On Sunday, February 19, 2017 at 7:05:04 PM UTC-5, wrote:
DerbyDad03 wrote: "Color me confused. Attic stairs "swing" two ways.

They typically swing down (away from the opening) to open and up (towards
the opening) to close.

Unless I'm missing something, telling me that yours "swings UP toward the
opening" doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary, assuming that you
mean "when closing". "


What I was trying to clarify is that my attic hatch
does not open up into the attic. It swings down to
open, and up to close, assisted by large springs on
the sides.

Like I said, typical of most attic stairs that "swing". That's
why they call them "Pull Down Attic Stairs".

How would a hatch that opened up into the attic work?

I filed and planed down the stops around
the edges of the opening to ensure a tight seal
against the closed-foam weather strip around the
edge of the opening.

You also said you put 1/2" foam *under* the stairs. A valiant
effort, but if your stairs are like most, there was a lot of
area that you couldn't insulate.

Trust me, building a box from 1" rigid foam like I did
will accomplish everything your method did, and more.