For some it may be something as simple as remote or automatic control of a few lights. For others, security may be the central application. Still others may choose to install advanced controllers or use voice recognition. As a very basic definition, we tend to refer to home automation as anything that gives you remote or automatic control of things around the home.

 Adding home automation to an existing home is surprisingly affordable and simple. Our average product costs less than $40 and most require no new wires! We’ve taken the guess work out of what to buy and created a “Good, Better & Best Product Comparison Chart” for both existing homes (retrofit) and new construction homes. We included everything from lighting control, surveillance, irrigation, whole home audio/video and more!
We at Smarthome think that home automation should be what you want it to be. Check out our Interactive Home Tour to see what a Smart Home is all about. Whatever your “MVP” automation project might be, we’re confident that using it will make life around the home more convenient, safe and fun!
 
 
What Can I Control?  
Lighting
Probably the most popular control category and a great way to get involved with home automation. Starter kits begin at less than $60 and are plug-and-play easy to install. Dim light fixtures you could never dim before, and control them from anywhere in the house (or world via the Internet).

Security Systems & Access Control
Have your home call you and/or loved ones if there is an alert situation. You can save money on security monitoring services or even monitor for non-traditional security events like water in the laundry room or basement. Additionally, Smarthome products include devices that will allow you to unlock the front door to let friends in or close the garage door from your office via the web.
Home Theater & Entertainment
 Just imagine replacing that pile of remotes with just one controller. Now, imagine not having to know all 10 steps to starting up your home theater – just press the HBO icon and your home automation products/system will do the rest. In-wall and in-ceiling speakers are especially popular with homeowners as they provide beautiful sound throughout the house while adding no clutter whatsoever.

Phone Systems
Phone systems that are usually used for small business applications are surprisingly convenient in the home. With caller ID and a home automation controller you can even screen your calls for only those you wish to cause your phone to ring. Voice control software turns every phone in your home into a remote controller.
Thermostats
Remote-control thermostats allow you to adjust the temperature from bed at night or even from a cell phone while on your way home (or to your second home!). They can even trigger a notice to you if the temperature gets too low (to prevent pipes from freezing) or too high (to protect your pets, plants, etc.).

Irrigation
 Have your sprinklers turn on only when it’s not raining. Some of our customers even turn the sprinklers on when there’s motion in the yard at unwanted times – imagine an intruder trying to explain the wet clothes to the police!
Cable & Structured Wiring
Home automation can be accomplished using various types of connectivity. What’s great is that many of today’s home automation products need no new wires – so they are perfect to retrofit into an existing home. If you are building new or doing a major remodel, please consider adding networking, audio, video and control wiring while it is easy and relatively inexpensive. Later on you’ll be happy you did.

 
How Can I Control Them?  
Remote Control
Remote control gives you the convenience of controlling lighting, appliances, security systems and consumer electronics from wherever you happen to be at the time, like your couch, car or even in your bed. There are several different “methods” of controlling devices remotely.

What are the Benefits of Home Automation?  
Convenience
We’ve all gotten used to controlling our TV from the couch; just wait until you are able to dim the lights as well. Imagine adjusting the temperature from your bed or controlling the volume of your whole-house audio system from any room. Or imagine the wall/ceiling heater in your bathroom coming on automatically on chilly mornings 5 minutes before your alarm clock goes off so that it is warm when you enter. Many Smarthome products also save energy — we’ll all agree that’s a nice convenience.

Safety
We’re all used to opening the garage door from the car, but you’ll be surprised how much safer you’ll feel coming home to a lit home and even turning on more lights from your keyfob remote upon your arrival. With a couple of basic products you can have your whole house light up like Fort Knox when there is motion detected at any corner of your house. Imagine your house sending you an email if there is motion where there shouldn’t be any. Or you can have your security system call you if there is an alarm, which might include your typical security alarm or even a low or high temperature or water in the laundry room or basement.

