If you are determined to actively use the attic space, most likely you will have to make a hatch into the attic. In villages in the past, this task was dealt with very simply - it was enough to use ladder, but for modern man such a dubious method can hardly be called suitable. Definitely, you will need a convenient access hole from inside the house, and not from outside, as was previously practiced. Available for sale ready-made solutions, but you will still have to install them yourself, and the dimensions of the structure may not work. This article will talk about how to make the roof of a house habitable.

Buy or make?

Ladder extension

Those who are planning to buy finished product, can use the instructions for installing it, which will also be given in this article, and those who want to make a convenient hatch to the attic with their own hands will be interested full information about the process, which we offer for reading. So here are a few important nuances that will be useful in your work:

• choose a location for the opening so as not to hit your head on rafter elements or the roof at the time of lifting up;
• an entrance to the roof of the house is not built under the floor beams;
• if the top floor is still not insulated, you will have to make thermal insulation;
• the opening definitely needs to be strengthened. Suitable for wooden structures wooden beams, and in concrete houses reinforcement is carried out with metal corners;
• it is necessary to provide free space under the hatch for retractable ladder.

If you make the hatch along with the ladder yourself, do not be lazy to carefully study all the stages of the process, then you will not encounter difficulties in the work, and it will not seem complicated to you.

Manufacturing stages

Before you make a hatch into the attic, you need to draw up drawings on which all the necessary measurements and parameters are noted: the thickness of the ceiling, the dimensions of the lid and the opening that you will cut. Please note that insulated rooms can be equipped with a regular cover, while cold rooms will require additional thermal insulation. It doesn’t matter how you draw up the diagram - by hand on paper or in a special computer program, the main thing is to take into account all the necessary dimensions. Once the diagram has been drawn up, you can proceed to the practical side of the issue, as well as prepare the tools for the work.

Cutting the opening

Cutting an opening for the attic

If a roof access hole was not provided during the construction of the house, you will have to cut it out yourself. Of course, if such a hole for installing the door already exists, this stage of work is skipped.

To begin with, markings are carried out with the expectation that the hole should be 5–6 cm larger than the dimensions of the hatch frame. In the future, the gap will help compensate for the thickness of the boards from which the frame will be made. The material from the sawn piece of the ceiling can be used for cladding the lid, of course, if it has a normal aesthetic appearance.

Assembling the opening frame

Assembling the opening frame for the attic

Here we will need boards with a thickness of 2 - 3 cm, this is the caliber that will make the base durable. The frame can be round or square. The second option requires that all corners be straight. Frame sizes of 60x120 cm can be considered standard, and these dimensions are suitable for the vast majority of homeowners. You are guided by personal preferences and the dimensions of the opening; you may want to enlarge the opening to the roof of the house, but we do not recommend making it smaller. After assembly, the frame is mounted on its seat into the ceiling opening.

Making a lid

Hatch with lid to the attic

As mentioned earlier, the most ordinary cover can be assembled from the cut out remains of the ceiling, which were formed as a result of cutting out the opening. The assembled door must be reinforced on the reverse side with a transverse strip. Then it needs to be secured in the selected place with loops located along the long or short side of the lid. Take a closer look at which side will be more convenient for you to open the door, and only then proceed to secure it to the frame. Also consider how the hatch leading to the roof of the house should open, inside or outside the room.

We do insulation and finishing

Attic insulation scheme

The issue with insulation, as we said earlier, will depend entirely on the degree of thermal insulation of the upper floor. An insulated floor can get by with a basic layer of insulation, but we advise you to pay attention to sound insulation. Naturally, a cold room needs a high-quality large-scale insulating coating. To do this you will have to lay a layer vapor barrier membrane and a layer of insulating material according to a standard scheme for such a process. On last stage Exterior finishing needs to be done.

As you already understood, this is how the simplest hatch leading to the roof of the house is installed. More complex solutions include a design with a retractable staircase. The installation process here is carried out according to a similar scheme with only some differences.

Complex designs

Installation of stairs for the attic

The hatch to the attic can be equipped with a stationary ladder. Here, too, work begins with cutting an opening. The further course of the process depends on which design you have chosen and in what order you will make it. Let’s say right away that the work of assembling and installing the hatch with the ladder in in this case will be somewhat more complicated than in the option discussed above. Be sure to ensure that all sizes of interacting elements match:

• retractable ladder;
• doors;
• opening;
• thickness of the ceiling.

