Flat Basement Door (opener, furnace, ceiling, room)
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Does anybody know a good solution for getting a flat basement door to have an assisted opening device? My elderly mother has one of those old fashioned wood basement doors over the steps in her utility room. The problem is that she needs to be able to open and close it but it is just too heavy for her now. The door needs to be flat and walked on as it forms part of the rather small utility room floor.
I've searched the internet but can't find anything suitable. We would be willing to replace the door if that is necessary but so far, the only replacement I can find doesn't look suitable to walk on. I'm thinking there must be some sort of hydraulic lift device for this application.
Eyebolts, rope, a couple pulleys and a hinge. When you have a hinge and the leverage of pulleys and rope, it doesn't take a huge amount of force to lift the door.
What about just putting a piece of reenforced plywood over the thin door?
Tie a rope to the one end and she could slide it out. You could cut it into pieces if she needs it to be lighter and slide it out in pieces.Does it have a lip the plywood can support itself on?
Adding plywood to the already heavy door would just add more weight to lift. The current door is substantial and can easily carry the walking weight as a floor.
Maybe a pulley system would work. We are talking about an 89 year old woman with arthritis in her wrists and hands. I was hoping there was something we could get that could engage and help open the thing with just a little lift on the handle - kind of like the hatch on my station wagon has.
Your station wagon has lift supports that help lift the weight of the rear access door. You can buy these at any automotive store and I am sure you could use these to help with the lift of the door. Might have to fiddle a bit with getting the placement right, but it would make it much easier to manage.
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The door openers sound promising. If that doesnt work what about a small electric winch. You could put the winch on the ceiling and let the cable drop down to the door.
Question. Whats down there that she needs and can it be moved upstairs. Theres going to come a time when the steps will become an issue anyway.
The door openers sound promising. If that doesnt work what about a small electric winch. You could put the winch on the ceiling and let the cable drop down to the door.
Question. Whats down there that she needs and can it be moved upstairs. Theres going to come a time when the steps will become an issue anyway.
I was afraid the car door lifts wouldn't be strong enough to lift the door. It is quite a bit more weight than the car door. Maybe they make something for truck doors?
The electric winch is a promising idea. We could mount a wall switch for it on the far side of the room so there wouldn't be an accidental standing on the door to open it.
She needs to get down there to change out the furnace filters for one thing. Her house is very small so she needs it for a little overflow storage space. I'm going to put in some strong rails for that safety thing if my brother doesn't. She also needs to be able to put mouse poison down there so she doesn't get a repeat of her awful mouse infestation of a few years ago. We are just trying to make her life a little easier. So far she is doing very well.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Barking Spider
Eyebolts, rope, a couple pulleys and a hinge. When you have a hinge and the leverage of pulleys and rope, it doesn't take a huge amount of force to lift the door.
I was going to say the same thing and it sounds like a fun project.
If the door is really heavy, why not just make another door that is lighter, yet strong enough. You could use aluminum angle and 3/4" plywood and make a pretty strong door, assuming it is about the size of a regular door.
Piano hinge on one end, and eye bolt and pulleys. IF she can't pull up the rope, then maybe you could use a small crank. I would think you could make a strong enough door that would weigh less than 50 pounds. The effort to lift a hinged 50# door would be pretty small considering the hinge point is almost 7' from the lift point.
If she can't mange the rope lift, or can't manage a crank, then maybe she needs to just get the local high school kid once a month to do it for her. Sounds like steps wouldn't be so good for her either.
Did you ever find a solution for this? I have the same issue.
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We could mount a wall switch for it on the far side of the room so there wouldn't be an accidental standing on the door to open it.
