Contributor: Michael Strong

HOUSTON, TX–Not making money on your money? Saving is the new best investment strategy–so many people are investing their funds in future savings with green remodeling. Recently released data shows that in Seattle, in 2008 (the most recent data available), where nationally certified green homes were sold and compared as follows to non-certified homes sold during the same period:

1. Median sales price was 6% higher!
2. Time on market was 29.4% shorter!
3. Price per Squre Foot was 9.3% higher!

That should come as no surprise because it makes sense that a more energy efficient, durable, lower maintenance, healthier home is better built than the obsolete counterpart built only to meet minimum “code.”

With the 2009 debut of the NAHB Green Remodeling Standard, www.nahbgreen.org, anyone can and should make their home greener during a remodel. This is the first and only national green remodeling standard in the U.S. and it should be a homeowner’s blueprint for any remodeling project. Whether you are remodeling a kitchen or a bathroom, adding space or converting an attic, this Green Remodeling Standard is your guide to a healthier, more energy efficient home that will lower your living costs and enable you to sell your home faster and at a premium.

Homeowners have unprecedented choices when remodeling to create their dream home. Quieter, cleaner, lower maintenance homes with smaller energy bills and the best indoor air quality options in U.S. construction history are more popular than ever. Here are my top five choices for making your existing home greener:

1. Apply a radiant barrier paint to your roof deck. By applying E-Barrier paint from Sherwin Williams http://www.sherwin-williams.com/pro/green/index.jsp to the bottom of your roof deck from inside your attic, you can expect to repel up to 70% of the sun’s radiant heat from ever entering your attic.
2. #mce_temp_url#Be prepared for water usage price hikes by installing new Water Sense certified plumbing fixtures and commode during your next remodeling project. Whether made by Kohler http://www.us.kohler.com/savewater/products/landing.htm or another manufacturer, Water Sense certified fixtures work and will save you water. Install an Energy Star rated digital thermostat. They are easy to installhttp://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.showProductGroup&pgw_code=TH and can save you about $180 a year by properly setting your programmable thermostats and maintaining those settings.
3. Add more insulation to your attic. Blow it in to make sure you cover up all the cracks and leaking holes in your attic. You can do this yourself or hire a professional but make sure you reach R-38 when you are done. Your contractor or equipment rental company will tell you how deep it needs to be to hit that golden mark.Use only Energy Star rated appliances like Miele www.Miele.com in your next kitchen remodel. Regardless of the price range you are considering, these high efficiency, German engineered appliances will save you more energy and water than their non-rated appliances. Plus they are so quiet you can’t hear them and they are the snazziest looking products on the market today!

These wise choices make your home efficiently more cost effective to live in and more desirable at resale. With the current real estate market in flux, many homeowners are opting to add on for more space or just freshen up their current home instead of moving and this is the perfect time to invest in future cost savings.

The www.nahbgreen.org website is a valuable tool—almost as valuable as an experienced Green Builder or Remodeler. Green building is one of the fastest growing industries worldwide with new and improved products being introduced at a rapid pace. Many of the techniques and products that will give you the greatest return on your investment can be recommended by the professionals who work with them on a real time basis and who keep up with the new trends and technology.

Think Green, Live Green, Build Green—it’s the right thing to do.

—30—

To comment on this article, please email Michael Strong

Source: The New Era Times

As I’ve posted before, when we started building homes we knew a lot less than we know today. Each day brought with it new lessons. I can remember the first day I met the building inspector from the Town of Breckenridge. His name was C and he was in a foul mood the moment he got out of his car. He’d come out to our building site to check to see if there was frost in the ground. We were installing pre-cast foundation walls, which are bedded in a gravel footer. Beneath the gravel was compacted dirt, and the building department had stipulated that we must lay our foundation walls on ground that was unfrozen. It was about 5 degrees that morning, and per agreement we’d called in our frozen ground inspection, and C had arrived thermometer in hand. After sticking the thermometer into the ground and consulting it, he told us in no uncertain terms that we were not going to be putting in our foundation walls that day. Determined to get the walls in (we had a crane on site charging us by the hour) I commenced to debate with C. I had gone on with my carefully crafted argument for about a minute when he gave me the blackest of looks and turned and walked away. And it dawned on me that I had just managed to completely annoy the one person who held sway over our entire project. I’ve previously posted about how we’d erected a plastic tent over the entire site to keep the soil from freezing. And how the wind had blown the tent away. Big mistake. And now another big mistake. The building inspector hated us. For minutes afterward my brother and I just paced in silence wondering what to do next. Because it certainly wasn’t going to be getting any warmer for months. How were we ever going to get those concrete walls installed?  Then someone suggested that there was a miraculous device called a ground heater that was usually used in situations like this. And so we rented one, and when C came back the next day, the ground heater had thawed the ground and we were allowed to proceed. I went out of my way to apologize to C telling him that I was doing the best I could to figure out how to build my first house. And to my surprise, C told me about feeling totally miserable the day before because of a terrible cold, and how he was feeling much better today, and we had a chat about colds, cold weather, and building in the cold winter. From that day on, C and I got along just fine. Over the years my brother and I grew to know, to respect, and to appreciate all of those who worked in the Breckenridge Building Department. They can be your greatest allies, or, should you decide to cut corners, your worst enemies. They are our partners in standards of quality and safety. And we are proud to join with them in producing the best product possible.

