Maine Modular & Custom Home News

President elect Obama has some new green building programs he wants to see mandated.  He has proposed extensions for federal grants and new grants that promote sustainable building codes and money to retrofit older buildings.  In the overall proposed plan we would need to have all new buildings carbon nuetral by the year 2030.  Read this on line article from Business Week for a good overview of a plan put together by the USGBC and President elect Obama.  It is good to keep this information in mind when going forward with new building projects.  No use building it one way, only to have to change it in a few years to fit a new code.

“One of the good things is that the politicians have discovered energy efficiency. One of the bad things is that the politicians have discovered energy efficiency.”  This quote is from the Wiscasset newspaper on November 6th in an article about Maine resident Doug Baston.  Baston owns North Atlantic Energy Advisors and has been in the Energy field for nearly 40 years.  Baston feels that all the attention that the government is placing on energy efficiency has placed a burden of guilt on the general public.  While it is a good thing for each of us to be energy efficient, it is also important to keep the big picture in sight.  In the overall scope of things, industry is doing the most damage to our planet.  That is no excuse to not do our individual best at saving energy and becoming sustainable.  Once again, I reiterate that we need to be informed and keep on top of the ways we can participate in energy conservation.  Keep in mind that according to Baston, that does not necessarily mean listening to what the politicians are saying, or the incentives the government provides.  Sometimes they just want to be in the limelight…whatever it takes.

I found a website that has an incredible amount of free information on a variety of topics: www.onetoremember.co.uk has free e-books that provide a lot of useful building information.  Just today I downloaded one on  solar electricity, one on timber framing and a do-it-yourself guide to Energy Star home sealing.  There are also many options for purchasing books that relate to sustainable building or energy efficiency, but I found plenty of good reading in the free section.  The best thing is that the free books are available immediately in .pdf format.  So not only are they free…it’s immediate gratification….two things that make this site appealing.

There are so many tips abounding on saving energy this year it’s overwhelming. To find a whole lot of tips all in one place you can visit the U.S. Department of Energy’s website and review their energy saver blog.  You will find tips on replacing inefficient windows, as well as tips on how to make the windows you currently have more efficient.  There is a blog on the ways senior citizens can get help to save energy, ways low income families can get help to stay warm, and ways to take advantage of tax credits for those who are replacing old technology in their homes.  Visit the energy saver’s blog and get prepared for winter!

Anyone who has a teenager most likely realizes that they know more about the DVD, HDTV, TiVo, and any other new technology than their parents do.  While we struggle to keep up with the new developments, they are right on top of things, waiting impatiently for the newest and greatest developments.  They can text message while down loading a new play list for their Nano, and programming the TiVo.  I on the other hand can barely load a DVD into the player and figure out how to make it actually play.  So then, as I ponder about new electronic technologies that are available for our homes, like enhanced security systems and programmable lights and thermostats, I have a hard time figuring it all out.  In fact the words Home Automation Systems are pretty daunting when you try to think about it.  According to the NAHB our home automation systems should enhance our lives while also being approachable.  There are specialists that can walk us through what is important to incorporate into our new home.  Perhaps it is lighting and heating automation that helps us the most.  Maybe we want music to be playing when we arrive home.  The possibilities are endless, and that’s why it can be overwhelming.  If you can’t deal with it as you are building your new home, there is at least one important rule to remember.  Install more structured wiring than you think you need.  This way when you do decide you need that surround sound stereo in each room of your home, the infrastructure will already be there.

The broad definition of sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.  There are a lot of factors that contribute to the various aspects of sustainability, such as; the population and available living space, pollution of land, water and air, climate change, use of manufacturing materials, energy demands, etc.  There is so much involved in the sustainability equation that universities are teaching sustainability as a science major.  Included are sustainabilty accounting, or how to quantify sustainability and sustainability governance, or how to control sustainability.  The latest idea that I ran across is that sustainability should include preservation of our cultural knowledge.  So not only is sustainability applicable to our everday lifestyles, but also to our historical social perpetuation.  As the issues of sustainability become more and more complex, all I can do is to try to keep up with the latest information.  If you are considering building a home, call to find out what we can do to help you with your sustainability concerns.

Energy tax credits for existing home owners have been extended into 2009.  The array of items you can get tax credit for may be a simple as a storm window or new insulation, or it might be full installation of a new geothermal heating system.  If you aren’t sure if your renovation is included in the list of available tax credits keep good records and bring them to your tax accountant.

The record for each product should include:

• Name and address of the manufacturer
• Identification of the component
• Make, model or other appropriate identifiers
• Statement that the component meets the 25C standards
• Climate zones for which the criteria are satisfied
• Additional information for storm windows, if applicable
• A declaration that the certification statement is true

Alternatively, the home owner can use the Energy Star certification of the product, if available.

You can read more about the Energy Tax Credits at the Irs.gov website.

We’ve been promoting a combination of Timberframe and System Built technology for quite some time.  If you are intrigued with the concept but have a hard time visualizing how it might come together, make sure to watch This Old House for the fall 2008 season.  They are going to show you step by step how one couple designed their timberframe home and combined it with system built technololgy to arrive at a new home with the look and feel of the old house charm.  Excellent craftsmenship and state-of-the-art building technologies marry to create a eco-friendy green dream home.  Visit This Old House on the internet to see a short video of the process.  If it looks like something you would love to build, call one of our Home Specialists to talk about building a dream home for yourself.

How can a firm in Oakland, CA be of any consequence to building in rural Maine?  Michelle Kaufmann, owner of Michelle Kaufman Designs, Inc. - “a full service architectural design firm that specializes in sustainable, innovative, high quality design”  is actively promoting Sustainability Labeling.  She has recently released a white paper on her website outlining a proposal that each home has a label, based on the idea of nutrition labels for food, that rates sustainability.  Her list of items to be included on this label are:

• the R-value of the roof, floor and wall
• the U-value of the glass
• an efficiency rating of the electrical and plumbing
• an analysis of the resource consumption (materials used to build the home)
• an indoor air quality assessment

The idea is to make certain that people become aware of the actual cost to the environment of their home.  According to her white paper Kaufmann says, “Our belief and our hope is that the introduction of sustainability labeling would not only lead to greater demand for sustainably designed homes, but also that the demand eventually grows to such a degree that traditional home construction methods are one day permanently abandoned.”  I’d say that would have some effect on Maine building!

To read the entire white paper on sustainability labeling visit the website of Michelle Kaufmann Designs, Inc.

Not that many years ago, we didn’t build homes in the winter because we couldn’t pour concrete in weather that was below freezing.  Some may think that this is still a bad idea, but with a few precautions and following some basic rules, pouring concrete in the winter is no big deal.  In fact, according to the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA), “Placing concrete in cold weather provides the opportunity for better quality, as cooler initial concrete temperature will typically result in higher ultimate strength.”  If you aren’t convinced that pouring concrete in cold weather is a good building practice, read more from the NRMCA.