More photos of BOLD designed and built Luxury Master Suites!
Archive for the ‘Home Features’ Category
HOW TO BUILD A CUSTOM HOME, Part 6: Interior Design Features — Custom luxury master suite – MORE PHOTOS!
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010HOW TO BUILD A CUSTOM HOME, Part 6: Interior Design Features — Custom luxury master suite
Friday, July 30th, 2010In this series, the professionals at the B.O.L.D. Company will take you through the process of building a custom home in the Greater Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky area. From plan and lot selection, to mortgage approval, to the actual construction, we’ll take you behind-the-scenes each week for an inside look at a different part of the process.
This week, we look at some popular feature options for the master suite:
The typical master suite setup includes both a tub and a shower, either separate or a combination tub/shower unit. Lately, homebuyers have been choosing non-traditional tub and shower units that add elegance and luxury to the suite.
- Soaking tubs Bathing can have more benefits than simply hygiene. Soaking tubs, in particular, bring to your routine both relaxation and stress release, while soothing aching muscles. Some popular options outside of the standard 5 foot wall-to-wall built-in unit include:
- Garden These tubs are larger and deeper than a standard tub, and so, better suited to a long soak. They also tend to have a more rounded shape, and are often molded for comfort, with back, head, and arm rests built in.
- Claw-foot or Pedestal Claw-foot tubs give an antique look to a bathroom, while pedestal tubs can often have a quite modern look. Both of these tubs, like the garden tub, are designed for the bather to lie fully immersed in water
- Roman/Greek/Japanese Though different names, based on different traditions, the intentions and the results are nearly the same. These tubs are designed to allow the bather to remain fully immersed in water while sitting upright, rather than the traditional Western tub that requires the bather to lie in the water. (For example, think of these tubs as miniature hot tubs, but without the jets.) These tubs can be space savers that fit in spots that standard 5 foot rectangular shower/tub combos do not, because the focus is on depth, not length.
- Jacuzzi A soaking tub with whirlpool jets is another popular means of bringing luxury home to your master suite. Jetted tubs are readily available for purchase, or jets can be installed into an existing tub.
- Garden These tubs are larger and deeper than a standard tub, and so, better suited to a long soak. They also tend to have a more rounded shape, and are often molded for comfort, with back, head, and arm rests built in.
- Custom showers Taking a bath is not the only way to relax at the end of a long day. Those who prefer showers have plenty of luxury options, too:
- Size Custom showers are tending to be larger. Purchase a shower enclosure in the shape and size you want, or use tile to surround your shower stall. Gone are the days of the 2.5 ft x 2.5 ft single stall!
- Entry Shower curtains are still in use, but more commonly, glass doors are installed for the shower entry. Even more trendy are open showers that have no door at all! Imagine having no shower door or shower curtain to try to keep clean from soap-scum and mildew!
- Showerheads Custom showers rarely have one showerhead at one height. Nowadays, luxury showers have showerheads on either side of an open double-stall shower enclosure. Multiple showerheads can be placed at various heights and can have differing settings. Consider installing a showerhead with a nozzle.
- Steam shower/sauna Design your custom shower to be a steam shower or sauna, and your master suite will be like an at-home spa! Steam showers and saunas must be completely enclosed to keep in the heat and moisture, and to avoid damage to the rest of the bathroom. While they may also function as a traditional shower, they will generally require additional plumbing and wiring to produce the steam.
- Size Custom showers are tending to be larger. Purchase a shower enclosure in the shape and size you want, or use tile to surround your shower stall. Gone are the days of the 2.5 ft x 2.5 ft single stall!
- Radiant heating When you step out of your custom bath tub or shower, don’t step onto a cold tile floor! Radiant heating options are available for warming your bathroom floor!
- Towel warmers A nice finishing touch to a custom luxury master suite is a towel warmer, available as a warming rack or a warming drawer. After stepping out of your jacuzzi or steam shower, there is nothing like a nice, warm towel to further soothe tired muscles.
