Best Method for covering water shutoff
parrothead
| Posted in General Discussion on
Last year I finished out my basement, skim coat plaster on the walls, nice drop ceiling, oak stairs and trim, carpet, etc.. It turned out very nice. One problem that I still have is how to cover the hole in the wall that I left to the main water shutoff. The shutoff is on the block wall, I studded out with 2×4. The hole is about 10″ x 20″. I would like to cover the hole so that it blends in, but want to have fast access to it when needed. I had thought about just making a door out of oak to match the trim, but I really want it to blend in more.
With all of the experience out there this must have been done hundreds of times, what are some of the methods that you all have done before.
Thanks, Mike
We are the people our parents warned us about. J. Buffett
Replies
Well Mike, there are access doors that can be had at a plumbing/hvac supply that you could paint out to "sort of" blend in to the wall color. These are low profile with minimal projection. You could of course make one out of ply and hinge it etc. Have L bead taped out an opening and made up a flush insert that I applied magnet catches to the back, flush ring pull to the panel for pulling it out.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
Buy a nice big painting or print and hang it over the hole. Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.
They make the access panels in paintable pvc now. I have used several of them at work. We glue them to the wall opening with construction adhesive and paint over them the next day. You hardly notice them, once they are painted.
Dave
---"We glue them..."--- ???
Well, we caulked the PVC one we bought and installed a few years ago when we had to get to the bath fixtures from the room on the other side of the wall.
We used regular bathroom tub caulking and it is still attached. I just looked.
You are right that they are not hardly noticeable once finished.
I have but a bunch of them in tile over cmu walls. We use silicone adhesive or caulk then, but the access panels seldom get painted and are metal.
Got a similar situation in the shop I'm building downstairs.
After examining all choices, I'm covering it with the door of an oak medicine cabinet.
In a synchronous position on the wall, I'm installing a real matching recessed cabinet. From a decorating first glance, they'll match with the rest of the cabs in place.
What height above the floor is your shutoff access? What is located around it? Any chance you can post a picture? I bet we can come up with something creative but it would help to see a photo of exactly what we are dealing with.
Kevin Halliburton
"I believe that architecture is a pragmatic art. To become art it must be built on a foundation of necessity." - I.M. Pei -
Edited 7/13/2003 6:58:23 PM ET by Wrecked Angle
Hello Kevin, The opening is about 4 1/2' from the floor. It is positioned on the left side of a wall about 1' from the corner on about a 10' wide wall. Hanging a picture would be out of place. I'll try and get a picture of it tonight.
Thanks, MikeWe are the people our parents warned us about. J. Buffett
This might not apply, and it might be too late in the process to do it, and I believe I've posted it before, but....
In the house I grew up in, the plumbing to one of the tubs was accessed from the main upstairs hallway. The access was a full size oak door indistinguishable from all the other doors in the hallway.
Another day, another tool.