Maine Modular & Custom Home News

Do you like the appeal of copper trim on a home?  It sure fits within our New England tradition, yet you don’t see it much anymore.  That’s because the price has become cost inhibitive to the everyday buyer.  York Manufacturing in Sanford, ME has a new product called Soleil, made from Everlam, that combines the beauty of copper with the price of aluminum.  They make an array of trim products that are cost affordable and can give your home the charm you’ve been seeking.  To check out their products you can download their catalog here.  It might just be what you’ve been looking for.

Times are tough for everyone and when times are tough, the tough get going.  That goes for individuals and for businesses alike.  So how do small businesses survive the economic crisis?  According to an article written by Dennis Romero, You Can Weather the Economic Storm, posted at msnbc.com, “the core values and goals that inspired entrepreneurs to launch their dreams are the same ones that will carry proprietors through this malaise.”

At Schiavi Home Builders our philosophy is to keep delivering the same quality and service that our reputation has been built on for the last forty nine years.  When times get tough, you toughen up, but you don’t take it out on your clients.  We’ve pared down any unnecessary costs such as overtime, pay raises and other overhead expenses, while keeping the same customer service and building the same quality homes.  All of the employees are committed to giving 100% effort for the benefit of the new home owner-just as they have always.  That’s been our core value from day one and we’re sticking to it even when it’s a lot harder to.  This is what separates us and makes us shine as the best custom home builder in these tough, tough times.

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.

Radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer.  Uranium within the soil is the source of this gas.  It can become concentrated to a level considered “dangerous” by the EPA within homes that are not vented properly.  Radon causes between 15,000 and 22,000 deaths per year and is the second leading cause of lung cancer. 

The good news is that you can make some very simple changes in your building process that can reduce the amount of radon that collects in your home.  A special fan in the attic and some venting from beneath the home can make a huge difference.  The really good news is that these small changes are not very expensive.  To read more about radon and radon resistant construction visit Building Radon Out.

HGTV - which builds dream homes for give away has built its first green home.  At the HGTV website you can watch a series of videos that explain their choices from start to finish, and how they built a LEEDS certified home this year.  There are a lot of practical ideas in these videos, and HGTV claims you can build a green home at an additional cost of only 1%-2% over the cost of a conventional home.  One thing I learned while watching these videos is the need to coordinate your site planners, your landscapers and your architect right from the beginning planning stages.  What each is doing will affect the other, so communication is vital.  Good communication throughout the process will be cost effective, also.

Planning, planning and more planning is the guide to being satisfied with your new custom built home.  I found a great website for helping you research and do your homework on every room in your new home.  It includes ideas for anything from a home library to a private sports complex.  Lighting, furniture, design and many other areas are touched upon.  Some of the ideas need to be incorporated into your initial building plan to be viable.  Others ideas help you make your new home reflect your own special personal touches.  Visit the Home Building Center and find links to take your creativity into a whole new realm.

There are times when we are thinking of convenience or saving room that we don’t always think through consequences.  For instance; when you open your pantry door and your refrigerator door at the same time do they hit each other?  Or, does your washing machine door open to the right or to the left, and is your plumbing set up correctly?  These are small things that sometimes we forget to think about in the overall building process. Then we move into our beautiful new home and we’re annoyed when we can’t fit our barstools under the kitchen counter bar.  For more “Ooops” that others have run into, visit buildingtips.net.  Better to learn from others, than to be caught with our own delimma.

Capturing the wind for power seems so alluring.  Windmills have been around for centuries and I always wondered why we don’t all have one in our backyard.  It has the illusion of being a “free” power source.  In fact wind turbines are getting a renewed interest from those looking to get off the power grid.  Unfortunately, they are anything but free.  Estimates for setting up your own wind generating operation range from $15,000 to $50,000….OUCH!  Yet - if you never have to pay a power bill again…..it makes one think.  The U.S. Department of Energy has a great FAQ page to get you thinking if wind power might be for you.  The answer my friend, might be blowing in the wind!

Local Building Codes, Boca Building Codes, HUD Building Codes….now soon to be Green Building Codes.  Codes are meant to standardize the building industry so that the consumer knows what they are paying for and if what they get meets that expectation.  Sometimes they can be confusing.  It might even take an engineer to figure out if a building code has been met.  With all of the Green Building claims in the construction industry it is no surprise that a Green Building Code is in the works.  I found it interesting that part of the code will be a consumer education piece.  This only makes sense as there is so much green information and green technology it becomes overwhelming.  Teaching the home owner the operation and maintainence of their new green building is a novel concept.  Hopefully the builder won’t be held responsible for the homeowner following the guidelines they are taught.  To learn more about the new National Green Building Standard (NGBS) that will be finalized in spring 2009, visit the Modular Housing News.

I know…it’s only the beginning of the fall season, but this is the best time to prepare for the upcoming winter.  Use what we have left of the warm weather to do the work you need to face the cold weather to come.  Bob Vila has a pretty good checklist to follow for all homeowners.  This is a suggested bi-annual list to prepare for the seasons.  Modular home owners will keep their homes in tip top shape following these maintainence tips.   Manufactured home owners have a few specific items that they need to maintain to face up to the winter ahead.  You will need to check your heat tape and get it plugged in, among other things.  Read How To Winterize You Manufactured Home to make sure your home is ready for the snow.