Cutting An Opening To Fit An Attic Ladder

Covers how to select a location find studs measure and cut a hole install tr.

Cutting an opening to fit an attic ladder.

If the attic access hole is being cut for an attic ladder check the width of your ceiling joists. If the joists are installed at 16 inches on center you will need to cut one joist and attach a. If the ceiling joists have to modified in order to make it fit properly. Now that you ve cut your joists it s time to frame the new opening.

Just mark the cut point on both sides of the ladder square it up with your speed square and use a hacksaw or reciprocating saw to cut the excess off. You potentially compromise too many of the rafter cross ties by doing that. Mark the sides based on your measurement and the table provided. Figure 1 shows the floor or ceiling joists after the access hole has been cut to install a new flight of stairs or provide an attic access.

In part 5 of this series using werner s instructions to install the easy access attic ladder we looked at cutting ceiling joists. Werner provides a table telling you how much to cut off each side based on your measurement. Measure and mark the opening. Wear safety glasses a dust mask and work gloves before you begin cutting your rough opening.

Click here to purchase the easy access attic ladder by werner. I would not put the attic stairs ladder assembly opening at right angles to the ceiling joists. Saw through the joist s being careful not to cut through the ceiling and making sure the cut ends of the joist s are flat and vertical. Cut out the opening.

Instead you should place the cutout opening inline with the ceiling joists rafter ties. Make sure you have a space between the joists at least as large as the rough opening shown on the box and that any cut joists are attached to uncut joists. Measure the width and length of the attic access opening and compare the. How to open up access into your attic space for inspection and or insulation.

This way you only need to cut one of them to make the room for the rough framing opening. Inspect your attic space to determine the ideal location to install your ladder. Roughing an opening for fold down attic stairs 1. Make sure there are no wires pipes or ducts above the ceiling near the marked cutting.

Cutting and or removing joists to provide an entry or access can be the most difficult part of the overall project. Part 6 shows you how. This part deals with framing the attic opening.