Browsing all posts in "green building".
A new home or remodeling project – Is it time to buy?
Think it's time to buy… or not?? Been on the fence to buy a new home, buy an existing home and remodel it or even finally tackle building that new home? Well… now may be the time . Good buying opportunities are cropping up in select local markets. According to an article in the Wall Street [...]
Insulation Materials… or “How to build a better house” – Part3
Part3 in my series – "How to build a better house". Last week we talked about advanced framing techniques, which in simple terms replaces lumber with insulation material and maximizes the wall that’s insulated. This effectively improves the thermal resistance or R-value of a wall. As a reminder on how important advanced framing is, [...]
Interested in Geothermal? Let’s Look At The Numbers
The first question many of our client's ask after we suggest they look at Geothermal systems is, "How much does it cost?" There seems to be a misconception out there that Geothermal is only something that very wealthy people can afford and if you don't fit in that category then Geothermal is not something to [...]
Some of the “coolest” houses on the planet….literally!
Today I'm kicking of a series of some of the "coolest" green building projects on this planet. The DGBA Green Building Video Collection. document.getElementById(“post-1602-blankimage”).onload();
MERV Rating? What is that?
Above: Picture of Josue and a MERV 13 Pleated Filter Two of the very first steps when trying to improve indoor air quality is to make sure you are using the most efficient filters on your equipment and the second is to make sure your filters are changed regularly. First you need to find out [...]
Why you should do some homework before hiring a contractor……
…… that's why. The picture above shows water damage at the floor framing level in the entry door area of the house we are currently working on. The entry door we're replacing is not that old. This is only one of several areas we found in this home that have severe wood rot. The [...]
Advanced Framing Techniques… or “How to build a better house” – Part2 of 7
Last week's post on "Thermal Bridging" kicked off a series of articles that I have wanted to share for a long time. These articles cover issues, techniques and solutions related to how we build exterior walls and the impact of some of those decisions. Today's article is about one of the solutions to minimize "Thermal [...]
Was your house built before 1978? Then you should read this……
Was your home built prior to 1978? In Dallas, TX over 70% of existing homes were built prior to 1978. So why is that date so important you ask? Well…. 1978 was the year lead was banned as a substance to be used in paints and finishes. Prior to that, lead was used heavily in [...]
wind energy on the cheap?
Imagine you could go to Home Depot and for a few hundred dollars purchase an appliance that plugs in like a blender and generates a chunk of the energy your home needs, renewable and emissions-free. Once a pioneer at Real Networks in Seattle, Chad Maglaque invented the Jelly Fish wind turbine–It’s a 36-inch-tall rooftop [...]
Busted by the Expert: 3 Green Building Myths!
In celebration of #EarthDay I thought it was in order to write about some of the myths that still exist about green building. As a custom builder and remodeler of energy-efficient and healthy, so called "green" homes, clients always ask… Are green homes or remodeling projects more expensive? The short answer is: NO! They [...]