Today we would like to spotlight one of our favorite subcontractors on our blog. Trilogy Partners has had the pleasure of working with Colorado Custom Wood Floors in many of our homebuilding projects for more than 10 years, and today we would like to share a little bit about this company with you.

Colorado Custom Wood Floors strives to sell the best products in the industry. They offer a great deal of experience and utilize the latest technology and innovations in the hard wood floor industry to each job. Additionally, all of their techs are experienced professionals and employees of Colorado Custom Wood Floors who provide excellent craftsmanship and service on each job.

Colorado Custom Wood Floors provides installation services, as well as dustless sanding and refinishing, repair, and restoration services. They also offer hardwood stair installation services and custom carpentry in hardwood floors.

Trilogy Partners is proud to have Colorado Custom Wood Floors as a partner on so many of our projects. You can learn more about our valued partners by visiting the Colorado Custom Wood Floors website.

As previously posted, I often work with clients to develop a “fictional story” that will aid in the design of a home. This story is the lynchpin for a thematic approach for design. In the case of the house on lot 231, AKA Caleb’s Journey, we wanted a home that looked like it simply belonged in Colorado. The Highlands in Breckenridge development is filled with homes that fit the mold of mountain contemporary. We wanted something mountain authentic. So we invented Caleb, the man who built the house. His story goes like this: Caleb was a man who had spent years building homes for other people. Whenever he finished a home he took the left over scraps with him and they became, over the years, a very large pile in the backyard behind his cabin. One day Caleb estimated he had enough material to begin the construction of his own home. And over the next couple of years, he built the home of his dreams from castaway materials.The result was a rustic, well worn dwelling completely at home in the Colorado Mountains. This home features a timber frame made from 20″ logs and hewn douglas fir dimensional beams, reclaimed siding and ceiling cladding, and gorgeous oak floors recycled from a granary. Perhaps Caleb was only a figment of our imagination. But he came to life within the walls of Caleb’s Journey.

If you were going to design a home, where would your ideas come from?

Kitchens are just so much fun to design… especially if you enjoy food and entertaining as much as we do. The kitchen at the Timber Trail residence is different than any we at Trilogy have ever done if for no other reason than the kitchen space is an octagonally shaped room. With eight walls to address in design, we turned to Kathye Conti and the outstanding team at Kitchenscapes in Breckenridge, Colorado.  The result was a thoroughly modern and energy efficient kitchen rooted in old world European concepts. Because the theme of the house was “a centuries old european mountain chalet reborn” cabinets were designed to resemble antique furniture pieces drawn together and stacked one upon the other as though the kitchen had literally been shaped over years of use. The kitchen features multiple cooking, cleaning, and prep work stations, a center island, two sinks, two dishwashers, double ovens, and side by side super energy efficient Sun Frost refrigerator and freezer units. The kitchen is centered around a 48″ Viking stove top with four burners and a grill top with downdraft vent built into the center island. A large family breakfast table, a pass through to the living room bar, stone walls, travertine floors, and wonderful mountain views complete this uniquely envisioned space.

Many believe that the kitchen is the most important room in the house. What do you think?

We talk about the use of reclaimed building materials on our blog a lot, and while this may seem like a new concept, making use of salvaged materials is nothing new. Since humans began living in built structures, using and re-using various building materials has been a pretty common practice. According to the design blog Networx, today there is a renewed appreciation for these old-world methods, as well as the desire to be environmentally friendly.

Salvaged doors are a great reclaimed material to use in the construction of a new home. They provide a great deal of character to your home. Just think of the story a beautiful craftsman-style door could tell, with unique features like stained glass and architectural details. A salvaged door in good condition is a true piece of art and can add a lot of beauty to your home.

Would you consider adding a salvaged door as a design element in your home? Share your thoughts and ideas with us!

