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

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 !