Hot water heater access door update
Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 5:02 am
Hi everyone! This is not a question but more of a "what I did to solve my problem" post, mostly relevant to those with old trailers and no money to just go buy new stuff.
My hot water heater access door was bent from the wind whipping it open and the pipes inside had frozen and broke this past winter. I replaced the broken copper and pb pipes with pex, had my dad straighten the aluminum frame to the door and put the whole thing back together again with improvements against these cold Michigan winters.
I wrapped the hot water heater, pipes and all, inside a blanket of insulation made for such purposes. ($2.00 for the blanket at a yard sale) Then, I put those foam pipe insulating jackets on the pipes that went down through the floor. After reinstalling the door frame with a bazillion screws over the new putty tape, (I love that stuff), I still had to come up with a way to keep the door from sliding down out of the frame when opened. I rummaged through my cans of "cool stuff" in the garage and found this piece of metal thing that I think actually goes to a shower door and screwed that in at the bottom right of the door to stop the door from sliding out. On the outside of the door, I caulked all around the edge with the piece of paneling and metal that fit inside the track of the door frame. I'm no good at caulking, as you can see in the photo, but at least, it's sealed. I also put about a half a tube of caulk over top of the main door frame to seal it up good.
For a new handle, I rummaged through the "cool stuff" I'm saving in the pole barn in the "I might need this someday" pile and found a shower curtain rod. Antenna brackets (still don't have antenna) were used to mount the handle which is long so that it gives some stability to this door when you yank the frozen door open in the winter to light the pilot light. The handle was also stabilized by screwing a couple of side rails I removed from an old wobbly table to the back side of it.
Then, from my new bundle of styrofoam, purchased recently for insulating the back side of my metal skirting, I cut a piece and glued it on the inside of the door to provide some small measure of protection between my pipes and the great outdoors. I also screwed in a couple of pieces of lath so the styrofoam doesn't come off in the wind when the door is opened.
To make sure the door doesn't blow open anymore, I used a piece of metal bar (about 4") that somehow was originally attached to this door in the first place but I don't know what it did so I used it as a latch lock. There's a small hook screwed into the trailer wall that the metal bar latches into.
I've also cut another thick piece of styrofoam (I think it came in a box of something or another) that fits inside the compartment and can be slid up and down to provide a little more protection to those pipes that go through the floor. After I did that, I was thinking that I could cut a piece that would slide up and down the full length of the compartment but I guess I'll wait and see if I have enough left over from the skirting job.
Voila! Yes, it needs paint. That comes next year, I hope. You can see all of the pictures from beginning to the end in my photobucket album.
http://s162.photobucket.com/albums/t243 ... %20heater/
I'm pretty sure I spent less that $10.00 to fix this door. Caulk (which I had from putting in the new bathroom sink) metal screws, antenna brackets, putty tape and latch hook) and about $25.00 to fix the pipes and insulate the heater. (Pex pipe and fittings, foam jackets, hot water heater blanket) I could have bought a used door for $45.00 but it would still not be insulated or have a sturdy handle and latch system.
My hot water heater access door was bent from the wind whipping it open and the pipes inside had frozen and broke this past winter. I replaced the broken copper and pb pipes with pex, had my dad straighten the aluminum frame to the door and put the whole thing back together again with improvements against these cold Michigan winters.
I wrapped the hot water heater, pipes and all, inside a blanket of insulation made for such purposes. ($2.00 for the blanket at a yard sale) Then, I put those foam pipe insulating jackets on the pipes that went down through the floor. After reinstalling the door frame with a bazillion screws over the new putty tape, (I love that stuff), I still had to come up with a way to keep the door from sliding down out of the frame when opened. I rummaged through my cans of "cool stuff" in the garage and found this piece of metal thing that I think actually goes to a shower door and screwed that in at the bottom right of the door to stop the door from sliding out. On the outside of the door, I caulked all around the edge with the piece of paneling and metal that fit inside the track of the door frame. I'm no good at caulking, as you can see in the photo, but at least, it's sealed. I also put about a half a tube of caulk over top of the main door frame to seal it up good.
For a new handle, I rummaged through the "cool stuff" I'm saving in the pole barn in the "I might need this someday" pile and found a shower curtain rod. Antenna brackets (still don't have antenna) were used to mount the handle which is long so that it gives some stability to this door when you yank the frozen door open in the winter to light the pilot light. The handle was also stabilized by screwing a couple of side rails I removed from an old wobbly table to the back side of it.
Then, from my new bundle of styrofoam, purchased recently for insulating the back side of my metal skirting, I cut a piece and glued it on the inside of the door to provide some small measure of protection between my pipes and the great outdoors. I also screwed in a couple of pieces of lath so the styrofoam doesn't come off in the wind when the door is opened.
To make sure the door doesn't blow open anymore, I used a piece of metal bar (about 4") that somehow was originally attached to this door in the first place but I don't know what it did so I used it as a latch lock. There's a small hook screwed into the trailer wall that the metal bar latches into.
I've also cut another thick piece of styrofoam (I think it came in a box of something or another) that fits inside the compartment and can be slid up and down to provide a little more protection to those pipes that go through the floor. After I did that, I was thinking that I could cut a piece that would slide up and down the full length of the compartment but I guess I'll wait and see if I have enough left over from the skirting job.
Voila! Yes, it needs paint. That comes next year, I hope. You can see all of the pictures from beginning to the end in my photobucket album.
http://s162.photobucket.com/albums/t243 ... %20heater/
I'm pretty sure I spent less that $10.00 to fix this door. Caulk (which I had from putting in the new bathroom sink) metal screws, antenna brackets, putty tape and latch hook) and about $25.00 to fix the pipes and insulate the heater. (Pex pipe and fittings, foam jackets, hot water heater blanket) I could have bought a used door for $45.00 but it would still not be insulated or have a sturdy handle and latch system.