CREDENTIALS

• WILLIAM G. SYKES
• JAMES S. JACKSON

WILLIAM G. SYKES CREDENTIALS

Experienced in, patent law, intellectual property law, environmental law, contract law, business law, and toxic mold litigation. The Virginia State director of the National Toxic Mold Coalition and Foundation.
As a patent attorney have represented many clients with product ideas and have directed them through the idea, design, prototype, patent, copyright, trademark, manufacturing, marketing and to the shelf stages of product development.
Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering from Old Dominion University, trained in Nuclear Engineering. Co-inventor with James Jackson and in 2001 was issued three patents, USPTO #D441,874, #D446,317 and D448,489, for plastic crawlspace Doors. The doors are designed to allow maximum ventilation into and out of the crawlspace. The door frame was designed to hold a screen, vent, louver or fan. Co-inventor with James Jackson and have patents pending on a portable crawl space fan and a crawlspace door mounted fan. In 1998 formed crawlspace Door Systems, Inc. with co-owner James Jackson to design, develop, patent, manufacture and sell crawlspace ventilation products.

JAMES S. JACKSON CREDENTIALS

Inventor Aims to Leave Houses High and Dry
Hampton Roads Business Journal, Inside Business, June 4-10, 2001

Bending over, hunched on all fours while inspecting the darkened crawlspaces of his customers’ homes, Jim Jackson (Crawl Space Door Systems Inc.) realized houses in Hampton Roads shared a common problem.

“One of the biggest problems in this area is that it’s a low-lying area,” Jackson said. “A lot of the houses are affected by that moisture and they start to decay.”

Jackson soon realized that the key to fighting the moisture lies in the air flow under the house and getting it moved from one side of the house to the other.

After many prototype drawings, Jackson came up with a solution. The result was what Jackson refers to as a crawlspace ventilation system, which he patented in 1989.

Because his door lid is constructed of a solid-color, all-weather ABS/PVC plastic, Jackson said, there is no need to ever repaint it or replace it, since it will not rust or rot.

Another item Jackson patented is a crawlspace door. This plastic access door has a grid screen with half-inch holes that allow more air to flow through the crawlspace, compared to the mesh screens found on most homes. The increased airflow is essential, Jackson said, in getting the homes dried out.

“These louvers create a larger volume of air for the whole crawlspace, instead of just point air, which is what the vent does,” he said.

Many of the people whose homes Jackson has already fitted with louvers are pleased with the results and the product’s appearance.

Jackson has another patent. This one is for a crawlspace door that has a fan behind its slatted front exterior. When the wind passes through the louvered door, the fan is set into motion.

“We know the demand throughout the U.S. is there,” he said. Jackson plans on distributing the products nationwide.

A combination of these products, he added, is probably what most homes will need to get their crawlspaces and homes rid of moisture and mildew.

Moisture Has Met Its Match
Business Weekly, The Virginian-Pilot, July 3, 1989

Moisture control beneath Hampton Roads homes has always been a problem.

Homeowners and builders have tried spreading sand and sheets of plastic beneath homes, and even installing temperature-controlled vents in the foundation.

Now comes another idea: the crawlspace Door.

The door was invented by Jim Jackson, from Chesapeake.

“I found out that the moisture problem in this area is so extensive that there’s not just one solution,” said Jackson.

Jackson’s product fits into the ventilation holes in the foundation of a house. It has intake and discharge ducts, as well as thrust fans and a system that closes the vent when it rains.

The idea is to suck dry air from outside under the house and to blow the cool, damp air from beneath the house. The electrical system can be controlled by a timer inside the house or automatically by a humidistat.

The benefits are many.

“A lot of the houses in Norfolk were built with creosote wood,” said Jackson.

“The odor under there is tremendous. And a lot of people have allergies that come from mold and fungus growing up under the house. The (crawlspace door system) more or less cleans the house out and dries it out over a period of time.”