Fun
High-tech products for the home are fun to use and share with others. Whether viewing visitors at your front door on your TV or tuning your stereo by using voice recognition, you’ll find home automation surprisingly enjoyable. And when it comes to impressing the friends, you’ll be happy to show off your newfound applications. 
http://www.smarthome.com/homeautomation.html

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Meanwhile, panelist Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said he expects solid job growth to help buoy the housing recovery. He is anticipating average monthly job gains of 125,000 this year, 250,000 in 2011 and 300,000 in 2012. He also pegs GDP growth at 3% this year, approximately 4% in 2011 and close to 5% in 2012. Our other panelist, Macroeconomic Advisers President Chris Varvares, had a somewhat more optimistic outlook than Zandi, saying that GDP will rise 3.7% this year and that annual housing starts will hit about 1.2 million by year-end 2011. All of the panelists agreed that the Federal Reserve will likely maintain interest rates near rock-bottom levels through the end of this year, that the chance of a double-digit recession is fairly remote, and that policymakers will need to take action within the next two years to increase revenues and cut spending in order to keep the housing and economic recovery on track. For detailed coverage of the forecast conference, please see our press release and the next edition of Nation’s Building News Online. Contact: MondayMorningQuestions@nahb.org. 

Source:  NAHB

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On Monday, Georgia’s House of Representatives voted, by 111 to 51, in favor of a law, House Bill 1196, which prohibits government agencies from requiring sprinklers in one- or two-family dwellings. The Home Builders Association of Georgia was instrumental in getting that bill introduced and in crafting its language, according to Kelly Lass, the trade group’s executive vice president. The bill moves to the Senate for consideration on Thursday.

Georgia is among several states that have been pushing lawmakers to prevent the enforcement of a national building code, which goes into effect next January, that includes provisions for fire sprinklers to be installed in all new residential dwellings. That code, which members of the International Code Council (ICC) approved in a controversial vote in the fall of 2008, has ignited new skirmishes across the country between builders who resist construction mandates in general and insist sprinklers would make the cost of their homes prohibitive; and fire marshals who insist that sprinklers can prevent fatalities that in their absence might otherwise occur in houses that have become more vulnerable to the rapid spread of fire.

Despite aggressive lobbying by fire service groups, and endorsements by the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the Institute for Business & Home Safety, which represents insurers and reinsurers, only a few states—Pennsylvania, Iowa, California, New Hampshire, and South Carolina—so far have incorporated a residential fire sprinkler provision into their new codes. Maryland is moving in that direction, and communities within such states as Maine and Colorado will also require sprinklers in new homes.

More commonly, bills pending in several other states—which have often been introduced at the urging of their builder associations—would either postpone or nullify any code with a residential sprinkler component. Anti-sprinkler legislation in Iowa appears to be dead for the moment, but adoption of the new code would still be delayed for one- and two-family houses until 2013. New Jersey’s new governor, Chris Christie, has placed a 90-day moratorium on all new regulations and reportedly wants to excise the sprinkler requirement from the state’s updated building codes. In Texas, Gov. Rick Perry has signed legislation that prohibits municipalities in the state from adopting sprinkler ordinances.

“Right now, we’re just fighting battles one by one,” says John Viniello, president of the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), whose Web site includes a state-by-state legislative update.

On March 3, Viniello and other NFSA representatives met with Jerry Howard, the NAHB’s chief executive, and his staff to discuss ways the two groups might work together in states where a sprinkler code has been adopted, such as advocating adjustments in zoning and densities for sprinklered communities that might benefit builders and developers. Viniello says Howard promised to present this proposal to NAHB’s Executive Board by April 15. (A spokesperson for NAHB, Callie Schmidt, confirmed the meeting took place, but could not confirm that a date had been set for presenting items discussed to the executive board.)

Agreement between builders and the fire-fighting community is rare when fire sprinklers are at issue. Since the sprinkler mandate got written into the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC), builders have stepped up their lobbying efforts to thwart its acceptance and enforcement in their states and municipalities. Their efforts have been mostly successful, with a few setbacks.