You can measure all these parameters yourself or remove them from a purchased product if you do not make it yourself. In this case, the cover must have a space that will accommodate the longest part of the retractable ladder in the assembled position.

Also remember that the weight of the ladder must be adequately supported by the lid, otherwise breakage and, in the worst case, injury cannot be avoided. We must not forget about the reliable latch, which will firmly hold the structure in the frame of the ceiling opening.

All the processes that we mentioned are presented schematically, but if you decide to build an attic hatch yourself, you do not need more detailed information, because you most likely have certain skills, but general recommendations illustrations won't hurt anyone. Anyone who buys a ready-made hatch for access to the roof of a house can use the installation instructions, which are necessarily included with the product.

For the manufacture of hatches they use steel profile. The metal thickness is at least 1.5 mm. The hatch cavity is filling non-flammable material. Most often it is mineral or basalt slab. In normal times, high-quality filler helps keep the room warm.

The door closer is not included in the standard package. The handles on the hatches are push-button, the hinges are steel.

The dimensions of the hatch are at least 0.6 by 0.8 m. Fire hatches, as a rule, are rarely used for their intended purpose, so the design should be extremely simple, open from the inside without a key and not require constant maintenance, so that the hatch does not fail at the right time . The surface of the product is covered paint and varnish material or polymer powder coating to prevent rust.

There is no GOST for hatches, but there is a GOST that establishes a methodology for testing fire-resistant structures. Products that have passed the test have a confirmed fire resistance limit (from 30 to 120 minutes).

Using a hatch with access to the roof

The hatch must be sealed so that the roof does not leak. For this purpose it will be equipped rubber seal along the perimeter. A drainage design is also used, which will prevent precipitation from flowing between the frame and the opening. The hatch flap is locked with a mortise locking device. Fire hatches on the roof can be equipped with electric or electromechanical locks and can be opened from a control panel.

Features of fire hatches:

• Serve as a barrier to the spread of fire and smoke, allowing people to evacuate to the roof
• Differ from fire doors in size and installation location

Hatches must also provide the ability to:

• Roof repair
• Clearing the roof of snow

Fire-resistant hatches from STROYSTALINVEST

Fire-resistant hatches from the STROYSTALINVEST company are made from steel sheets 1.5 mm thick. The box is bent into a profile; two sheets of bent section are used to make the canvas. The sash is attached to the frame with hinges on bearings with a diameter of 20 mm. A NEMEF fireproof lock is installed. A filler (basalt slab) is placed in the hatch cavity. The hatches are equipped with thermally expanding tape and an anti-smoke seal. The tape will foam under the influence of fire and fill the cracks. You can buy hatches at the manufacturer’s price on the company’s website.

The roof of every home should be serviced and inspected from time to time. For this purpose, residential buildings are equipped with a hatch, through which you can get onto the roof of the house. This hatch is required for all houses, except one-story ones, the area of ​​which does not exceed 100 sq.m.

Roof hatch

There are many elements that need maintenance: such as a chimney, television antennas, ventilation outlets, etc. Maintenance often cannot be done from the inside, so you need a convenient and safe exit leading to the roof.

Another purpose is fire safety, since through the hatch you can not only leave the attic, but also remove smoke.

The hatch leading to the roof of the house is installed taking into account the pitch of the rafters, since the box will be attached directly to them. The gap between the adjacent rafter and the hatch frame trim should be 7 mm.

Hatch to the roof of a house

In the case where the distance between the rafters exceeds the size of the hatch box, an additional frame is installed.

The design of the hatch usually has the shape of a square: its side is 120 cm or 45 cm, and the larger the roof area, the greater the possible number of hatches.

Sequence of actions when installing a hatch

1. The first step is to make an open opening leading to the roof and cut off the roofing material: the opening is cut out, supported by nails driven into the corners of this opening.
2. The hatch frame is constructed next. This will require wooden beams having a cross-section of 5 x 10 cm - they are nailed to the former location of the beams. Two jambs are nailed to the ceiling from the inside in order to support the weight of the beams.
3. When installing a hatch, care must be taken to ensure ventilation. To do this, detainers or reflectors made of plywood are installed near the roof slope to redirect air flows away from the insulating material.
4. The last stage is installing the hatch. Its frame is secured to the frame with nails or screws. During installation, for obvious reasons, it is necessary to seal the joints: this can be done by using a sealant.

Types of roof hatches

Today, there are many types of hatches that combine the features of visual appeal and functionality. A hatch is not always a simple cover with a ladder attached to it: in most cases, it does no harm appearance roofs, does not disturb interior space Houses. Let's consider several types of roof hatches: hatch-window, operational, wooden.

