Insulating the Closet Wall

The home builder cut corners and failed to insulate the rear wall of the bedroom closet. Now that I’ve got an access panel it’ll be easy to insulate the wall with R-13 kraft-faced fiberglass insulation. I purchased two rolls of Ownens Corning insulation at Home Depot and used 1-1/2 rolls on the job.

Owens Corning R-13 Fiberglass Insulation for 2x4 Walls

Cautionary Word about Fiberglass Insulation

Fiberglass insulation is made of fine glass fibers that can irritate your skin and lungs. You should wear gloves, long sleeves, long pants and a dust mask. I always do… really… even for small jobs like this. Do be sure to wash off afterwards.

Installing Fiberglass Batts

Working inside the cramped wall cavity between the closet and exterior wall, I measured and cut batts of insulation to length using a pair of heavy scissors, following the slope of the roof.

The insulation is stapled by the flanges as shown with a 3/8 inch staples and staple gun. Install each successive batt of insulation against the last column leaving no gaps.

The kraft face (paper side) of the insulation goes against the wall.

Installing R-13 Fiberglass Insulation

The backside of the plywood access panel is insulated as shown.

Insulating the Plywood Access Panel

Having insulated the closet and installed the new NM 14/2 electrical cable for a floodlight, I’m ready to close the access panel. Click on the photo to see the details in a full size view.

Plywood Access Panel - Final Closure

You should find it straightforward using the technique described in this series to make a plywood access panel to suit your needs.

Hope this helps,

Bob Jackson

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Cutting the Plywood Access Panel

The dimensions for the access panel are:

• Rough drywall opening: 33 inches high x 20 inches wide
• Plywood panel: 35 inches high x 22 inches wide

This allows for a 1 inch weather seal around the perimeter of the plywood panel to cover the opening in the drywall.

Using a carpenters square, tape measure and circular saw, I measured and cut a 3/8 inch thick section of plywood to 35 x 22 inches. If you don’t want to bother with power saws and large sheets of plywood, Home Depot and Lowes will cut plywood to your dimensions free of charge.

Sanding

The sharp edges of the plywood were rounded off with sandpaper and the plywood face sanded smooth to prevent splinters from catching on clothes hanging from the rack later. The plywood was vacuumed and the wiped clean to remove all dust.

Plywood Access Panel and 2x4 Framing Blocks

Weatherseal

The inside perimeter of the plywood panel was lined with self-stick PVC camper mounting tape to seal the panel to the wall and prevent drafts.

Frost King Camper Mounting Tape

2×4 Framing Blocks

I measured and cut two 2×4 framing blocks to reinforce the top and bottom of the drywall opening. This is needed to fasten the plywood panel securely and tightly at the top and bottom edges with wood screws.

The 2×4 block is fastened with two 3 inch wood screws. It’s easier to start the wood screws as shown here before installing the block.

2x4 Framing Block

The block is installed level with the bottom edge of the drywall.

Bottom 2x4 Reinforcement Block Installed

A 2×4 reinforcing block is installed at the top of the opening.

Top 2x4 Reinforcing Block

Mounting the Plywood Access Panel

The plywood panel is centered over the opening and lightly attached with a single Simpson Strong-Tie SD8 1-1/4 inch wood screw in the center as shown. The panel can swing about the single screw while being leveled as shown. When level, make light registration marks in pencil along the left and right sides of the panel on the drywall. This is so you can check the panel is still plumb when attaching the other mounting screws.

Mounting the Plywood Access Panel

Simpson Strong-Tie products are available at Home Depot. I used eight screws to mount the panel, checking for a tight seal along the weatherstrip.

Simpson Strong Tie SD8 #8 x 1-1/4 inch Wood Screws

This is a closeup of the self-stick PVC tape weatherseal. For the weatherseal to work, it needs to be compressed but not mashed flat against the wall. The key is to tighten the wood screws only as much as necessary to compress the seal. This enables to the seal to expand and maintain the seal with the wall during hot and cold weather.

Closeup of the Weatherstrip on the Access Panel

This is the finished access panel ready to be painted the same color as the wall. When painted and hidden behind a rack of clothes, it won’t be noticed.

Plywood Access Panel Installed

The last task is to insulate the closet walls and the back of the access panel. This project is continued in Part 3.

