Made to Measure Loft Hatch – Insulated & Air Tested

Made to your opening, to the millimetre

A loft hatch is the weakest point in an insulated ceiling. A standard hatch dropped into a non-standard opening leaves a gap, and that gap carries warm air into the loft for the life of the building. This one is made to the size you give us, so there is nothing to pack out and nothing to make good.

Maximum size 1100 × 950mm. Handmade in the UK.

Specification

• Insulation — 50mm mineral wool. U-value 0.32 W/m²K.
• Airtightness — tested at 0.23 m³/m/hr at 50 Pa [insert test report ref].
• Door and frame — 1mm Zintec steel, powder coated in 20% white gloss (RAL 9010).
• Ceiling protrusion — 7mm. Hinges and fixings are concealed.
• Depth above the ceiling — 63mm standard; 30mm where either dimension is under 450mm.
• Weight — approximately 6-12kg.
• Insulation environmental data — zero GWP, CFC and HCFC free.

Both lock types run a cam that pulls the door onto the seal as it closes, which is what the airtightness figure depends on.

How to measure

Measure the distance between your ceiling joists in millimetres and deduct 5mm. That is the size to order. The 5mm takes up the out-of-square you get in almost every opening.

The outer frame then sits on the ceiling and adds 25mm on every side, or 50mm if you choose the wider frame option. All four sides are the same width — the frame cannot be made wider on one side than another.

Locks

• Tri-Drive — the standard fitting. An O-ring seal at the lock gives the tightest closure, and the opening pole is supplied free.
• Key lockable — for lofts that need to be secured. The opening pole cannot be used with this lock.

If the hinge side is longer than 750mm, specify two locks. A single lock on a long door leaves the far corner of the seal under less pressure than the rest.

Options

• 50mm frame — a wider face, useful where the ceiling around the opening is damaged or where you want more cover over an untidy edge.
• Silver insulation cover — a faced cover over the mineral wool. Supplied uncovered as standard.
• Second lock — see above.

Fitting

Fixings and step-by-step instructions are in the box. The frame screws into the surrounding timber.

The door sits slightly proud on the lock side when new. That is the seal under compression, and it settles back over the first few months.

Delivery and returns

Made to order, in the lead time shown above, free delivery to most UK mainland postcodes. Lead times are working days and exclude weekends and bank holidays.

This hatch is made to your dimensions and cannot be returned.

Is this fire rated?

No. The SDS is an insulated, air-tested hatch and carries no fire rating. If the ceiling forms part of a compartment — a loft conversion, a flat, anything where building control is looking at compartmentation — you need a rated hatch instead. We make those to size as well: SDS-FR, 1 hour, up to 900 × 600mm, and SDS-FR-OS-90, 90 minutes, up to 900 × 900mm.