Last week, an appellate court in Pennsylvania upheld that state’s new building code, which includes regulations requiring sprinklers in all new townhouses and one- and two-family homes. The Pennsylvania HBA had requested a preliminary injunction prohibiting the enforcement of any new building codes. The trade group in January filed a lawsuit calling for the state to roll back its building codes to 2006 regulations.

Scott Elliott, a spokesperson for this HBA, says the trade group contends that Pennsylvania does not have the constitutional right to turn over its building codes to an entity outside the state, which it would be doing, the HBA contends, by allowing the 2009 IRC to become the abiding code. Elliott notes that the Pennsylvania HBA is opposed not only to the new code’s sprinkler mandate, but also to a host of other changes—from limitations on duct lengths to increases on wall bracings and foundation anchors—that, the HBA estimates, would add $13,000 to the price of a house.

“This is about a building code that is out of control,” says Elliott. “Plus in Pennsylvania we have a fatal flaw in that the ICC code is adopted automatically in its entirety every three years. That is too often, and the changes and costs are too great.” The HBA is hoping that its lawsuit will be heard in May or June.

Much of those costs–just less than $8,000 of those added expenses, or $3.49 per square foot, on average—would derive from the installation of a sprinkler system. The cost of putting fire sprinklers in new homes remains the most contentious issue in this debate across the country, especially for builders that are still have trouble drumming up customers in a weak economy.

Fire service officials, to support their argument, point to a 2008 study, conducted for the NFSA’s Fire Prevention Research Foundation, which analyzed 30 house plans in 10 communities and found that the cost of sprinkler installation into a new home averaged $1.61 per square foot.

Building codes in Pennsylvania’s Upper Merion Township have required sprinkler systems in all new residential construction since 1988. The township’s chief fire marshal, John Waters, provided BUILDER with permit data from 2007 through 2009 for homes in which sprinklers had been installed into homes whose sizes range from 2,100 to 7,942 square feet. Those installations added, on average, between $1.49 and $1.82 per square foot to construction costs of the homes, and between 0.3% to 2.6% to their selling prices.

Waters concedes that sprinkler systems cost more to install in homes that draw water from wells (as many towns in Pennsylvania do) that might require larger pumps or supplemental water tanks to provide the 26 gallons per minute these systems are required to produce in the event of a fire. But he remains unconvinced that builders are open to finding solutions through compromise. And Waters bristles when builders challenge the expertise of fire service people in matters of safety.

“Builders don’t want to hear facts and regurgitate the same arguments they made 20 years ago,” says Waters. “When I ask ‘where are your experts,’ they ignore me. All of their arguments are based on emotion.”

NFSA, though, remains optimistic that sprinkler installation will eventually become more widespread. It has been working with the Center for Public Safety Excellence to develop an accredited sprinkler installer program, which would include classroom and field training, and insurance verification. Vineillo says the goal is to get this program launched in states where new sprinkler codes have been adopted by July 1.

By John Caulfield, senior editor for BUILDER magazine.

http://www.builderonline.com/safety/debate-over-sprinklers-in-new-homes-becomes-a-hot-issue-across-the-nation.aspx?cid=BLDR100325002

