Temporary door in visqueen plastic sheet?

[Josiah Bartlett]

I've put up a temporary visqueen wall in my house to keep the dust contained from a project. I'd like to come up with a better treatment for a temporary door than a flap, since I need to move things in and out of the area and there isn't another doorway I can use. I'd also like to be able to repeatably seal the flap/door against drafts.

Does anyone have any good ideas for a doorway in a plastic sheet that would seal well?

[Rick Lizek]

They make many kinds of sealed systems for construction and lead paint removal that have zippers to seal openings such as you are describing. Featured in many construction magazines as well as Fine Home Building. They even sell them in one of my local lumberyards.

[Chip Lindley]

Wow, Josiah, I havn't heard 6mil clear poly sheet called "Visqueen" since I was 12 in 1959 and my dad had a basement dug under the addition to our home. They tarred and wrapped the concrete walls in "Visqueen!"

The only temp doors I have seen in plastic walls are vertical overlapping strips of plastic. Perhaps some weight at the bottom (magnets stuck to metal?) would keep it all tucked together when not in use?

Best of luck!

[Mike Cozad]

I have seen plenty of visqueen rooms during my time working in cleanrooms in semiconductor fabs. What worked for them was making an actual door frame out of 2x2s, and then wrapping it in visqueen. Hinge it to a a visqueen "wall" made the same way to fill the rest of the opening (depedning on how large the opening is) and you are all set. If I remember correctly, the edges were dressed with a simple rubber gasket to seal the gap around the door when closed. When a visqueen "flap" was used, it just shredded and was pretty inconvenient.

[Josiah Bartlett]

I found a product called "Zipwall" which has self-adhesive plastic zippers. I'm going to use that if I can find any for sale locally. I have the plastic sandwiched between a pair of 2x4 cleats on the ceiling and floor so its sealed up pretty good.

[Richard McComas]

Wow, Josiah, I havn't heard 6mil clear poly sheet called "Visqueen" since I was 12 in 1959 and my dad had a basement dug under the addition to our home. They tarred and wrapped the concrete walls in "Visqueen!"

The only temp doors I have seen in plastic walls are vertical overlapping strips of plastic. Perhaps some weight at the bottom (magnets stuck to metal?) would keep it all tucked together when not in use?

Best of luck!Well, in my part of the country all the trades people refer to it a Visqueen and have since I can remember.


http://www.filmtools.com/pa-6ml-clear.html

[Josiah Bartlett]

I guess Visqueen must be a west coast term? What do you call it?

[Jamie Buxton]

Fast Cap makes a product for that: http://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/Door-Mag-The-4-pc-pack-3p293.htm

[jason margeson]

As others have said there are zippers you can buy.

I remember seeing a display at a lumberyard of the kit. It had adjustable poles to pin the plastic to the ceiling, and a zipper you installed in the plastic "Wall"

The name escapes me, but ill post it if i find it.

Edit:It looked like the "3rd hand" system from fastcap, but it was slightly different http://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=211&idcategory=3

[Mike Heidrick]

Another option that may be cheap - You could get some walls for a cheap pop up tent. The will have a durable zipper, velcro to hang the walls up with along the top edge (velcro wraps around a horizontal tent pole usually). Just apply your plastic over the mesh walls or just buy solid tent panel walls.

[Jim Summers]

I guess Visqueen must be a west coast term? What do you call it?

Great Plains here, I call it visqueen.

[kevin loftus]

Great Plains here, I call it visqueen.

Same here, over the big pond.:)

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I found a product called "Zipwall" which has self-adhesive plastic zippers. I'm going to use that if I can find any for sale locally. I have the plastic sandwiched between a pair of 2x4 cleats on the ceiling and floor so its sealed up pretty good.

They have them at our local HD. I used them to make some temp walls during construction in part of our house, and they worked great.

[Matt Day]

Visqueen in VA too, and I think in UT. Or simply "poly".

I second the Zip Wall system. Adhere the zipper, open the zipper, cut the poly, and you're done.