They really didn't think that design through

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topher5150

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We have a great little house, but if I ever need to get to the access opening I'm going to need to resort to using child labor because they are the only people that can get in there. Two of them are about three feet above the bottom stairs, the other one is above the top shelf in the laundry room closet, and the last one is about a foot and a half square in the ceiling above the hall way. I'm 6'-3" 280#s there's no way I'm fitting my fat arse in those tiny holes without getting the fire department to have to cut me out.
 
Being a good size guy myself I have ran into this quite a few times. Beside not being able to fit in it is not safe for anyone to be in there. Being in industry my whole life we identify these spaces as confined spaces and OSHA has a lot to say about working in one. If you could squeeze in there what if something happened to you in there. Imagine the fireman trying to get a person out with a medical problem.

Most of the time these openings are after thoughts where the home owner says to the builder how do I get in there so they make a little hole and frame around it. My 1880 home in contrast has a full size door and a stairway leading to the unconditioned attic same with the basement that was never intended to be a living space, and back then they had no reason to get in these spaces as there were no pipes or wires in the house.

Chances are you wont work on fixing the problem until you need to get in there.

I see houses with huge AC units in an attic space with a 2x2 door to get in. that’s just crazy.

Good luck and don’t get stuck.
 
I've been thinking about relocating and resizing some of these holes
 
The standard access house is 22 1/2 x 30. The width works good for trusses but the norm is to put them in the stupidest places.
 
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