Hatch window

Mainly installed on attic spaces where there are no heating systems. Such a hatch allows you to provide access to the surface and roof, as well as create natural lighting in the attic.

Hatch window to the roof

Frames can be made of wood, aluminum or polyurethane. Ease of installation is also an advantage. The disadvantages include the lack of the possibility of attaching a ladder: only an extension is used.

Service hatch

The design is a box with a blind lid. Often the box is equipped with a metal ladder. Such hatches are usually equipped in high-rise or industrial buildings. The hatch is supplied assembled, and installation does not take large quantity time.

The service hatch may look like this

An advantage is the ability to operate atypical hatch shapes and sizes. Metal box galvanized, painted and thermally insulated.

However, the service hatch is not decorative even if the usual cover is replaced with a translucent one.

Wooden hatch

A wooden hatch with a folding ladder is usually used in private homes. The difference in the design is the presence of a folding ladder attached to a wooden hatch.

Attic hatch in a private house

Using a folding ladder you can quickly get to the roof. When folded, the hatch looks like simple cover made of wood. To avoid the occurrence of fungus, the tree must be treated with protective agents.

• Any roof, no matter what its design, requires periodic inspection and maintenance. Extremely important in this aspect is the ability to have safe access to systems located on the roof, be it antennas, air conditioners or lightning rods and de-icers. Therefore, a special access to it, for example, a roof hatch, is considered a mandatory additional element of the roof.
  

  A mandatory additional element of the roof is a special exit to it - a roof hatch.
  It should be noted that the maximum roof area, according to SNiP, for which it is not necessary to have an exit to the roof, is 100 m2.

  Traditional methods of organizing access to the roof

  You can go onto the roof in different ways, in particular, using:

  • vertical external stairs;
  • sliding stairs;
  • stems mounted to the wall;
  • roof ladders.

  Types of stairs

  Ladder

  This is perhaps the easiest option to get onto the roof. It is placed in a perpendicular position to the horizon along external wall. Since it is often installed on outdoors, the surface of the steps must ensure safety when lifting people. They are made of corrugated steel or reinforcement with a crescent-shaped protrusion, and are necessarily coated with an anti-corrosion compound.

  Children are prohibited from climbing the stepladder, so the bottom of the structure must be 1 m above the ground, according to the standards.

  To access the roof, by analogy with a stepladder, you can use a roof ladder - the only difference is that the latter is located on the roof surface. These can be single steps, or a single structure consisting of several steps.

  External staircase

  In the case of a flat roof, it is more convenient to replace the stepladder with one securely attached to the walls of the building. Structural elements can be made of steel: corrugated, stainless or polished, or wood from ash, oak or beech. All of them must be treated with antiseptics and anticorrosives. For additional safety, railings are installed.

  The presence of metal fire escapes is mandatory for buildings with more than two floors.

  The issue is resolved somewhat differently if access to the roof must be provided from the interior.

  Folding ladder

  You can use such a ladder if the roof hatch has an internal cover that practically hides the structure of the stairs. Typically its thickness is up to 66 mm, including a dense layer of thermal insulation. Preference should be given to sectional rather than accordion-like scissor staircases, as they are safer to climb and descend.

  It is interesting that roof technical hatches with an internal cover can also connect rooms with different temperatures, that is, residential and non-residential.

  In a residential attic, a dormer window is quite suitable for access to the roof.

  Roof hatches: distinctive features

  

  In residential multi-storey buildings the roof is accessed through a hatch, usually located above landing the last one. This option can be considered universal, since it is equally good for both pitched and flat roofs.

  In pitched roofs, the attic exit is usually a booth or canopy equipped with side walls.

  Exit to pitched roof satisfied, based on the installation step rafter legs, since it is to them that the hatch box is attached. Between the nearest rafter and the hatch trim, as required by SNiP, approximately 7 mm should be maintained. If the distance between the rafters is greater than the dimensions of the hatch, an additional frame is made from wooden blocks. The design of roof hatches traditionally has a square shape with a side of 120 or 45 cm, and the number depends on the roof area.

  Primers and paints are applied to the surface of the lid. Naturally, it should not stand out against the background of the roofing carpet, so the main roofing material is laid on the roof. It is also possible to make it from translucent material.

  May differ in roof design:

  • work up or to the side,
  • shock-absorbing cylinders are used to secure it in the open position,
  • The security of residents is ensured by the locks usually included in the package,
  • The safety issue can be solved using a metal grille with a shutter.