B.O.L.D. Homes, a B.O.L.D. company, has been established as among the premiere Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky custom home builders since 1986. We have well over 500 customer designed homes to our credit. Work one-on-one with the owners of the company – including a licensed real estate broker, a licensed real estate agent, a licensed professional engineer, and a CAD draftsman/designer – to design your dream home full of the features important to you. We can help you find a balance between luxury and budget.
ASK THE BOLD COMPANY FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BUILDING A CUSTOM HOME
HOW TO BUILD A CUSTOM HOME, Part 4: How to Select — or Design — a Home Plan
Friday, July 16th, 2010In this series, the professionals at the B.O.L.D. Company will take you through the process of building a custom home in the Greater Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky area. From plan and lot selection, to mortgage approval, to the actual construction, we’ll take you behind-the-scenes each week for an inside look at a different part of the process.
This week, we offer advice on selecting – or designing your own – house plan.
- First, consider whether you want to:
- find a stock plan, make very minor adjustments, and build from that;
- customize a stock plan with several changes; or,
- design a custom plan using elements from several floor plans and your imagination.
Your answer to this question will depend on the effort you are willing to put into the process. Of course, the quickest and easiest route is to simply pick one that has already been designed and start building. However, if you have particular needs or wants that are unique to you or your situation, you will spend a lot of time trying to find a plan that fits—when your time would be better spent designing your own.
Some builders will NOT build from a custom plan, nor allow more than very minor adjustments to their stock plans. Some builders WILL build from custom plans, but you will need to find an architect to draw and modify those plans. A select group of custom home builders can help you draw, modify, and build from a house plan.
- Identify the major features you require of your home:
- How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need? Consider your current family unit, but also the likelihood of that unit growing (Do you anticipate having (more) children? Is there a possibility of older children moving back in? Or aging parents moving in? Do you have need for guest accomodations, and do you see that need increasing or decreasing with time?)
- One-floor or two-floor (or more!) living? Do you plan to grow old in this house? You might plan ahead and either build a first-floor master suite, or a first-floor office with attached bath that could become a first-floor master if needed later.
- What are your lifestyle and / or entertaining habits? Do you foresee a need for formal sitting and / or dining rooms, or would you prefer to put that space toward a more open, less formal great room/kitchen space? Will you need space for many people, seating for many people, or just “living space†for your immediate family?
- Where do you spend most of your time? What rooms are important to you right now? What would improve those spaces? Would it be helpful to have a space dedicated to a hobby? Or to an office? Or children’s toys? Or to Sunday football?
- Where do you and your family need privacy? Bedrooms? Offices? Backyard patios? Think about how your floor plan – placement of rooms, windows, doors, landscaping – can provide privacy to those areas that you want to keep quiet or secluded.
- What do you NEED to store, and what would you LIKE to store? (And how?) Do you need garage space for a boat? Do you want a walk-in pantry in the kitchen? Or maybe a section of the basement devoted simply to shelving for boxes?
- Consider your home site. If you already know where your home will be built, then you must take the site into consideration when selecting your plan. Will the house fit on the lot? A wide house on a narrow lot can pose problems. Likewise, a steeply sloping lot will pose greater challenges for some home styles than for others. Also consider the area and the homes around your site. If resale is a consideration for you, you don’t want your home to be the most expensive home on the street. Think about the best attributes of your lot and match them with your floor plan: you want windows facing your best views, you may want to take advantage of or, conversely, avoid the sun’s hottest rays of the day (depending on where you live and other factors), and you may want to position your bedrooms and offices to be further from lot lines, roads, and other homes than other rooms of your house.
- Think about what furniture you intend to move to or purchase for the new house. If you have a giant antique armoire that has been in the family for generations, be sure you have a place to put it!
- PETS! How can your new home’s layout make pet care as simple and convenient as possible? Maybe a large mud room with a door to the back yard for bringing the dogs in on a rainy day? How about a cabinet for the litter box in the laundry room with an opening so the cat can get in, but stray litter cannot get out? Where could you install your custom 500 gallon fish tank? Or where will you store your horse’s tack and equipment when you bring it in from the barn to clean?
