. Without exposed moving metal parts, there’s no need to worry about rust causing your door to seize up, and you can enjoy easy access to your crawl space for years to come.
Thankfully, you can find internal magnets for many modern PVC crawl space doors that serve as the latching mechanism.
Consider Quick and Easy Crawl Space Door Solutions
Of course, installation is also another important thing to consider when evaluating crawl space door ideas. You can find overlay crawl space doors that will easily fit a range of openings, greatly simplifying the process of measuring openings and installing a door with the proper fit.
Overlay doors provide an effective and lasting seal by overlapping the area around the opening. Instead of requiring a perfectly flush fit with the opening itself, the overlay door sits inside, while the overlay frame ensures that there are no gaps for moisture or pests to infiltrate.
With all that said, even though they are incredibly effective and convenient in the right situation, these doors aren’t for every home. If you don’t have the necessary clearance around the opening, or if the opening is flush with the ground, you’ll have to consider other options.
Chose a Custom Crawl Space Door
If your crawl space opening isn’t suitable for an overlay door, you can still enjoy easy access and reliable protection with custom crawl space doors. These are made of the same long-lasting PVC material as overlay doors, but they’re custom made to perfectly fit your home’s crawl space opening.
Custom crawl space doors are available partially or fully inset, which means that you can still have an attractive outer trim on the sides where space allows, similar to an overlay door. In other cases, the door can sit perfectly flush with the outer wall, making it possible to install a door for any opening while also providing some subtle style.
Find The Best Crawl Space Door for Your Home
Both custom and overlay crawl space doors can provide effective and lasting solutions that ensure easy access while keeping pests and the elements out. Find the perfect fit for your home’s door by browsing the complete collection of quality doors at Cathmer Crawlspace, or contact us today.