Enjoy,

Bob Jackson

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Plywood Access Panel Installed

Choosing an Access Panel

There are many pre-fabricated access panels on the market in a variety of styles and sizes. I’ve used these on occasion and they work well. A simple grill can work too. The type of access panel depends on the application requirements:

• Size – small enough to get a hand inside? Or large enough to crawl or walk through?
• Appearance – flush mount or surface mount?
• Frequency of access – one time for a repair or installation; or routinely such as a storage closet
• Ventilation – is air circulation needed? Or must it be sealed to prevent drafts?
• Sound Proofing – can be important to minimize noises from other rooms or plumbing.

Commercial Access Panels and Kits are readily available, including:

MagnaPanel – Access panel hardware kits. The MagnaPanel system is really nice for creating a flush-mounted hidden access panel in just about any size that’s held in place with magnets. These are popular with tiled walls and baths. You can see a demo of the MagnaPanel system at most tile supply stores.

PlumBest – Plastic snap-in access panels sold by Home Depot in the plumbing supply section. Available in sizes from 6×9 inches to 14×27 inches.

Bauco Access Panels – by Access Panel Solutions, Inc. (APS).  Premium heavy-duty access panels suitable for residential and commercial applications. APS also sells direct to home-owners and will custom manufacture panels in any size.

Plywood – a humble option that suited my project needs because: appearance isn’t important at the back of the closet hidden by clothes; surface mount is OK; this is intended for one-time access; plywood is stronger than the surrounding drywall; low cost and it was readily available.

Locating and Cutting the Access Panel

The bedroom closet is at the gable end of the house over the garage. The triangular shape is due to the slope of the roof. I needed to get behind the wall the at the back of the closet. The access panel will be located in the center of the back wall.

Bedroom Closet at Gable End of House

Attic Crawl Space

This is a view of the bedroom closet from the adjacent attic crawl space. The attic is accessed by the small door on the left. I noticed a couple things here:

• Insulation was missing (or more correctly never installed) in two places.
• There is a ~15 inch wide cavity between the closet and exterior walls.

Attic Crawl Space adjacent to the Closet

Peering into the cavity (see photo below) between the closet wall (left side) and exterior wall (right side) with a flashlight, I saw the back of the closet wasn’t insulated! Another shortcut by the contractor who built the house. No wonder the closet is hot in the summer and cold in the winter!

A single bat of fiberglass insulation has fallen because it wasn’t stapled. The single bat of insulation was probably put there so the building inspector would think the area was insulated when viewed from the attic crawl space.

Sections of drywall from when the closet was built are left where they fell when the larger sheets were cut to size.

The reason for the wall cavity is to provide ventilation from the gable vent (not visible in this photo) through to the main attic.

Cavity between the Closet and Exterior Walls

Measuring Where to Cut the Drywall

To locate where the hole will be cut for the access panel, I snaked a tape measure into the wall cavity to locate the distance between two wall studs near the center of the closet.

I measured the same distance inside the closet from the side wall.

Measuring for the Access Panel

The measurement was transferred from the tape measure at roughly a right angle using a level. The red lines indicate the process of marking to the baseboard and vertically up the wall. I didn’t need a lot of precision here.

Locating the Access Panel Hole between Two Wall Studs

A small inspection hole was cut using a Rotozip Spiral Saw. I reached my hand inside to check for electrical wires and confirm the locations of the 2×4 wall studs. The wall studs were approximately 20 inches apart here. I decided a 33 inch high opening would be enough to step through. I marked rough dimensions for the full size width and height of the access panel opening on the closet wall. The purpose of the well stained drop cloth is protect the carpet from dust and dirt.

Initial Cut for the Access Panel with a Rotozip

The drywall was cut to the full size opening for the access panel. The triangular section of drywall on the right is a piece taken from cavity behind the wall that was left by the builder.

Opening for the Drywall Access Panel

View through the cut for the access panel into the cavity behind the closet. The oriented strand board (OSB) sheathing is seen on here on the exterior wall.

Wall Cavity behind the Closet

Clean Up

The wall cavity space behind the closet was cleaned up by hauling out the left over pieces of drywall, old batts of fiberglass insulation and a good session with the Shop-Vac.

This project is continued in Part 2.

Take care,

Bob Jackson

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