Recessed Aluminum Floor Hatch With Exposed Flange for Finished Concrete Floors
Cutting an access opening into a finished floor is the easy part. Making it disappear afterward is not. A hatch that sits proud of the slab catches cart wheels, catches toes, and looks like an afterthought in a space someone paid good money to finish.
The Cendrex PPA-RE drops into the opening on a 2" exposed flange and gives you a recessed door pan instead of a bare metal lid. You fill the pan with the same floor you already have — tile, concrete, vinyl — so the hatch reads as floor. It carries a 300 lbs per sq ft live load on a 1/4" aluminum plate door and a 2" x 2" x 1/4" aluminum angle frame.
Why Choose the PPA-RE Recessed Floor Hatch
Pick this one when the hatch has to disappear into a finished floor.
-
Fills with your own floor — the door is a recessed pan you fill with whatever flooring you already have: tile, concrete, vinyl. A flat plate hatch always shows aluminum. This one shows your floor.
-
8 recess depths, 1/8" to 3/4" — depth is a required choice at checkout, so the pan matches your floor thickness instead of you building around it.
-
Nothing sits proud of the surface — the 4" handle is removable. Pull it after use and the floor is clear. Nothing to catch a cart wheel or a toe.
-
No strength penalty for the recess — 300 lbs per sq ft live load, a 1/4" aluminum plate door and a 2" x 2" x 1/4" aluminum angle frame, same as other similar aluminum floor hatches. The recess is the change. The build is not.
What's Included
- Recessed aluminum floor hatch — door and frame
- 4" removable handle
- Hold-open arm and holding cables — doors over 16" x 16"
- Gas cylinder — doors over 24" x 24", which covers the 24" x 36" size
Made For
The PPA-RE is an interior floor hatch for people who have to answer for how the finished floor looks, not just whether it opens.
- General contractors closing out an interior floor where the hatch has to match the surrounding finish
- Building owners needing access to utility pits, crawl spaces or mechanical rooms below
- Architects and specifiers working to a defined floor recess detail
- Facility managers replacing a worn or mismatched floor access panel
- Commercial fit-outs where a bare aluminum plate would look out of place
Features
-
300 lbs per sq ft live load — handles foot traffic and rolling loads in an occupied space
-
1/4" aluminum plate door — resists denting under repeated use
-
2" x 2" x 1/4" aluminum angle frame — anchors into the slab and holds the opening square
-
8 recess depths, 1/8" to 3/4" — specify the pan to your actual floor thickness
-
4" removable handle — pulls out after use so nothing sits proud of the surface
-
Continuous aluminum piano hinge — full-length support with no sag at the corners
-
Hold-open arm — the door stays where you put it while you work below
-
Mill finish aluminum — no coating to chip or flake underfoot
Built to Finish Flush With the Floor
A standard access hatch gives you a diamond plate lid that announces itself from across the room. The PPA-RE gives you a shallow pan instead. Your installer fills it with the same material running through the rest of the floor, and the only thing left showing is the thin line of the frame.
That is why the recess depth is a required choice rather than an option. The pan has to be cut to the thickness of your finish, so 1/8" works for thin vinyl and 3/4" takes a heavier tile or topping. Pick the depth that matches what you are laying and the finished surface comes out level.
Sizing and Rough Opening
Dimensions are always written width first, then height, and the hinge sits on the second dimension. On a 24" x 36" hatch that puts the hinge on the 36" side. Worth confirming before the opening is formed, because it decides which way the door swings.
The rough floor opening is the hatch size plus 1/2" (13 mm). Two stock sizes are on this page, and Cendrex builds odd sizes to order if neither one fits your opening — use the quote link in the tabs above and we will price it.
The Right Floor Hatch for Your Project
If the opening sits in a finished floor and the hatch has to blend into it, the PPA-RE is the one to buy. You get a 300 lbs per sq ft rating, a 1/4" aluminum door, a full-length piano hinge and a recess pan cut to your floor thickness. Don't wait — scroll back up and click the orange Add to Cart button to get this recessed floor hatch on its way to your site.