Image Courtesy of Anyajazz65 on Flickr via Networx.com.

Timber Frame Reclaimed From Railroad Trestle

I’m very pleased to announce that we at Trilogy will be collaborating with noted architectural photographer, Roger Wade on a design book tentatively titled “Old Into New – The Use of Reclaimed and Recycled Materials in Modern Architecture.” I have had the pleasure of designing quite a few homes now where we used reclaimed and recycled materials, such as barn beams and posts from old bridges, granary flooring from Chicago, and siding made from everything from redwood to cedar to douglas fir. These weathered, aged, and far from perfect reclaimed materials bring a richness, authenticity, and beauty to new homes that is not possible with “new” materials. I thought it was time we documented some of these truly magnificent homes in print, and on the internet. So stay tuned as we publish, on this blog, chapters one at a time featuring some of the nations most extraordinary homes and their use of reclaimed and recycled materials. Roger, stylist Debbie Grahl, and I worked together on the Architectural Digest article about the Steamboat House.

Were you to build a dream home, would you consider using old, rather than new, as a design element?

Structural Insulating Panels for Roofs and Walls

Introduction to SIPs

• Buyer Benefits: Two years ago, Norm Abrams of This Old House stated on TV and wrote in articles that he wouldn’t build his own house any other way than with SIPs. See the reasons below
• Builder Benefits: SIPs can be a little intimidating to builders who haven’t used them. But experienced SIP contractors sing their praises. Many have switched exclusively to panels,citing the following reasons for their decisions.

SIP Benefits for Buyers

• Extremely strong structure. There is considerable evidence that homes with SIP wall and ceiling panels have survived natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, straight-line winds and earthquakes better than traditional stick-framed homes right next door.
• Lower energy bills. Discounting the “human factor”-thermostat settings and so forth-a number of side-by-side tests show that between 15% and 40% less energy should be needed to heat and cool a home with SIP wall and ceiling panels. In tests by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, SIP walls outperform fiberglass walls by over 50%.
• Improved comfort. Thanks to extra R-values and tight construction, the wall and ceiling surfaces in a SIP home will stay warmer than in stick-framed homes. The warmer those surfaces are, the more comfortable the home is.
• “Freeze proof.” What happens if the power goes down? During the late 1990s, several New England SIP homes survived over a week without power or a wood stove and never came close to freezing.
• Indoor Air Quality. While there is no guarantee here, most homes built with SIPs are tight enough that builders can’t ignore upgrading mechanical ventilation compared to that found in a standard home. In many studies in North American housing, the best indoor air quality is found in homes that are tight and equipped with upgraded mechanical ventilation.
• Green building product. On a life-cycle basis, a more energy-efficient house built with SIPs will be less damaging to the environment, in terms of overall resource consumption. Much less dimensional lumber is used in a SIP home than in a traditional framed structure.
• Interactive systems benefits: For example, a more energy-efficient home may cost slightly more to build but in turn can be heated and cooled with smaller equipment that costs less to install.

SIP Benefits for Builders

• Speed of construction. You can order the panels with all pre-cutting performed in a factory. They show up on the jobsite all pre-numbered, ready for assembly corresponding to numbers laid out on a set of shop drawings. On most jobs you should be out of the weather and dried in sooner. Time is money.
• Fewer framers. A crew can consist of one lead framer assisted by minimally skilled helpers. Whenever a job involves craning panels up to frame a roof, it helps to have two people familiar with panels: one on the roof and one on the ground.
• Shell installation option. If you’re having a tough time locating skilled carpenters, a growing number of manufacturers have regular crews who will install a shell on your foundation for you to finish.
• Rigid frame. It’s easy bracing SIP walls. In fact, once you have two corner panels up, you can lean a ladder against the panels when needed.
• Less jobsite waste. If you’ve ordered a set of panels with all rough openings for windows and doors pre-cut at the factory, the only true waste you’ll have is taking a few cases of empty tubes of adhesive caulk containers to the dump. And the factory can efficiently collect and recycle their cut-outs much more effectively than you can at the job site.
• Less theft. While 2x4s and 2x6s are prone to “walking off” unsecured job sites, panels are too specific to the site’s building system to be worth hauling off somewhere else.
• Cost competitive. While most builders say they pay a little more for SIPs than for the comparable framing and insulation package in a stick-built home, as a group they believe the benefits are worth the costs. The amount extra they pay varies; while a few say it costs them an extra $1 per square foot of finished floor area, the amount may be higher when roof panels are used. However, when roof panels enclose extra living space in a loft, the price per square foot is surprisingly competitive. If at the design stage you optimize a structure to use panels, the most experienced SIP builders then say a house framed with SIPs should cost about the same as a house framed with comparably sized dimensional lumber, and maybe even a little less.
• Easier to hang drywall. There is solid backing for all drywall against exterior walls, which means there is less cutting, faster attachment and less waste material.
• Fewer framing callbacks. Wall panels go in plumb, square and straight. Once in place, a SIP won’t warp, twist or check.
• Increased referrals. A fair number of small builders report their marketing efforts have decreased ever since they started using SIP building systems.