- Make a list of features that you would like to incorporate into your new home floor plan. Also make a list of what you do NOT want in your home. These lists will help you remember your priorities. Clip pictures from magazines or take photos of friends’ homes that illustrate your notes or that capture the “mood†you want a particular room to have.
- Take a look at your notes from the questions above. Search house plans (there are numerous online directories – put “house plans†into your search engine, and you can spend the rest of the day looking at floor plans!) and note which ones meet your requirements. FOCUS on the floor plan layout first and the exterior second, because most floor plans can be matched up with most exteriors. If you find the perfect plan, GREAT! If not, make note of the two or three closest to what you want. Make sure you note what it is you like best about each plan (and what you don’t). An experienced builder or architect can help you merge elements of each into one plan.
- Now it’s time to think about the exterior of the home. What styles do you like? (For ideas, search for the following terms: “prairie style homesâ€, “traditional style homesâ€, “modern style homesâ€, “southern style homesâ€). Think about the style of the front of your home, but also consider what you intend to use your yard, front and back, for: entertaining and grilling out, kids’ sports or recreation (trampoline, basketball hoop, swingset). How can the floor plan affect your yard? Do you want a screened porch in the back off the master? These kinds of considerations will affect room placement in the layout.
B.O.L.D. Homes, a B.O.L.D. company, has been established as among the premiere Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky custom home builders since 1986. We have well over 500 customer designed homes to our credit. Work one-on-one with the owners of the company – including a licensed real estate broker, a licensed real estate agent, a licensed professional engineer, and a CAD draftsman/designer – to design your dream home! Contact us today about plans or check out plans on our web site.
ASK THE BOLD COMPANY FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BUILDING A CUSTOM HOME
HOW TO BUILD A CUSTOM HOME, Part 3: How to Choose a Home Site
Friday, July 9th, 2010In this series, the professionals at the B.O.L.D. Company will take you through the process of building a custom home in the Greater Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky area. From plan and lot selection, to mortgage approval, to the actual construction, we’ll take you behind-the-scenes each week for an inside look at a different part of the process.
This week, we look at what goes into choosing a home site. While many of the factors that go into this decision will come down to personal choice (and, as always, budget) there are important factors to consider before choosing any home site.
Begin by answering each of the following questions. Then prioritize the answers by importance to you. For instance, is it more important to you to have a wooded lot or to have convenience to work?
- Small or large lot? A small lot is generally less expensive to purchase upfront, and also less expensive and less time- and effort-consuming to maintain later. However, a small lot will not accommodate a large house or any extras – swimming pools, sheds, gardens. The size of the lot can also affect the perceived privacy of the home – neighbors are closer.
- Remote or convenient? Privacy and tranquility can be benefits of a rural site. Convenience to school, work, and emergency services are benefits of a more urban site.
- Wooded or open? Mature trees add value to your property, give your home character, add a measure of privacy, and provide shade which reduces utility costs. However, they also can drop a lot of leaves in the fall!
- Sloped or flat? Homes on sloped lots are less likely to require the use of a sump pump to keep water away from the foundation. They also allow for features like a walk-out basement. However, if you intend to install a swimming pool or a basketball goal, you want at least part of the lot to be relatively flat. And sloped lots may require a retaining wall, which will quickly increase the cost of the project.
Once you have identified the basic features you are looking for in a lot, you must determine where to look for that type of lot. Consider:
- School districts
- Local taxes
- Convenience to schools, work, shopping, health care, places of worship
- Public services
After you narrow down your choices, be sure you consider the following before signing a contract:
- SOILS Have a professional – your builder, an engineer, or a municipal authority – test the soils where you plan to build your home. Most homes are built on soils, not solid rock, but some soils are better suited than others to support a foundation. Even with poor soils, construction may proceed, but the costs will be higher.