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For decades, ICC and ASHRAE have worked to develop codes and standards that become the industry standard of care for the design, construction, operations and maintenance of residential and commercial buildings in the United States and internationally. In coordination with the efforts of ICC and ASHRAE, USGBC has been leading a nationwide green building movement centered on the LEED Green Building Rating System since LEED was launched in 2000. The convergence of these efforts in the IGCC is perhaps the most significant development in the buildings industry in the past 10 years.
Leveraging ICC’s unrivaled delivery infrastructure to reach all 50 states and more than 22,000 local jurisdictions and ASHRAE, USGBC and IES’s technical strengths, this partnership will accelerate the proliferation of green building codes and standards developed jointly by ICC, ASHRAE and USGBC and IES, across the country and around the globe. The newly launched IGCC establishes a previously unimaginable regulatory framework for the construction of high-performance, commercial buildings that are safe, sustainable and by the book.
A landmark addition to the technical content of the IGCC is the inclusion of ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, as an alternate path of compliance. Standard 189.1 is a set of technically rigorous requirements, which like the IGCC, covers criteria including water use efficiency, indoor environmental quality, energy efficiency, materials and resource use, and the building’s impact on its site and its community. Standard 189.1 was written by experts representing all areas of the building industry, who contributed tens of thousands of man hours. Developed in a little over three years, the standard underwent four public reviews in which some 2,500 comments were received.
“The emergence of green building codes and standards is an important next step for the green building movement, establishing a much-needed set of baseline regulations for green buildings that is adoptable, usable and enforceable by jurisdictions,” said ICC Chief Executive Officer Richard P. Weiland. “The IGCC provides a vehicle for jurisdictions to regulate green for the design and performance of new and renovated buildings in a manner that is integrated with existing codes as an overlay, allowing all new buildings to reap the rewards of improved design and construction practices.”
“Bringing together the code expertise of ICC with technical expertise of ASHRAE to create a comprehensive green building code will accelerate our transformation to more sustainable building practices,” Gordon Holness, ASHRAE president, said. “ASHRAE is committed to providing the design guidance building designers and engineers need to reduce the energy consumption of buildings.”
“The U.S. Green Building Council’s mission is market transformation and we’ve long recognized the need to reach beyond the market leaders served by LEED to accomplish this goal,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council.
“Broadening the scope of the codes and establishing a higher floor allows us to continue to raise the ceiling, a critical factor in how the building industry is working to mitigate climate change. We are thrilled to see this set of complementary green building codes and standards; our organizations working collaboratively will advance green building nationwide in a way that was never before possible. ”
“IES is pleased to support the collaborative efforts of the organizations which demonstrate expertise in code and technical standards development in this comprehensive green building code,” said Rita Harrold, IES Director of Technology. “IES looks forward to ongoing guidance for sustainable building practices.”
On Monday, March 15, ASHRAE, IES and USGBC will join ICC at its Washington, D.C., headquarters as they and their co-authors (the American Institute of Architects and the American Society for Testing Materials) launch the IGCC. On Monday, Standard 189 .1 and the IGCC will be available for wide distribution, providing much-needed content, code language, and vision for more safe and sustainable future. The organizations are also working together to advance related education and advocacy efforts to promote adoption, enforcement and compliance with the IGCC codes that will pave the way for green buildings and neighborhoods, while creating jobs and strengthening the economy.
For more information on IGCC: http://www.iccsafe.org/cs/IGCC/Pages/default.aspx and on Standard 189.1: www.ashrae.org/greenstandard.
——————————————————————————–

About ICC
The International Code Council, a membership association dedicated to building safety, fire prevention and energy efficiency, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties and states choose the International Codes, building safety codes developed by the International Code Council. The International Codes also serve as the basis for construction of federal properties around the world, and as a reference for many nations outside the United States
About USGBC
The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings.
With a community comprising 80 local affiliates, more than 18,500 member companies and organizations, and more than 140,000 LEED Professional Credential holders, USGBC is the driving force of an industry that is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product from 2009-2013. USGBC leads an unlikely diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials and concerned citizens, and teachers and students.
Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs. www.usgbc.org
About ASHRAE
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is an international organization of 51,000 persons. ASHRAE fulfills its mission of advancing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education. www.ashrae.org
About IES
The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) is the recognized technical authority on illumination. For over 100 years; its objective has been to communicate information on all aspects of good lighting practice to its members, to the lighting community, and to consumers, through a variety of programs, publications, and services.
IES is a forum for the exchange of ideas and information, and a vehicle for its members’ professional development and recognition. Through technical committees, with hundreds of qualified individuals from the lighting and user communities, IES correlates research, investigations, and discussions to guide lighting professionals and lay persons via consensus-based lighting recommendations. www.ies.org

http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/article/ca6722739.html?nid=2469&rid=6397697

News Release
March 11, 2010
HousingZone
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However, rules effective April 22 governing contractors in homes where lead paint may be present will prevent meaningful retrofit work from being done because there won’t be enough certified renovation contractors trained in the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new Lead Safe Work Practices.

