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Drawing upon commerce content of Phillip Norman Attic Access, and more. For provocative advocacy of policy on residential weatherization, please find parallel discussion at blog energyconservationhowto. At the blog, choose Label: Attic Access.

This is imagined as a commerce enterprise serving all worthy products and installation services, of insulated and gasketed service doors in residential construction. The insulation in such doors will be constrained by practicality to as little as R5 in US measure, looking at just the foam insulation panel in a door, with wood elements that cause poorer overall R-value. This is the typical standard for an excellent exterior door, Energy Star rated. The standard is U-factor less than 0.30, R greater than 3.3, for the average heat conducted through door faces. An R5 extruded polystyrene insulation panel is one inch thick. Worthy insulated doors with U less than 0.3 will be about 1 1/4" minimum thickness. Practical doors will rarely be more than two inches thickness. Service doors include drop-down attic ladders, a door to a closet outside home heated spaces, attic and crawl space removable hatches, and more.

Products which will be honored at this web site include attic ladders by Fakro, SSC MidMade ,and Rainbow. Visitors will include smarter builders and do-it-yourself homeowners. Visitors will be referred from all sales outlets including big-box and neighborhood hardware stores. The goal will be public service, with fair compensation to contributors, from benefiting manufacturers. Everything will work out, over time. No one will profit from a hoarding of content.

A September 2020 please find a Google Sheets document, Shopping Attic Ladders, helping mainly for selection of a Fakro attic ladder from the effective competing online sellers, Lowe's. Home Depot and Amazon.

Contact me:

pjnorman@gmail.com

Lake Oswego, Oregon, phone 503-255-4350

Completed Projects, Newest on Top

Please find cover photo, description and link to album PDF.

Coffee Shop Loft, Replacement Ladder: Completed July 2020.

  • New best installation of Fakro LWP 22/54 Model 66853 with 50 cm trim to 102" FC.

  • Second red handle on the tall 125 cm upper section, staggered higher.

  • Three safety poles give safe sideways climb on and off the ladder. Safety poles retain gas pipes then load-bearing.

  • Much study of the failed Werner WH2208 is included in the job album.

  • Blog post: A "Commercial" Attic Ladder - Expect quality of work and safety innovation from the installer, not naive installation of something expensive.

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Worthington Attics: Completed December 2019.

  • First example of a Fakro ladder with a broad top step, custom LTK 22/47.

  • Insulation improved from R18, to R49, with added Rockwool batts protected under expansive flooring.

  • Better HVAC 14" duct return to garage furnace, buried under flooring.

  • Furnace and insulation methods should interest ASHRAE and Rockwool. Story incomplete and not yet shared.

  • A kitchen remodel will occur to left of the ladder here. Will insulation and flooring interfere?

  • New plywood soffit vent baffles complement exemplary roof-peak venting of the attic.

  • New storage space in the attic, is valuable. My work cost to be compared with rental of a storage unit. Tune up our understanding of payback math.

Varma Attic: Completed October 2019

  • Fakro LWP 22/54 Model 66853 with trim to 102" FC. The ladder deploys over an elegant staircase and adds to beauty.

  • Partial improvement of floor insulation by exemplary method with Rockwool batts. 25% of the very large attic was improved from R12 to R49 in very hot July. How do we inspire the large investment in R49 everywhere? Is Rockwool appropriate where it is not decked-over? Big questions of interest to Rockwool.

  • Further attic improvement should include reset of a new geothermal furnace, with buried ducts, of interest to ASHRAE.




Crockett Garage Attic: Completed June 2019

  • 5/8" CDX plywood storage floor over R15 Rockwool insulation.

  • 2x4 truss elements are strengthened to 2x12 by composite beam method. Choose floor thickness to cover and protect HVAC and plumbing pipes.

  • Truss uprights acting as safety poles.

  • This is a Fakro Model 66853 substituted for expected Model 66803. Through the confusion the ladder trim is not ideal. In fact it is the default trim any novice might achieve: taking all from the lower step section. The tall owner is happy with the installation. I would fix it if asked.


Kabeiseman Attic Access and Insulation: Completed June 2018

  • One of many Fakro LTK ladder installations.

  • Much closure of attic floor pits.

  • Much LED lighting.

  • Superior access for wiring and R49 insulation with 18" kneewall extension of simple two-story exterior walls, above the attic floor. Here see master bath plumbing vent and bath fan duct emerging through dense Rockwool batts. Much illustration of Rockwool placement.

Coleman Garage Attic Ladder and Insulation, and Storage Hoist:

Completed March 2018

  • The attic ladder is default installation of Fakro LWP 22/54 Model 66803 with FC = 120", the maximum claimed, at angle 63°.

  • The attic floor insulation is Rockwool R15 in challenge of rejected too-thin Owens Corning R15 fiberglass. The Rockwell costs less too, and hereafter I will not use fiberglass batts.

  • The Dutton Lainson worm gear hoist, a hammock and more detail, are described in the linked pdf album. A reliable and low-cost storage lift is an important safety innovation, and should be useful to any marketer of attic ladders and storage-efficient garage hardware.

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