Posts Tagged ‘davidson homes with libraries’

Home Interior Construction

Monday, January 25th, 2010
Custom Home Interior

Custom Home Interior

An alarm system is a must in today’s volatile world. Prewiring for this system can save thousands later on. Wiring in the early stage is easiest for the installer, thus saving tremendously on labor.

Many housewives and husbands enjoy the convenience of a vacuum system. This cleaning system will easily pay for itself in a few years of not replacing portable models, and is very convenient. Vacuum systems improve the quality of a home and increases equity.

All household wiring and audio/video cables should be installed now. The roughed-in stage allows easy access to walls, rooms, ceilings and all aspects of the interior of your home. Preplanning will prove to be a key cost saving strategy.

Once all wiring and cables are securely in place, the insulation is ready to be installed. Insulation comes in numerous types, styles, and applications. No longer are homeowners forced to use rolled insulation. DV Wise prefer to use spray foam insulation. Spray foam insulation will provide the greatest weather barrier and soundproofing for the home. There is no comparison to the value of spray foam insulation, or the price. The cost to spray a home versus traditional methods is astronomical, BUT spray foam insulation will save the homeowner thousands every year in heating and cooling costs. Electricity providers offer a significant discount when installing the premium insulation. Overall, spray foam insulation will return the additional cost in heating/cooling cost in approximately 5 years, and pay for itself completely in 10 to 15 years, depending on a few variables.

Upon completion of the insulation process, the drywall should be installed. Once again, you will get what you pay for here. Hire a professional; do not attempt to “do it yourself” regardless of previous experiences. Hanging and finishing drywall is not easy and greatly affects the appearance of your interior and painted walls.

DV Wise homes are always required to be kept clean and orderly. A clean and orderly workplace will result in a safer and more cost effective home. The home should be thoroughly cleaned after the drywall is finished. Cleaning now will ensure a clean home later.

All moulding and finishing wood should be applied now. Finish carpenters are a rare breed, meaning the patience needed to successfully install this expensive product is hard to find. DV Wise have used the same professional finishing contractors for almost a decade. Their experience and understanding of the quality required in our homes is irreplaceable.

Painters are the most unique of all contractors. Attention to detail, satisfaction in perfection and familiarity to the drywall finishers, enable a painter to perform far beyond expectation. We prefer to use the same group of sub-contractors exactly for this reason. Knowing the team working in front and behind you is a key to building a sound home. Obstacles are always on-site, but working with people you trust and see on a regular basis, will hold every carpenter accountable for their work. Painters need a smooth surface to apply their product to, but top quality painters understand no surface is perfect, so our painters always have the tools and supplies needed to amend minor imperfections.

Cabinets, countertops, and vanities can be installed once the paint has cured. Granite has become more popular and cost effective in recent years. Solid surfaces and laminate countertops are rarely used in a custom home anymore. The appeal and resale value of granite is unheralded. All plumbing should be completed shortly after the countertops and cabinets are properly installed.

The flooring is installed next. Hardwood flooring, tile and linoleum are installed nearing the end to avoid scratching and damage. Properly installed flooring will accentuate the dwelling above and beyond any other aspect of the home.

Light fixtures, outlets, door knobs and handles are installed during the finishing process. As the structure has transformed into a home, the fixtures bring it together like few other pieces of the building process.

Final inspection and walk-through is the most critical stage for the new homeowner. Tom Wise will be with you every step of the building process, but his presence is felt strongest now. His eye for detail is unsurpassed and with the closing just around the corner, no detail is too small.

Moving day, as your family decorates and personalizes the home, DV Wise is still here. Tom insists that the home is never really complete, meaning he is available to assist in minor repairs caused by moving or unveiled during the first few months. We will never close a home and walk away. The process of building your home brings together the homeowners and builder to almost a family like state. We embrace the long lasting relationships developed when building a home.

www.DVWise.com

New Home Energy-Efficiency Incentives Could Boost Recovery

Monday, December 28th, 2009

National Association of Home Builders today commended President Barack Obama as he proposed a new initiative to create jobs and make today’s homes more energy efficient.

