Whether you have a new construction or renovation project, it’s essential to consider the modern amenities that will go with it. For example, if you’re working in an office space, you must plan where HVAC ducts, electrical lines, water pipes, and internet cabling will go.
These utilities provide indispensable value to keep the office occupants in a comfortable environment where they can be productive during their working hours. Whether it’s for routing, ease of maintenance, or keeping these utilities safe, you must install access doors to go with these utilities. In this article, you’ll learn more about what a general-purpose access door is and how they serve you and your clients.
What Is an Access Door
First, let’s go over the primary functions of an access door. Access doors allow you to reach hidden areas behind walls, ceilings, and floors without completely tearing away these surfaces. This simple but valuable hardware will enable you to tuck utilities out of sight while allowing access to these utilities for maintenance and inspection.
In addition, access doors may also have security measures to allow only authorized personnel to reach these utilities. After all, you wouldn’t want anyone shutting off electricity to the entire building on a busy day.
How General-Purpose Access Doors Fit Their Role
You won’t deal with the same wall material when routing utilities. Sometimes the project will require you to deal with drywall, plaster, masonry, or even another type of surface where you need to put an access door. These materials vary in how you should secure your access doors, and it simply isn’t cost-effective to have a unique access panel for each one.
What if you could have an access door that’ll fit all these surfaces? That’s where you’d need to get a general-purpose access door.
Different Kinds of General-Purpose Access Doors
While you can fit general-purpose access doors on many surfaces, you’ll still need the access door to perform well in a particular task. For example, you can’t use any plain access door for outdoor use. It simply isn’t durable enough to withstand the elements for a long time compared to a purpose-built exterior access door.
Let’s go over a few of the unique general-purpose access doors:
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Stainless Steel Access Covers
When dealing with plumbing in wet areas, it’s essential to use a material that can handle this environment. The general-purpose access door with access cover is the perfect solution. Its use of 22-gauge stainless steel makes it the ideal access panel for plumbing cleanouts. Stainless steel is naturally a robust corrosion-resistant material and thick enough to handle its duties for a long time.
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Draft Stop Access Door
Drafts are a big headache for your clients, increasing the heating/cooling costs and making the interior space uncomfortable. Thankfully, you can use a Draft Stop Access Door for this role. What makes this access door unique is the inclusion of a gasket and automatic panel closer. The gasket prevents an air gap from forming between the door and frame, and the automatic panel closer ensures you won’t have to worry about accidentally leaving the door open after you finish.
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Plastic Access Door
Sometimes, metal isn’t always the best solution when you need an access door. Sure it is durable, but what if you just need a simple and cost-effective solution to route just a few cables? This task is the best place to use a plastic access door. You won’t have to deal with complicated installation processes, and its discreet design allows you to place this access door anywhere in the room.
Planning is a Must!
Of course, the above-listed access doors aren’t the only ones on the market. There are many more access doors fit for a variety of roles. For this reason, it’s vital to have a plan and identify the objectives for installing an access door. Once you have the ideal access door’s characteristics, a general-purpose access door will make it easy to install on any surface.