  In heated rooms, passages to the roof must be insulated, but in non-residential attics you can get by with simple ones.

  The number of hatches is also regulated by the requirements of SNiP for fire safety. The optimal location is considered to be near the chimney pipe, since there is no need for a device additional ladders necessary for chimney maintenance.

  Advantages

  • They are attractive in appearance and complement or continue the design of the room.
  • Properly installed, they prevent leakage from precipitation and reduce street noise as much as possible.
  • Convenient to use - they can be opened 95˚ or more, to the right or left.
  • The gas shock absorber prevents the lid from accidentally closing. If the hatch flaps are opened to 25⁰, additional access to fresh air can be provided.
  • Can serve as an emergency exit.
  • The locking system eliminates the possibility of unwanted “guests” entering the attic space.
  • The lightness is approximately the same as that of ceiling cladding of the same area.
  • Easy to install and adaptable to all types of roofing materials.

  Features of hatches for some types of roofs

  For flat roof

  One of the most common options is the Huopa roof hatch. Thanks to its device, you can easily get into the under-roof space. The kit includes a cover and frame with flange. The tightness of the installation is ensured by the presence of double grooves. Bituminous adhesive is applied to the flashing flange, after which it is glued between layers roofing material. There is a hole in the lower surface of the flashing through which possible condensate can be drained through a special groove.

What is a sunroof on the roof of a house? In residential high-rise buildings, a hatch is made on the roof for exit, which is often located above the landing. This design can be considered universal, because it is suitable for both pitched and flat roofs.

A hatch on a pitched roof looks like a booth or canopy that has side walls. Exit to pitched roof arranged, taking as a basis the installation step of the rafter legs, because it is to them that the hatch box will be attached.

The design of roof hatches has a square shape, the side of which is 120 or 45 cm, and the number will depend on the area of ​​the roof.

What is the hatch for?

The roof of any home needs to be maintained and inspected from time to time. This can be done using a practical hatch to access the roof surface, to which a ladder leads. This design should be available in any home.

This design It is not only operational, it is often at the same time also fireproof, in some cases it can be used to illuminate the attic. You can do several of them.

So why do you need a roof hatch? The roof contains structures such as chimney pipes, various lighting items, and ventilation system outlets that require mandatory maintenance and periodic repairs. It is also necessary to monitor the roof covering, which deteriorates over time. Such work cannot be performed indoors, so you will need a comfortable and safe exit to the roof. Another important purpose of such hatches is protection from fire hazards. Hatches on the roof of a house can serve not only as a safe exit from the premises, but also serve as a smoke removal function. For attics, such elements have long existed as practical and attractive windows. You can do them as much as you like. It all depends on the exterior aesthetics of the house.

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What types of hatches are there for the roof of a house?

Today, access to the roof of a house can be very diverse. It may not only look like a blank lid to which a staircase leads.

The design can be quite attractive and functional, which will not only not spoil the roof covering, but, on the contrary, decorate it.

The following types of hatches exist:

1. Luke-window. This design is very convenient for unheated premises. This type hatch can be used when it is necessary to provide technological access to the roof. At the same time, natural lighting is provided. Frames can be made of polyurethane, aluminum or wood, the window opens outward and has reinforced glass. Advantages: easy installation, possibility natural light indoors, windows are often placed for ventilation. Disadvantages - the ladder cannot be secured.
2. Operation hatch. It looks like a box with a blank lid, which often has a lightweight metal ladder. This design is used for high-rise and industrial buildings that have flat roof. Often, ordinary metal is used to make these models; their installation does not take much time: they are installed in assembled form. The advantages of such hatches are that you can use unusual shapes and sizes, there is galvanization and a layer of paint, and thermal insulation. Disadvantages - these hatches rarely have decorative look, even when the lid is not made solid, but with a translucent coating.
3. Hatches made of wood with special folding ladders. This type of hatches is used for small private houses. This is an insulated hatch made of wood, to which a comfortable folding ladder is attached inside. At open exit to the roof, you can climb this ladder quickly and easily. When the roof hatch is folded, it looks like an ordinary wooden cover, which in no way spoils the interior of any residential building. Advantages: ease of use and access through the roof hatch, easy installation, aesthetics. Disadvantages - it requires coating the outer wood surface with protective agents.
4. Dormer windows. Such hatches illuminate the room well and are conveniently ventilated. Windows are often an element of the interior; they decorate the attic and roof. Disadvantages: high price, difficult installation.