- WATER Study the flow of water on your lot and how the placement of your home might affect drainage. You don’t want to build in a flood plain and you want water to run away from your foundation.
- UTILITIES What utilities are available? Will you spend additional money bringing utilities to your lot, or to your home on the lot?
- ACCESS What will it cost to provide access to your home site? Will you have to allocate precious funds to a long driveway?
- RESALE POTENTIAL Is the area likely to continue to grow or to stagnate? Is the lot on a busy road or a cul-de-sac? Is your lot one of the more expensive or less expensive lots in the immediate area? You don’t want your house to be just like every other house on the block, but you also don’t want it to be the most expensive house on the block when it comes time to sell.
- HOA FEES Once you own property in a managed community, you will likely be responsible for yearly, or even monthly, fees. Are they affordable on an ongoing basis? Are they in line with the fees in similar nearby communities? What perks does the community provide in exchange for these fees – walking paths, swimming pools, fishing lakes, tennis courts, gate security, lawn maintenance?
- EASEMENTS, SETBACK REQUIREMENTS, OTHER RESTRICTIONS Be sure you know what you are and are not allowed to do with the space, and that these restrictions do not interfere with your intended use.
The licensed real estate professionals at Bold Realty, a B.O.L.D. company, are ready to help you find that perfect home site in Northern Kentucky! We are also available to help you find and purchase a pre-existing home, or to list your home for sale. Contact us today, or check out Northern Kentucky Multiple Listing Service listings!
ASK THE BOLD COMPANY FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BUILDING A CUSTOM HOME
HOW TO BUILD A CUSTOM HOME, Part 2: How to Pick a Builder
Friday, July 2nd, 2010In this series, the professionals at the B.O.L.D. Company will take you through the process of building a custom home in the Greater Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky area. From plan and lot selection, to mortgage approval, to the actual construction, we’ll take you behind-the-scenes each week for an inside look at a different part of the process.
This week, we take a look at the selection process for choosing a builder. Remember that while you are “interviewing†the builder, the builder is also “interviewing†you. Building a custom home is a complex project, and it is important that BOTH of your expectations are met and that your personalities will mesh.
*BUDGET
What do you intend to spend on your new home? This is a question only you can answer. Professionals in the sales and lending markets can help you determine how much you can afford to spend, and you should seek their advice. But just because you can afford a dollar figure does not mean that you will want to spend that much; it simply means you can spend any dollar amount between that figure and zero.
Once you know what your budget is, make sure that you consider builders that specialize in your price range. If you want a custom home in the $300s, don’t interview production builders that build primarily cookie-cutter entry-level homes. Likewise, if you have a budget in the $100s, don’t visit $500,000 model homes or interview builders that have not built in that range—they won’t be experienced at getting the most for your money.
*LOCATION or STYLE
Next, you need to decide which is more important to you, the location or the type of home? If you intend to live in a particular school district or neighborhood, then you must determine what builders are available in that area.
If you already have a home site in mind, be sure that the builders you list are willing to build there. Not all builders will build on your lot – most production builders will only build on their lots in their subdivisions, while most custom builders will build off-site.
If where you live is negotiable, but you certainly want a particular type of house (custom, log, contemporary, traditional), then you will want to research builders who specialize in what you want.
Either method you choose, put together a list of possible builders by contacting the local home builders’ association or chamber of commerce, talk to friends, relatives, and neighbors, and also consult one or several real estate agents. If you intend to build from an architect’s plan, be sure and ask that architect if they recommend a particular builder; they may have one or a few builders in mind who are familiar with their plans.
*LICENSING and TRACK RECORD
When you have compiled a list of anywhere from 3 or 4 to 8 or 10 potential builders (depending on your area), you should do some background research on each builder and narrow down your list prior to visiting any of the sales professionals or model homes.
-Are all of the builders on your list sufficiently insured for both general liability and workers’ compensation? Any “No†answers should be automatic dismissals from the list!