In a speech Tuesday morning at a Home Depot in the suburban Washington, D.C. area, the president called on Congress to extend energy-efficiency tax credits for home owners as part of an $8 billion effort to reduce energy use.

“This is the kind of thinking that is going to get America back to work – and make a big difference in many home owners’ monthly utility bills,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a builder and developer in Tulsa, Okla.

NAHB estimates that 11,000 jobs, $527 million in wages and salaries, and $300 million in business income are generated by every $1 billion in new remodeling and home improvement activity. “That’s a huge impact just in the short run.  And in the long run, the energy savings for participating home owners can be quite significant,” Robson said.

 ”This also bolsters a very important message and something we have been saying for years: If we really want to make an impact on the nation’s energy use, we need to take significant steps to make the existing housing stock more efficient,” Robson said.

He pointed out that state and local home builder associations affiliated with NAHB can be instrumental in the effort to weatherize older homes and make them more energy efficient.

For example, the Builders Association of Minnesota served as the conduit for federal stimulus program funds provided to the state for its energy-efficiency programs. The association trained nearly 1,000 remodelers and other residential contractors and funneled the money to 1,300 Minnesota home owners to help them make needed improvements.

Minnesota home owners got extra incentives for choosing projects like attic insulation, which some consumers don’t do because it’s something that’s not immediately visible, but when combined with incentives can bring a payback on utility bills within a year or two, depending on the climate.

 ”President Obama is right that these kinds of projects don’t seem ’sexy,’ but saving money is very attractive, and so is providing jobs,” Robson said.

 ”These are efforts that the Administration should consider on a much larger scale,” he continued.  “They provide employment, stimulate the economy and help us reduce our dependence on fossil fuels – that’s three great outcomes.  NAHB can help make this happen all over the country.”

Last month, the White House Council on Environmental Quality invited NAHB to explain how home builders, product manufacturers and remodelers can be part of the Administration’s “Recovery Through Retrofit” solution with programs like Minnesota’s.

 ”We’re anxious to help with these efforts,” Robson said. “It’s what our members do, and do well – and they all want to get back to work.”

Source: www.nahb.org

www.DVWise.com

NAHB Green

Monday, December 21st, 2009

On February 14, 2008, the National Association of Home Builders launched the NAHB National Green Building Program commonly referred to as “NAHB Green.” The program is a comprehensive set of educational resources; advocacy tools, rating systems, and access to a National Green Building Certification service that help home builders anywhere build green homes, and homebuyers at all price points buy them.

Throughout the country, green home building has become more common and more mainstream in recent years. The number of home builders using green building technologies and techniques has been steadily increasing as they see its market advantages. While building green isn’t for everyone, the need to make sure that green building programs remain voluntary, market driven, and based on sound technical information is a key issue for NAHB. In fact, NAHB Green is the result of years of builders’ and local associations’ efforts throughout the NAHB federation. These efforts have led to the construction of thousands of green homes all over the country, as well as the development of dozens of local green building programs coordinated by or associated with state and local home builder associations.

Local programs are a home builder’s primary source for information, education, and networking on all topics-and green building techniques are no different. Green home building, however, also has led to the development of additional needs, like establishing a locally credible green rating criteria and certifying homes to those criteria. Working these services into a local program, and bringing in education and networking activities can be tremendous opportunities for an association to expand its scope and revenue.

This tool kit is designed for state and local associations seeking resources for their members; associations that are interested in starting local programs; and existing programs that want to take advantage of national resources. In all cases, there are instructions here about affiliating with NAHB Green, as well as descriptions of various resources that will help as you get a local program underway.

Read More: http://www.nchba.org/images/stories/councils/hba_green_toolkit_aug08.pdf

Source: www.nchba.org

www.DVWise.com