'Emergency' project

[Cochese]

As I was about to mow the lawn on Tuesday, the crawlspace door fell apart in my hands. I was going to replace it this fall along with my shop doors, after the workbench was done. Turns out I was intended to replace it sooner.

Took some leftover SYP from my bench project (which seems to bend if you look at it) and processed it through the jointer, planer and table saw again for the frame. Picked up some 4" OC plywood siding for the panel. Project took about three hours or so, but felt a lot longer because I postponed lunch. Also, some of that time was spent trying to incorporate my new mortiser to make the grooves, but that didn't turn out so well. 3/8" dado in the table made short work of it. Tried to use pocket screws to speed things up, but they didn't hold in the pine.

Turned out okay. Will be caulking, priming and painting as soon as possible. The opening isn't perfect, which is why there is gaps. Weatherstripping will take care of that.

[dbhost]

Okay, please forgive my ignorance. But what that door is on appears to me to be a basement opening... I thought a crawl space was the space on the inside of a knee wall to a roof...

[JSUPreston]

Okay, please forgive my ignorance. But what that door is on appears to me to be a basement opening... I thought a crawl space was the space on the inside of a knee wall to a roof...

Here in Alabama, if you are on a traditional foundation (not a slab), and you don't have enough room to stand up under the house, but can crawl under it, it seems to be called a "crawl space."

I need to do the same thing for a couple of my openings. Heck, one of the openings still has bricks piled in front of/in it from when that addition was put on back in '05. I've been a little lazy in that regard.

[newbie2wood]

If the wood is not pressure treated, you should consider using a water repellent / preservative.

[vaking]

My crawl space has doors that are 22" high. The code requires that opening to be a minimum of 22"x36" and mine exactly match code. Add to that the main opening is under the deck, so I have to get my knee pads every time I need to get there. Your crawl space looks like a palace compared to mine.

[dbhost]

Ah, got it now... I am used to slab on grade construction, or pier and beam... Pier and Beam would come closest to that description of a crawl space then, but who would want to go in that space if you didn't have to?

[jdon]

I can identify with the "dead ends" in the project- mortiser, pocket screws. I rationalize my inefficiencies and frequent overkill as contributions to my overall fund of knowledge for future projects. Anyway, it's the journey, not the destination, isn't it ("why do you build it when it's cheaper to buy it")?

BTW, I envy your having outside access to your crawl space. My access is through a trap door in the space beneath the stairs going to 2nd floor- cumbersome and totally useless for any storage.

[Cochese]

Here in Alabama, if you are on a traditional foundation (not a slab), and you don't have enough room to stand up under the house, but can crawl under it, it seems to be called a "crawl space."

I need to do the same thing for a couple of my openings. Heck, one of the openings still has bricks piled in front of/in it from when that addition was put on back in '05. I've been a little lazy in that regard.

This is where I get my definition as well. It's a cinder block foundation, at least for most of it.

As I said, I will be hitting it with some Kilz, perhaps a couple of coats, before I put the paint on. I don't think I will have too many issues.

What you see here is the highest part, and it's only about a 1/4 of the floor plan at that height. The earth slopes up and you literally have to crawl to get anywhere beyond about a 12x10 section. Our furnace and water heater is in this space as well, so I'm loathe to store any paint down there. Just some sporting equipment, seasonal stuff in tubs, and the mower - for now.

And if you don't like spiders, stay away.

[Cochese]

Found it interesting that after I had primed and painted it, it had swelled slightly from being in direct sunlight and didn't fit as well.

Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2

[Cochese]

All done.

[Eric]

Looks real good Cochese. Not sure about having the screws to the hinges outside, but you gotta do what ya gotta do.