-Are any of the builders on your list members of professional organizations? National, state, or local home builders’ associations? Chambers of commerce?
-Check licensing requirements for your area: are all of the builders on your list appropriately licensed? (Many states do not license home builders, so also check with the local home builders association for a list of Registered Builders—to qualify for this designation, builders must meet strict requirements regarding contracts, warranties, standards, and dispute resolution procedures.)
-Check with the local Better Business Bureau. What is each builder’s rating? Have there been any major complaints about any of the builders?
-Are the builders on your list registered with a new home warranty program?
-Do any of the builders participate in the Energy Star Program? Do they have any Green Building, Aging-in-Place, Accessibility, or other training or designations?
-Have any of the builders on your list placed numerous liens against clients’ homes? Have any had numerous liens filed against their own properties?
-How long has each builder been in business? How many homes have they built? How many homes have they built in the area, price range, and style that you want?
*INTERVIEWS
You should now have narrowed down your list to a manageable number of potential builders to meet face-to-face. Start by touring model homes: take note of the quality of the homes, the features available, the neighborhoods, and the floor plans. If none of these initial visits leaves you with a bad impression of the builder, the neighborhood, or the home, then make appointments to meet with the sales professional for each builder.
When you meet with each builder, consider carefully: Do you feel comfortable working with this person – personality, accessibility, trust? Is this someone with whom you can have a comfortable relationship for the one- to two-year process, including preliminary preparation and post-closing warranty service? Ask the builder about plans they have to offer or about your particular plan, if you have one selected. Be upfront about your expectations, needs, and wants. Do you feel they are being similarly forthright? If you have not selected a plan or a lot, is this person qualified and willing to help you make these decisions? Ask detailed questions about the whole process: contracts to be signed, how selections are made, procedure and pricing for change orders, billing and payment policies, site visits, closing process, warranty service.
*BIDS
At this point, you may feel comfortable selecting one to three builders from whom to request a bid. If you already have a plan and a site, the bidding process may go rather quickly, and you can accept bids from a greater number of builders. If this is the case, be sure that the builder(s) actually see(s) the site and/or blueprints prior to bidding the job. Also, be sure that each builder is bidding on the same specifications, so that you are comparing apples with apples, and not apples with oranges.
If you do not already have a building lot in mind, builders can bid the job with a lot allowance; this means, they propose to build a particular house on a lot worth a particular amount of money (whatever you expect to spend for the site), and based on certain other conditions of what is determined “buildableâ€. Keep in mind that should you ultimately decide on a lot that is more expensive than your bid’s lot allowance, then the total bid will go up accordingly. Likewise, if you select a location that requires extra work to meet the builder’s standards for being “buildable†– additional grading, trees removed, retaining walls – the total bid price will go up.
If you do not already have a plan and/or lot in mind, you may wish to choose only one or, at most, two builders who are best suited to help you locate, purchase, and modify or prepare both the building site and the blue prints.
Most importantly, while price is important, and staying within budget imperative, cost should not be your only, or even primary, consideration. Quality and trust are priceless in a new home purchase, and cost-cutting early can lead to costly complications later.
*SIGNING THE CONTRACT
When the time comes to make the final decision – complete with signature – consider consulting an attorney with expertise in real estate and / or construction to review the contract you are being asked to adhere to for this great investment of time and money. Also, be sure you are aware how much you will be required to pay upfront and at what intervals after that. You should not be expected to pay more than 10% prior to the closing.
The B.O.L.D. Company is uniquely situated to help you through each and every step of the custom home building process. We are available to build on your lot in Northern Kentucky, or let our licensed real estate agents help you find the perfect home site! Our in-house drafting and design team, together with our on-staff licensed Professional Engineer, can help you find or design the plan of your dreams! And of course, B.O.L.D. combines quality products and craftsmanship with unsurpassed customer service, so that the finished home is everything you expect and more. Find out why 400+ other new home customers have trusted The B.O.L.D. Company since 1986!
