Superior walls are efficient because they are pre-manufactured and pre-engineered. Install time is a fraction of a typical foundation. Also, they are pre-studded on the inside so they are ready to be finished out whenever. They are energy efficient because they are insulated panels. Â This foundation was set in 3 hours, using Superior Walls.
As temperatures drop during the winter, home fueling costs often increase for home owners. Fuel options for home owners largely depend on the region — in the Northeast, fuel oil or electricity are most prominent while in rural areas, propane and wood are often the main choices. But whatever your heating fuel options are, you have options to reduce your costs.
Reducing fuel costs can involve both short-term and long-term solutions and range from simple, inexpensive changes to major home modifications. Here are some ways that you can keep the cold out and the costs down this winter:
Reduce Air LeaksÂ
By caulking and sealing air leaks in a home, an average household can cut 10 percent of their monthly energy bill. Use caulk to seal any cracks or small openings on non-moving surfaces such as where window frames meet the house structure. Make sure your weather stripping in exterior door frames hasn’t deteriorated and cracked, if it has, replace it.
Sealing windows and doors will help, but the worst culprits are usually utility cut-throughs for pipes (plumping penetrations), gaps around chimneys and recessed lights in insulated ceilings, and unfinished spaces behind cupboards and closets. You can buy material that expands to fill the gaps and keep air from flowing through.
Use Energy Wisely
A question that is asked of builders in our area very often is why it costs more to build in the mountains than “back at home”. There are a number of reasons for the higher costs and since the foundation of our new home is finished and framing has begun I can illustrate many of them. Our dream home was built by Living Stone Construction.
Today’s new homes reflect changing market preferences and integrate elaborate designs and consumer desires into the floor plans and construction of the homes. And successful home builders have the knowledge, organizational skills and drive to build them.
But what does it really take to build a house?
Like a CEO, a home builder relies on a number of workers to get the job done right. A home builder guides dozens of skilled artisans and professionals, including carpenters, architects, engineers, plumbers, electricians, painters and landscapers. The builder must understand all of the home’s complex systems and know enough about each contractor’s trade in order to coordinate this skilled team to build and sell a quality product.
Some home builders develop the land on which the homes are built. In this capacity, they act as the land surveyor. They look at a piece of land to determine whether it complies with zoning regulations, local planning laws and environmental restrictions, and whether it is suitable for development. The home builder studies the lot’s topography, searching for rock outcroppings, shallow depth bedrock, shallow groundwater, natural drainage sources and dense vegetation. Landscaping options and erosion control also have to be considered. Once a builder determines that a site is suitable for construction, they must navigate the permitting process.
Challenge of the Century :Â How to update a 100-year-old house without disturbing an inch of antique charm
Winter 2011 Issue
Visually residing somewhere between a village cottage and a mountain farmhouse, the sharp-gabled Montreat residence owned by Rick and Meredith Harbaugh was built in 1909. Used for many years as a summer home, it features only one add-on, a cluster of rooms accrued in the ’40s. Interestingly, that area is in worse shape than the century-old bulk of the house, according to architect Maury Hurt.
Superior Walls foundations feature patented, insulated, precast concrete wall panels that are formed in a factory-controlled setting and delivered to the new home job site, where the panels are lifted into position with a crane and carefully bolted together and sealed. The walls are custom-designed and built to virtually any architectural style, complete with window and door openings.
Superior Walls foundations are dry, using a special low water/cement ratio concrete that requires no additional dampproofing. Â They are warm, with full-length insulation built in to increase energy efficiency. Superior Walls high strength 5000+ psi concrete is reinforced with steel rebar and polypropylene fibers for added strength and performance. The wall panels also feature convenient features like built-in accesses for wiring and stud facings for easy drywall installation with screws. Another important feature for builders is the speed of installation. A typical home foundation can be installed in less than one day. For more information click here:
ENERGY STAR certified new homes are designed and built to standards well above most other homes on the market today, delivering energy efficiency savings of up to 30 percent when compared to typical new homes. A new home that has earned the ENERGY STAR label has undergone a process of inspections, testing, and verification to meet strict requirements set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), delivering better quality, better comfort, and better durability.
Building lot in Cheshire, a luxury community. Trees and year round mountain views. This is a flat lot yet has mountain views! $84,900 where residents can work live and play in harmony with nature. Cheshire offers shops, restaurants and gourmet food market. Lot also offered as pre-construction by Living Stone Construction – craftsman style home lot/home package. Please contact us 828.669.4343 for more information. See mls # 526336.
NAHB’s Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS) designation is one of the most popular professional designations among our remodeler members, and with good reason. CAPS remodeling targets the specific needs of a home owner, including modifications that are required for that owner to be able to fully access and use every part of the home even as specific physical limitations arise, often due to age. Looking at today’s demographics, it stands to reason that there is plenty of demand for such modifications and for the professional remodelers who know how to put them in place. Both Sean Sullivan and Laura Sullivan with ID.ology Interior Design are Certified Agin in Place Specialists.
Choosing the foundation for your mountain home requires paying attention to good counsel. Most people and even many builders have no idea how important these choices are for building in the mountains. In this video, Sean addresses the three key components to determine the best kind of foundation for your project. First, topography. Your topography should dictate what type of foundation system you should consider. Secondly, structure is the foundation system and could include cinder block. superior walls, poured walls or ICF’s (Insulated Concrete Form). Lastly, topography and structure of your lot will dictate how you are going to use the home. Some items to consider will be the driveway approach the location of the garage, whether your foundation will include a basement, crawl or slab.
What is a geothermal heat pump water heater?
Water heating is a thermodynamic process using an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature. A geothermal water heater does exactly that… [it] utilizes the earth as a heat source to heat/cool water temperatures for your space. Your utility bills will usually cut in half by utilizing geo-thermal.
Heat Extraction
While it may be difficult to explain the technology of extracting heat from air, water or ground, the concept is easier to comprehend once one understands the principles of heat extraction and heat exchange. Consider the following:
One of the primary reasons you should chose an experienced contractor is to assure accurate estimating. Just as you use due diligence in choosing your builder the builder has a responsibility to do his due diligence to ensure you the best and most accurate pricing.
Here is an interview with Mike Romero, Managing Broker for Southcliff about working with Living Stone on the award winning home, the Alexandra Cottage.
Living Stone Construction, Inc. Has Another Successful AHBA Parade of Homes
During the weekends of October 13-14 and October 20-21, the Asheville Home Builders Association (AHBA) held its 31st Annual Parade of Homes (POH). Every year builders all across the Asheville area show off recently constructed homes in a variety of developments and other communities for the general public to tour and enjoy. This year, Living Stone Construction (LSC) from the Black Mountain Area was the 2012 POH Featured Builder and teamed up with the Southcliff development to introduce the beautiful Alexandra Cottage to the viewers. Both weekends were a great success and approximately 1000 people toured the home.
There are good reasons Living Stone clients recommend us so highly. We continuously invest in keeping ourselves at the leading edge of our industry. And our consultative approach allows each client to benefit from our experience and knowledge.
We are members of:
