Kim’s Pages

My basement hatch door

Posted on Thu, 10 Jan 2019 by KiM

I get asked all the time about how we created the hatch door in the floor in our last house when we renovated the kitchen. So I thought I’d write up an explanation on here to make my life and your life easier! Before I start though, I have no idea if this solution is to code. So where ever you live, if you want to try this you may want to check with an inspector first.

I cannot express the magnitude of how genius of an idea it was to take out part of the wall that sectioned off the basement stairs, and have a hatch door created. I have talked about this in previous posts, but OMG it turned out so swimmingly that I had to dedicate a post to it. This is such a great idea for folks out there who have really limited space, as I do. This house is 12′ 2″ wide – so that is the width of the kitchen, and the section where the wall to the basement was made that about 9.5′ wide. Let me show you some before photos. Now, this decision was made partway through the demolition phase so I did not specifically take before photos of the area. Below are some I happened to have already (and one I snuck during demo when I was deciding what to do).

Leaving that wall meant the pantry unit would have had to have been placed closer to the door to my office and with the fridge there, that would have made the doorway very tight. Then with the dining table down the middle of the space, you would have had to shimmy sideways to get by the table, or I would have had to use a small 4 person table instead. Here are a couple photos I took during the reno.

Below, my completed hatch. Genius I tell you – GENIUS!! Worth every penny. And I love that my house, that was previously lacking any architectural feature WHATSOEVER, now has something slightly quirky, and isn’t just a straight boring wall. Of course the hole in the hatch is so the cats can get down there and use the litter boxes.

We used shocks for the tonneau cover of a pickup truck. They were $50 a piece, but they are exactly what I wanted. It allows the door to almost spring open and closed (I keep a grasp on it so it doesn’t do it too quickly) and this also means I don’t need a latch like we initially thought. It just needs a little tug to open and slight pressure to close tightly. FABULOUS!!

Here are some (terrible) photos taken by husband of the details of the shocks we used:

And some details from my husband on the shocks and hinges:

We used tonneau cover (cover of the bed of a pick-up truck) shocks. I don’t know how long they are, but I would say fully extended they are about 36″. I went by weight at the auto parts store, and by the look of the brackets that came with the shocks. The contractor told me the hatch weighed about 50 lbs. The shocks I got will hold 60 LBs each, so I knew they would work. What I looked for is the L shaped brackets on the end of the shocks. Each end of the shock has an L bracket that I could attach to the floor and to the hatch. I chiseled out the wood so the brackets fit flush. I also had to carve out part of the hatch so the shocks wouldn’t hit the wood when it was closed. I fit the shocks while the hatch was fully open. Here is the place I bought the shocks from – http://www.actiontrucks.com/.
We used a piano hinge at the back of the hatch. I would like to change that to something else (car hood hinges maybe) because the piano hinge is somewhat unstable. It is OK for now though as the shocks are quite heavy duty.

The shocks are mounted in the middle of the hatch and then 16″ in from the end of the opening on the floor. I didn’t take measurements, but did tests to see where I could mount the shock so it could be fully extended, would full close tight and still hold the hatch up when open.

Ananbo

Posted on Sat, 5 Jan 2019 by KiM

I’m a big fan of bold statements in design, so of course I am head over heels in love with Ananbo – a Paris-based company that creates the most beautiful wallpaper murals. Their online shop is here if you want to grab one for yourself, and check out these photos of some of my favourite installations.

New really good stuff at Ikea

Posted on Wed, 3 Oct 2018 by KiM

Ikea has some really cool stuff out right now. Particularly the FÖREMÅL collection by Per B Sundberg. I WANT IT ALL!!!!!

A few other things that caught my eye – chair, pendant, rugs, vases and maybe my next dining table?

Complex Geometries crushes

Posted on Sat, 9 Jun 2018 by KiM

Kermodi Living Art

Posted on Mon, 4 Jun 2018 by KiM

I spotted some really cool pots in an Instagram story of photographer Janis Nicolay and immediately starting doing some digging (not literally LOL). Kermodi is all about Living Art and decorating with plants. Located in Vancouver, I am in awe of all of this. Such incredible plants and planters!!!