About that vapour barrier. Whether or not it’s commonly needed/used (we’re in downstate NY, a far cry from California), is it safe to assume that something like this would be worth the eight bucks solely for its insulative value between the boards and the concrete (or at the least do no harm)? I’d still be able to caulk along all the seams as well.
Alternatively, FluffyBob’s approach to using construction adhesive, bare pressure treated boards and nails/screws into the concrete seems to avoid rot from moisture build up behind the vapour barrier, but that seems to apply to untreated wood. Plus it assumes that I glue it correctly the first time (i.e. get the glue to fill in the voids). Are there other advantages to using an adhesive? I know glue-n-screwed joints on cabinetry work are better than either alone, but does that apply to shooting nails through the wood into concrete?
Oh, I’m going with pressure treated wood because somewhere long ago I was told to. I used to do a lot of volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, and the ‘real’ contractors who were volunteering and leading the job site had a tremendous authoritative impact—when they said to do something a certain way, it stuck. This may just have been the way they did it, and they may have intended it to be limited to a particular application, but it set my baseline: Wood structures on a basement wall (particularly one where some of the wood will be more or less exposed to the outside air and humidity) should be made of pressure treated lumber. Always open to learning though.
To check that I understand the approach to making up the height—if I need to create the depth of three (or four) stacked boards, I nail the first full board to the very top; then create three 1" to 2" wide spacers from the same board; nail those spacers to the top board; nail the next board to the spacers; and finally, fill the gaps with insulation.
Oh, and I’m going with an entry door instead of new Bilcos mainly because I think I can do this for around $200–250 total. New Bilco doors seem to start off around $300, plus whatever hardware kits they need, rejiggering the alarm, etc. Also, I’ve done a lot of kludges over the years (here’s the makeshift door I made to cover the opening) and though they work well, taping the gaps every year would fall into the area of ‘too much repeated effort for too little protection’. Lots of other projects have been crossed off the list; this one’s time has come to be done right.
Could that be why there’s no freakin’ door there in the first place? That if I were a contractor and a CO was on the line, I’d have to build out a few feet from the opening and end it with a door?
Sure, the main advantage of the Bilco doors, in the general case, is that they sit completely above ground level. Here it looks like you’re installing a cheap-o pre-hung door below ground level and that may be looking for mischief. Even with using pressure treated lumber for the framing members and a decent grade of T1-11 for the exposed outside, the casing and trim will be subject to rot if that’s a problem in your particular climate. I’m a commercial carpenter by trade in Western Oregon where shedding water down and away from anything made of wood is of critical importance.
I would ask the other posters their opinion of leaving the bottom plate whole, and setting the door casing on top of it (if there’s room below the mud sill). It would present a “tripping hazard” but the extra 1-1/2" above the floor might preserve the door by some years. I believe the OP stated that this door would only be used very rarely.
Sorry, didn’t mean to confuse—the Billco doors are drafty as all get-out, but there’s no reason to remove them—and lots of reasons to keep them. They’re at the top of the stairwell, keeping it free of rain, snow, meteors and hobos. They’re locked and alarmed; if it weren’t for pre-drilled holes, the new door wouldn’t even need a lockset/deadbolt.
But they let in spiders, mice and alternating horribly cold and thickly humid hot air. Spiders we can live with, but we need to do something about the unconditioned air and ill-mannered mice (three cats and we *still *have mice?!).
The new door is going at the bottom of the stairwell. We can go inexpensive on it because it won’t be directly exposed to sun, wind, rain or snow, and it won’t be visible from the outside (save the .25 times a year we use it). It just needs to block the incoming air and unwanted critters—because it’ll be protected by the Bilco doors.
I’d expect the main reason there is no door there in the first place because the builder wasn’t going to add that expense.
My understanding of the building code is you can’t have a door within 4 feet of a bottom step, there is supposed to be a landing. In theory you’re installing an exterior door so it should be opening out, their is no room for it to do so.
Your project is one I see done all the time on existing homes but never on new construction. I put in something similar on my fathers house. I’d likely do the same if I had a bulkhead on my own home.
Sorry, somehow thought you were getting rid of the Bilcos. I have the same thing, bulkhead over steps, a door at the bottom of the stairs, no landing. Originally everything leaked, under the bulkhead seat, around the stairs, it was a mess and I thought I’d redo everything. But I got everything sealed up and the ground properly graded to route water away, and now it’s just fine. I just put a lock on the bulkhead, right now I have to throw the deadbolt from underneath.
There are doors that seal. Clam Doorsare a single piece flip up door that seals. They probably have gas pistons to make them easy to open. If I end up replacing the split bulkhead I’d rather have something like that.
Those are beautiful! At about $1500, I’d hope the also come with the rest of the sensory deprivation tank or some sort of science-fictiony gizmo to match their look. Or maybe they come with a white, fluffy cat and an ominous swivel chair to sit in while Bond sneaks in through the doors. A voice-activated opening mechanism that responds to “open the pod bay doors HAL”?
I’d originally been hoping for some sort of moulded or relief cover that sits over the doors until I needed them, but given their steel construction and somewhat related to the vapour barrier discussion above, I get why they can’t be air-tight.
I also now get the expectation of a landing. As it is, the door will be all but flush with the bottom riser; kind of awkward to use as a regular door. The only saving grace about it is that the only time we’ve ever used that door in ten years is to bring in/out a couple heavy basement-located items. Redoing it if we ever finish the basement will be a small part of the overall finishing. Until then, I just want to keep the cold air out.