ASK THE BOLD COMPANY FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BUILDING A CUSTOM HOME
HOW TO BUILD A CUSTOM HOME, Part 1: Why Build a Custom Home?
Friday, June 25th, 2010In this series, the professionals at the B.O.L.D. Company will take you through the process of building a custom home in the Greater Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky area. From plan and lot selection, to mortgage approval, to the actual construction, we’ll take you behind-the-scenes each week for an inside look at a different part of the process.
This week, we take a look at the decision so many homebuyers face: Build or Buy?
The advantages of building a new home are many:
New homes are increasingly energy efficient and low-maintenance. New homes can save you up to 30% annually on utility costs. All components of the home are new and are of the latest design. Also, new homes are subject to the latest and strictest building codes and industry standards.- You choose the features that are important to you. Instead of choosing between House A with this feature you like and House B with that feature you like, when you build your own home, you can include all the features you like, and leave out the ones you don’t. This brings us to our next point:
- Times change, and with them, colors, designs, and lifestyles. Like the boxy cars of the 1980s morphing into the sleek aerodynamic designs of today, homes and their component parts face style and design changes. Floor plans change with lifestyle changes. Today, new home customers are choosing to phase out formal living and dining rooms, while phasing in first floor master bedrooms, convenient laundry rooms, and a more open design overall. New home buyers are also more aware and concerned about issues such as environmental impact, indoor air quality, and the ability to gracefully age in place. The latest technologies found in a new home address each of these issues, and more.
- See the house go up, inside and out. When you build a new home, you are there for the whole process. You see the empty hole in the ground, the framing and wiring prior to the drywall; you smell the brand-new paint and shiny new flooring. Are there curtain blocks over the windows? Are there electric plugs where you want to put your coffee table? There is a greater feeling of pride and of ownership – it is YOUR house, built for YOU based on YOUR wants and needs. BECAUSE:
- Custom homes are all about YOU, not about the sale. The difference between purchasing a new CUSTOM home and a new production home is the quality and the focus. A custom home is focused on you and your needs. A production home is directed at a large group of potential customers, both in features and in price. While a custom home will include higher quality products, a production home will have more builder-grade-quality products, to keep the price in a range affordable to a greater number of people. And because you may not be around at the time of construction, you may not even be aware of many of these quality concessions hidden behind the finishes—but many of the concessions you WILL see and experience every day you live in the home.
- New homes come with extensive warranties – not just from the home builder. Many of the components of the home have manufacturer’s warranties, from faucets, to doors and windows, to appliances, and more.
- New homes are built in new communities, which tend to rise in value faster than older communities. Like home styles, community styles change. Home buyers begin looking for different features in their communities, whether it is pools, tennis courts, or walking paths, or convenience to the newest shopping centers and restaurants.
Of course, there are two sides to every story. It is important that you are aware of the challenges, as well as the benefits, and determine if they can be overcome:
- Construction of a home takes TIME. The resale of a pre-existing home can close within thirty days, while construction of a new home takes four to six months, depending on the time of year and the kinds of weather and scheduling delays that can be expected.
- Construction of a home also takes EFFORT. You may not be laying the bricks yourself, but you you WILL have to select the brick and color you want, and you will have to meet a deadline for the decision to avoid
extra costs and delays. There will be lots of decisions to be made, large and small, throughout the process. An experienced professional, however, will prepare you to succeed and make each step as easy as possible– they know how early to begin making each decision, they can guide you toward the best products for your needs v. budget, and they can answer your questions each step of the way. - Unexpected costs get you overbudget easily if you are building a house on the side (in your spare time?) or if you are building a home for the first time. With an experienced professional home builder, staying on budget should not be an issue.
