Patent ID: 7707789

Claim:
A crawlspace access panel assembly for covering a crawlspace accessway opening through a building exterior wall, the assembly comprising: a substantially rigid structural foam panel member of one piece unitary construction adapted to cover the opening, the opening being sized to provide a person passage through the opening; a seal attached around a perimeter of the substantially rigid panel; and a number of fasteners connected to the substantially rigid panel for removably fastening the substantially rigid panel to the exterior wall, the fasteners being located only on a minimum number of sides of the substantially rigid panel to stably hold the panel to the exterior wall, wherein when fastened the fasteners only on the minimum number of sides of the substantially rigid panel urge the panel against an outer surface of the exterior wall on which the panel is seated causing the seal to seat around the perimeter so that the substantially rigid panel seals the opening, wherein the rigid panel member is substantially rigid such that there is substantially no deflection of the panel member and the seal forms a substantially airtight seal around the perimeter with the use of only two of the number of fasteners to urge the panel against the exterior wall, and wherein edges of the substantially rigid panel overlap the opening, the edges seated against the outer surface of the exterior wall.