Some residential building owners prefer to have another extension on their garage called an ADU (Access Dwelling Unit). Homeowners hire contractors to build them an ADU because they need more space on their property. They can install it on the top, below, beside, or near the garage.
Since you now have a dwelling unit, don’t forget to install access doors, especially if it has several building components. Examples of building components you can install inside the ADU are plumbing pipes, electrical wires, and circuit breakers, to name a few. If you’re not convinced enough, you can find many benefits of access doors.
1. Protect Components
During the construction planning of your house, your contractors might recommend placing several master switches for the components inside your dwelling unit. And if you plan on letting your family member or a person stay inside the dwelling unit, you need to keep the components protected by installing an access door.
You can buy access doors with a special lock type to ensure no one can tamper with them. It’s best to buy access doors that you can paint on to make it blend with its walls and surrounding. You should have no issues keeping the components safe for a long time when contractors install access doors within your ADU.
You have the option to install a fire-rated wall or floor access doors and panels to provide added protection against fires. Besides protecting the components from getting tampered with, the access doors prevent fire from penetrating through the frame and damaging the other side. Fire-rated access doors and panels usually have different fire ratings, which vary from 60 minutes up to 3 hours, depending on the manufacturer’s specifications.
2. Gain Access to Crawl Spaces
Another benefit of access doors in ADUs is that they provide access to crawl spaces used for storage. Otherwise, you will have to cut a hole on the surface to utilize this space. That will cost you a ton since you have to pay for the labor and repairs. By installing access doors, you can avoid these costs. You can install them in ceilings or walls, depending on where the crawl spaces are.
If you still don’t have access doors on your access dwelling units, don’t hesitate to install one. You have the option to choose different access door types, depending on where you want to install it on the surface. Access doors and panels are essential for every building or structure and not just for dwelling units.
3. Keep Fires at Bay
At one point, building components like electrical wires could malfunction and cause a fire. It could spread uncontrollably within the dwelling unit, but the fire-rated access doors can contain it and prevent it from spreading.
Most access dwelling units have drywall materials because they’re inexpensive. Fortunately, you can purchase drywall access doors that your contractors can install on the surface without a problem. And if there are systems underneath floors, you can install floor access doors. Find the most suitable access door supplier to get high-quality products installed on your access dwelling units.