- Financing can be difficult to obtain – possibly more difficult than for a pre-existing resale. Due to the current mortgage and economic conditions, financing can be a hurdle, but a professional homebuilder can help. We have the experience, knowledge, and contacts to help turn this “hurdle†into little more than a “speed bump.â€
Contact The B.O.L.D. Company today for more information on why and how to build a custom home in the Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky area. The B.O.L.D. Company has design/built over 400 new custom homes since 1986, and no two are exactly alike. Our commitment to quality and craftsmanship are reasons why we have had the distinct privilege to build for some customers over again, and to build for relatives and friends of customers. Our participation in the EPA’s Energy Star Program and the NAHB’s Green Building Training Program keep us at the forefront of technology and innovation. But most of all, we owe our success to our desire to serve our customers and put their priorities first. After all, our most popular floor plan is called “You draw it, we build it!â€
CONTACT THE B.O.L.D. COMPANY FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BUILDING A CUSTOM HOME
10701 Union Reserve North, MLS# 404220, see and hear Laura talk about her home.
Monday, May 31st, 2010Laura’s home is for sale. Check out the video of her and Mike Kegley of The BOLD Company as they discuss this unique home. Click this link for the MLS listing 404220. 10701 Union Reserve North.
Spacious and Roomy Laundry Rooms are Now a Must Have
Monday, May 17th, 2010Convenient and comfortable laundry rooms are an increasingly popular feature among home buyers.
Tom Byrne, president of Rockville, Md.-based Chadsworth Homes Inc., says they are more popular than such features as studies and media rooms.
“In the past few years, 30 percent of the homes we build … have a laundry room with granite countertops, a single-level kitchen-style faucet, and the laundry tub will be an undercounter sink,” Byrne says.
Stephen Melman, director of economic services for the National Association of Home Builders, concurs.
“These rooms are becoming larger and more multifunctional, with organizers, a table for folding, ironing stations, and windows with a view,” Melman says.
Source: Washington Times, Carisa Chappell (5/14/2010)
New Energy Star Guidelines for 2011
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing new, more rigorous guidelines for new homes that earn the Energy Star label. Compared to the current Energy Star guidelines, the new requirements will make qualified new homes at least 20 percent more efficient than homes built to the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) – slashing utility bills for qualified homes by 15 percent compared to IECC code-built homes.
The updated requirements will ensure that the government’s Energy Star label continues to deliver a significant increase in energy efficiency over homes that are built to code and standard builder business practices. These guidelines will go into effect in January 2011, although some builders may choose to adopt the new requirements earlier.
Key elements of the new guidelines for Energy Star qualified homes include:
· A Complete Thermal Enclosure System: Comprehensive air sealing, properly insulated assemblies and high-performance windows enhance comfort, improve durability and reduce utility bills.
· Quality Installed Complete Heating and Cooling Systems: High-efficiency heating and cooling systems engineered to deliver more comfort, moisture control and quiet operation, and equipped with fresh-air ventilation to improve air quality.
· A Complete Water Management System: Because Energy Star homes offer a tightly-sealed and insulated building envelope, a comprehensive package of flashing, moisture barriers, and heavy-duty membrane details is critical to help keep water from roofs, walls, and foundations for improved durability and indoor air quality.
· Efficient Lighting and Appliances: Look for Energy Star qualified lighting, appliances and fans helping to further reduce monthly utility bills and provide high-quality performance.
· Third-Party Verification: Energy Star qualified homes require verification by independent Home Energy Raters who conduct a comprehensive series of detailed inspections and use specialized diagnostic equipment to test system performance.
More information about Energy Star qualified homes: http://www.energystar.gov
Green Features are Undervalued by Appraisers and Banks
Friday, April 9th, 2010Home builders are complaining that the appraisers and lenders aren’t willing to recognize the value of green building features.
“What we’re finding is that the appraisal process, the lending process, the underwriting process for loans still hasn’t caught up with the market interest in green building,” says Kevin Morrow, senior program manager for the National Association of Home Builders’ green programs.
“Technological advances have radically changed — and are radically changing — the way we build houses. The banking and mortgage industries need to be educated,†says Mark Nuzzolo, owner of Brookside Development in Woodbridge, Conn.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor, Alexandra Marks (04/07/2010)
