I have a plywood removable door to access my crawl space which is in a pit outside the house. It has two sliding latches to hold it in place. Problem is the door can warp and then I can't get it latched. What would be a good way to fix this? Would like to keep it tight so insects don't get under the house.
Does the door itself have a frame? or is it just a piece of plywood?
There is a wood frame that it mounts into. That is where the siding locks have a hole to make them hold. No hinges on the door, it just removes.
I was thinking of making a foam door but not sure if that would hold up for long. Making a door of aluminum would be great but would cost a lot.
Where possible or when the appearance is not a problem I make crawl space doors out of galvanized steel 5 V roofing material. It's inexpensive, can be cut with tin snips and does not warp. I just drill some holes through the metal around the perimeter and screw it to the face of the door frame.
If you stick with plywood, it needs to have a 1x frame around the perimeter [attached to the plywood] to give it strength. Larger plywood doors would also need a 1x on a diagonal for extra strength/stability. Covering the plywood with aluminum will make it look nicer and cut down on maintenance but it won't stop the warping without something to stiffen up the plywood.
Be sure all surfaces of any wood you use for this is well painted to seal out moisture. Uneven moisture content on the front and back sides causes the warping.
Tags: crawl, space, door, around perimeter, crawl space, have frame
