Thursday, January 21, 2016

Want To Lower Your Effect On The Environment, Renovate

If you are as worried about the environment and your impact on it as a lot of us are these days but you don't know what to do about it, maybe you should think about renovating your home.

It might sound like you are just wasting resources and creating garbage but in reality if you do your renovation right you will not only help lower your impact on the environment you could also help save yourself some money in the long term.

The average home in North America needs to be renovated after about 15 years, the reason for that is not just that styles change but also because things wear out, become damaged or become outdated.

Today's residential construction industry is an ever changing and evolving thing with new products coming out all the time. Most of the new products that are being brought to market these days have an eye to being eco-friendly, some of these products are better then others at this.

One of the biggest changes in homes is the overall use of water, the trend now has been to use less and less water but still give the homeowner the same results. With advances in technology toilets, showerheads and sinks use far less water then ever before. As long as you buy good quality products you shouldn't notice a difference in the performance of these fixtures you will just save money on your water bill and lessen your overall water consumption.

One of the biggest impacts your home has is in the amount of energy that it uses to heat and cool it. This is were renovating really starts to save you money in the long run. When you renovate it allows you to upgrade the heating system to something more energy efficient, while your doing that you can also upgrade the technology that runs the heating system (thermostats, electric dampers). To help your heating system use less energy you should upgrade the insulation in the walls and ceilings, up grade the windows and with these changes and fixes you end up filling the small gaps and opening in and around the outside walls with caulking and foam. All of this adds up to saving energy to heat and cool the home which is good for the environment and in the long run saves you money.

When you refuse to renovate you run the risk of causing more damage to parts of your home from leaks, breaks and malfunctions in some of the main systems and fixtures of the home. Like a car your home needs to be maintained or when one thing starts to malfunction then it can affect other parts of the home, this leads to a larger problem and the cost for you the homeowner only rises.

There are other benefits to renovating your home, it increases the resale value of the home, your enjoyment of the home and how you and other people feel while they are in it. Renovating your home can change the way you live your life, if you were to say renovate your basement so that it isn't a cold and damp place then you might use it more and not need to add a addition onto the house. You might upgrade the heating system allowing your home to be warmed easier with less energy and those you can leave the thermostat set a little higher without worrying about using to much energy.

So while you are thinking about better ways to help out the environment take some time and look around your own home, you might be surprised at what you can do to with some renovations.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc. 

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

2016 - The Year YOU Get Your Dream Custom Home?

New Year, New Homes

Let 2016 be the year that you finally stop living in somebody else's home and start building that dream home that you always wanted!

There is no better time then this year to get yourself a custom home.

Most people want to start the building of their new home in the spring and why not you have been stuck inside because of winter and would like to have you home ready to live in before the next one arrives. To do this you should be starting the process of the design of your home NOW.

If you wait till later on in the winter closer to spring you run the risk that the architect or designer that you want to draw the home is to busy to complete your drawings before spring arrives.

The sooner that you are able to get the drawings completed the sooner that you are able to bring them to a builder for a quote. Like architects and designers builders become busier with not only quoting but actual work the closer that it gets to the actual spring.

The best way to make sure that you get the service you want from your architect/designer and the most attention from perspective builders is to get them your dream home plans early. The longer they have to help you with them the smoother the build process will be, the smoother the process of the actual construction usually means a saving's for you the homeowner.

So if you really want your new custom dream home ready to live in before next winter you should be STARTING RIGHT NOW!

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.

Monday, January 4, 2016

What do I need to get a proper quote from you for a new custom home?

Q:

What do I need to get a proper quote from you for a new custom home?

A:

What you will need is a proper set of plans that are designed and created by a professional. A proper set of plans will have every side of the outside of the home (the elevations) in detail.

The plans will also have detailed floor layouts of the entire home floor by floor. These layouts will have to include the basement including a footing layout.

There will be a roof layout, a roof layout is very important especially with a custom home, custom homes usually have a complicated roof layout with hips and valleys.

A proper architect drawn set of created plans will have multiple cross sections of the interior of the home at key important points. The only way to see what the ceiling heights, stairs and other important features of the home are created is to see them in a cross section.

In the plans there also should be pages that deal with fine details, such as gable end details, or details that have special ceilings or special re-enforcing to help stabilize the structure.

There should be a door schedule and a window schedule, these will not only list the size and shape of windows and doors but will also give the details of the look, make and style of them.

The more detail that the plans have the less questions that your contractor will have for you, the less questions that they have to ask the more accurate and the quicker they can get you a quote for your new custom home.

So make sure that you come with your detailed set of plans when you meet with your contractor and the whole process of quoting will go a lot smoother.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.