Trap Door from living room into basement

[jason]

replying to mike, jason wrote: Perfect. Simple.

[micky]

If you already own the house, are we to believe there is currently no entrance to the basement? No of course not, since you know the size of the opening. There must also be a cover to the opening, so people don't walk through the living room in the dark and fall into the basement.

How often do you plan to go there?. Probably a lot at first and then rarely.

I like Mike's idea too (no hinges) because that's what we had. Of course our trap door was in a closet. It was actually a hardwood trap door, cut out of the closet floor I think. I never actually checked the grain because it was dark in there, but I think they put in the floor when there was still other access to the crawlspace, and then cut the trap door from the hardwood floor. We weren't the first owners but I thought there should be handles for the door so we used low profile hinges. If yours is in the middle of the room (and it must be if you're considering a throw rug) the hingepin bumps would still be too big. Instead get those inset handles.

If you really really want to hinge what's there, there are "invisible hinges" but a) I'm not sure they make them big enough for your purpose, b) might be hard to install just right. Too small:

the chart might help.

And you'll still need all the wood rim that Mike recommends.

?client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ACYBGNSOdULwCZwxrnTk-_8o7_n_vv0NiA%3A1571044294522&ei=xjukXdjCH6Gw_QbihrXYAw&q=recessed+handles&oq=recessed+handles&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i7i30l3j0i20i263j0i7i30l6.42766.46162..49254...2.2..0.284.2800.0j9j6......0....1..gws-wiz.......0i71j35i304i39j0i273j0i7i5i30.t-eQ71U3pM8&ved=0ahUKEwjYveeItJvlAhUhWN8KHWJDDTsQ4dUDCAo&uact=5 Good ones but probably better than you need:

I've never seen the metal version you refer to. Do you have a link?

Instead of working on the trap door, spend your time building a good, permanent ladder that attaches to the 1st floor at the right spot, while not obstructing the entry. Time better spent.

As to the limited height of the basement, marry a short man. If you're currently married to a tall man, dump him and find a short one.