Square Framed Access Doors are most commonly the Dovetail Tabbed type with a Cam on either side or a Cam and Hinge on either side.
They are often included in the Air Distribution package, included as a Lump sum amount.
Increasingly, Mechanical contractors study every portion of the Job Site Processes in an effort to increase efficiency. To many, these tabbed access doors, though the standard for decades, stand out as a glaring bottleneck during installation when compared to a wider Flange Self Stick “Press On” Access Door because they have a design that makes them more labor intensive to install yet also increases the chance of air leakage if not installed correctly.
Cutting the Hole in the Duct doesn’t have to be perfect if using Self Stick doors:
Nobody is perfect, especially when working up in the air with arms stretched vertical. The wide flange of the Self Stick Doors allows the job site to cut holes faster and easier, even rounding the corners. The crew could never do with the design of the tabbed style; there’s too small of a margin for error in exposing the hole to the outside of the door and thus susceptible to leaks.
Pressing On the Duct vs manually bending Tabs:
Dovetail Tabbed Access Doors have never been popular with anyone who’s using them. The time spent in having to bend over all of those sharp dove tail tabs all the way around the door, and when doing so pushing in tight enough over the neoprene gasket to compress it.
The Self Stick Doors bypass the dovetails in favor of a 1/2″ wide flange entirely coated with Self Stick adhesive, eliminating the need for additional duct sealing after installation.
