We've been building custom homes for over 45 years & are always looking for ways to improve our overall quality without stretching the budget . The Green Building Revolution is rapidly bringing new products to the market to make our houses better & save energy costs. I've always hated looking up & seeing those ugly attic access panels and kneewall access doors in the 1/2 walls . The other problem is that no matter how much weatherstripping you put around the casing & how carefully you put the insulation on top of ths sheetrock panel - it leaks heat ! I know we're also constantly repainting the sheetrock panel from all the Plumber's & Electrician's fingerprints . At the 2008 IBS Homeshow we finally found a product that solves these problems ! Skuttle Tight ( www.skuttle-tight.com ) is an all-in-one attic entry system . The ceiling access ( Model ST-100 ) door & frames are made out of high impact plastic , is paintable , comes with internal weatherstripping & the EPS foam gives you an R-40 insulating value ! The kneewall panel ( Model ST200-SW ) is similar but has 2 built-in latches & the EPS foam gives you an R-19 ! The other nice feature is that you can install them with the drywall so you can spackle them right in with no ugly casing ! I used it last summer in my 1st Certified Energy Star / Green Home (which scored GOLD ) & watched with amasement as the thermal imaging camera went over the access panel & it barely looked any different from the R-50 Fiberglass insulation next to it . The Green Verifier / Energy Star Rater said he was so impressed he was going to put one in his own house ! Today , I just replaced my own 2 sheetrock attic access panels with 2 Skuttle Tight units & I'm now using them as standard in all my homes ! Please let me know what new Green Products you're seeing out there ! Keepin' it Green !

 
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5 Comments on Watch your $ go out through the roof or keep it inside !

FEB
07
2009

Hey Ed, The Skuttle Tight looks like a nifty deal.  You're right about those attic accesses not being air tight.  Good job with the Gold score Energy Star home.  Didn't know if you had checked out the link on the bottom of my blog re: Cultural Creatives.  Follow that to a wealth of information, a questionaire, some statistical graphs etc.  Keep it Green...
9:00pm • #1
FEB
13
2009
3 Featured Posts

Ed, it sounds like a great product. Thanks for sharing. I'm going to check out their web site.
10:55pm • #2
FEB
14
2009
154,367 Points

Lara , I've seen another similar product , but this one is almost invisable when installed ! Keepin' it Green !
4:31pm • #3
FEB
17
2009

Sounds like an excellent product.  I will have to check this out.  Thanks for posting the info.
2:52pm • #4
154,367 Points

It is an excellent product ! A cool thing happened - Last Saturday (2/14/09) I received an email from the CEO of Skuttle Tight , Inc. , Chad Kompelien , thanking me for my past purchases and for the plug for his product in my blog & congratulating my company on being The 2008/2009 NAHB Custom Builder Of The Year , which he saw in the January edition of Custom Builder magazine . I guess people really do read blogs & magazines ! Keepin' it Green !
4:08pm • #5


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Edward D. Nikles

Milford, PA

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Ed Nikles Custom Builder , Inc. / Nikles Realty , Inc.

Address: 104 Bennett Avenue, Suite 1-A, Milford, Pa, 18337

Office Phone: (570) 296-9200 x 102

Cell Phone: (570) 499-2902

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