Reprinted from http://www.greenbuildingtalk.com/buildcentral/sip/benefits.aspx

For most people, the construction method is never questioned.  Stick Frame and truss roof are assumed.  Why is this? – because that’s what builders offer.   There really is no other reason.  The building method is so ingrained in our sensibilities that even when we design and build our own homes, we still build with sticks.  There are many better options, but still, we build with sticks.

Stick frame has some benefits

• Most construction trade people understand the system, no new learning or tools are needed.
• Re-tooling is not necessary
• Architects understand the system and can accomplish many difficult designs using stick frame and trusses.
• Last minute changes during the construction cycle are relatively easy.
• The system does not need to be explained to anyone.
• Building Inspectors know what needs to be done and how to inspect it.

Stick frame also has some significant drawbacks

• It is nearly impossible to insulate stick frame properly
• There is insufficient trained trade labor to properly build with stick frame
• It is extremely complicated as a structural system, with too many trades involved- too easy to miss the mark.
• Moisture infiltration into the wall, roof, and ceiling systems almost assure mold and mildew problems.
• The guys at the end (plumbers, electricians, HVAC guys) have a tendency to cut up the structure dangerously.
• Structural material quality has eroded substantially over the past ten years.
• It’s very easy to downgrade the specification without the owner’s knowledge.
• It’s a thirty year system.
• Cathedral ceilings are weaker, poorly insulated, and slow to build.Use beyond thirty years results in substandard housing.

In Addition, there are a number of excellent options

• Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) exceed specification for stick frame in every respect (strength, insulation, tolerance) and can be used for walls, roof, ceiling, and roof.   They are pre-cut to fit on site and greatly reduce on site labor hours and skill levels necessary.  A 100 to 150 year system.
• Steel frame is quicker and stronger.
• Engineered lumber floor trusses are faster
• Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) wall systems are stronger, better insulated, have good thermal mass, are quicker to build
• Aerated concrete blocks are strong, have good thermal mass, and are quick to build with.
• Cast in Place concrete is strong, has good thermal mass, and is a 150 year structure.

Steel framing has insulation disadvantages, as does cast in place concrete.  The aerated concrete blocks are very limited in their usability.  The best combination of these systems is ICF walls, with engineered lumber floor trusses, and SIPs for the roof or ceiling system. If the budget is tight or the land is not flat, SIPs also make excellent walls.

The Real Cost of Stick Framing

Do not let builders railroad you with inferior building systems.  It will cost you- in many ways.  If you settle for stick frame, it will cost you in the following ways:

• Poor constructionA short life span- under forty years
• Over budget and not on schedule
• Horribly insulated
• Weak, especially in high winds or snow load

reprinted from http://www.sipsproducts.com/stick/

We’ve mentioned plenty of times on the Trilogy Partners blog how useful and wonderful reclaimed building materials are. Reclaimed building materials provide unique and interesting alternatives to the traditional building materials that are available today. Take a look at a few of the benefits reclaimed building materials can offer you:

Reclaimed building materials are a perfect choice for any home.

• Financial Benefits – While reclaimed materials could be more expensive than a new item initially, take into consideration that the value of your purchase is likely to increase over time, which means buying reclaimed materials are a better investiment in most cases.
• Aesthetic Benefits – Your home is a place where you can express your individuality, and one-of-a-kind pieces are often a great way to incorporate a little character and history into your home. Properly refurbished and installed fixtures can last for many years and shine just as brightly as a new product.
• Environmental Benefits – Reclaimed building materials are an excellent choice for the environmentally conscious. Producing new materials requires a lot of energy, and puts a lot of unnecessary stress on our environment. Using items that already exist might require a little more effort to remove and re-install on our part, but the impact on the environment is significantly less than that which comes from producing new materials.

Reclaimed materials offer a multitude of benefits to homeowners. If you’re planning a new home, consider how you can incorporate reclaimed materials into your plans!

Information adapted from Service Magic.

Photo credit: Planetgreen.discovery.com.