Efficient home design and lessons from the Foursquare Farmhouse Three years after the 2008 housing crash, builders started building homes again—but with fewer workers. Ten years later, the residential building industry still hadn’t fully regained its pre-2008 labor force. During this period, material costs slowly increased—and then dramatically climbed [...]

Semi-retirement custom home -  why downsize? “Retirement” is a relatively modern concept. For generations, few humans lived long enough or were successful enough during their earning years to afford a period of life resembling “retirement.” But thanks to rapid human progress and tremendous economic growth, retirement became a possibility [...]

Don’t settle for constructing your custom home to minimum building code standards—go beyond the code and consider these additional factors. Custom homes become forever homes for many homeowners. So it’s important to consider additional standards beyond the minimum building code standards—used by many home builders to price and construct custom homes—that provide [...]

Constructing from Computer Models (BIM) Computer models known as Building Information Models (BIM) don’t just produce realistic rendering, but also contain actual building material thickness and products being installed. The end result is a home constructed true to design. During the design process homeowners can experience the design in three-dimension with virtual [...]

How to size your home? Use our worksheet! When planning a new home, determining the right size at the onset can be difficult. Many variables can contribute to its size—including varying homeowner needs, vaulted ceilings, two-story spaces, or outdoor spaces. What’s more, some municipalities or HOAs set minimum and maximum size. Many [...]

Home Standby Generator The recent power outages across Texas and the work-from-home trend highlight the need for a home standby generator. Home standby generators (HSG), like AC units, are installed on a concrete pad exterior to a home and provide emergency power when electrical service power is cut off. In the late [...]

Installing Radon Mitigation System If you live in the Midwest, Northern Plains, or Mountain West states, the odds are fairly high you need an active radon mitigation system installed. For existing homes, if you are located in a Zone 1 or 2 county, the odds are very high it has unsafe radon [...]

SOLAR PANELS CONTAIN LEAD-DID YOU KNOW THAT? Clients frequently ask about installing solar panels on their homes. Saving on energy costs while reducing CO2 emissions is consider a win-win, but when homeowners realize photovoltaic (PV) panels contain lead, that can complicate the equation. According to a Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy study conducted [...]

ASBESTOS AND OLDER HOMES Due to the fire and corrosion resistance of the naturally occurring mineral, Asbestos was used in a wide range of home products until the 1970s. Undisturbed, asbestos poses no threat. However, the minute the owner of an older home decides to drill into drywall, remove floor tiles, remove their [...]

FIRE SPRINKLER SYSTEM HOME RETROFIT A portion of our professional service is dedicated to fire remediation remodels. This work provides great insight into both the initial cause and how a fire spreads through a structure. In older homes, fires can start by old “knob and tube” wiring, new HVAC systems wired incorrectly to [...]