•Roughly 79 million homes constructed before 1978 are subject to the Lead Renovation, Repair and Repainting Rule.
•EPA has estimated that more than 236,000 remodelers, window installers, painters, heating and air-conditioning specialists and other trade contractors must be trained to ensure compliance with the rule.
•Only about 14,000 people have been certified to date.
•Just 135 firms throughout the country are approved to offer the training courses.
•In some states there are still no approved trainers.
According to NAHB, many of its members will have to avoid working in older homes to avoid breaking the law, which is in direct conflict to an today’s business environment where improving energy efficiency and creating jobs are national priorities.

Matt Phair, HousingZone Contributing Editor
March 12, 2010
HousingZone

http://www.housingzone.com/article/CA6722756.html?nid=&rid

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Enterprise hopes this commitment of funds will accelerate change in the affordable housing industry and create significant positive impact in the lives of low-income individuals and families across the country. The group issued a national call to action to green all affordable housing within a decade.

The study, Incremental Cost, Measurable Savings: Enterprise Green Communities Criteria, shows the cost effectiveness of meeting a comprehensive green building framework for affordable housing. Enterprise estimates lifetime savings exceeding the initial investment made to incorporate the Criteria into affordable housing. Green affordable homes offer significant health, economic and environmental benefits to residents by addressing energy efficiency, water conservation, use of healthy materials, high-quality indoor air and location of affordable housing. Integrating the required green measures from the Criteria also can produce substantial increases in the quality of life of residents living in the housing.

Activities related to the next generation of Enterprise Green Communities are underway. Enterprise says its efforts will result directly in the creation, preservation or retrofit of 75,000 green homes and community and commercial buildings within the next five years. The group will lend in key markets to existing multifamily building owners for energy and water reduction capital purchases and healthy living environment improvements.

In May, Enterprise committed its $95 million New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to target green deals, which bolster funding for commercial and mixed-use developments with a demonstrable community impact. Enterprise also is purchasing carbon offsets from green affordable housing developers by raising charitable contributions through its Green Communities Offset Fund.

www.oikos.com

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This facility will contain a set of test beds for building systems integration designed to address key technical challenges for net-zero energy buildings. The Department of Energy solicited research applications from eligible national laboratories nationwide, which then underwent a thorough technical review process.

Buildings account for more than 40 percent of carbon emissions in the United States. Net-zero energy buildings (N-ZEB) generate as much energy as they use on an annual basis through highly aggressive energy efficiency and on-site renewable energy generation, making them a key pathway to address and reduce these climate-altering emissions. The new laboratory facilities will help researchers develop, test and validate the technologies, systems and design approaches that will allow N-ZEB to be built and operated at an affordable cost.

 ”This facility will serve a national audience-and need-in an aggressive pursuit of DOE’s energy efficiency goals for widespread implementation of affordable net-zero energy buildings by 2030, ” says Stephen Selkowitz, head of the Building Technologies Department of Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division.

Berkeley Lab researchers will work with a broad base of users in the building design and construction communities, as well as manufacturers, building owners and operators and the academic community.

In proposing for the N-ZEB award, Berkeley Lab teamed with numerous organizations, including 21 industry partners, three utilities, eight universities, a non-profit and three public agencies, all of whom indicated their support and interest in using the facility. Major partners include the University of California, Berkeley, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, HOK, Flack + Kurtz, Philips Research, Johnson Controls, Lutron, Siemens, the California Energy Commission and the U.S. General Services Administration.

Several Testbeds Planned

The new N-ZEB facility will consist of a series of unique energy-efficient building systems testbeds to be located in new and existing buildings on the Lab. Researchers will be able to change out prototype building systems such as windows, lights, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), energy control systems, roofs and skylights. The basic idea is to conduct initial measurements of energy use and environmental conditions to understand how the systems perform, and then to redesign and optimize their capabilities and performance.

The building systems integration testbed will consist of several large side-by-side research areas. Each area can employ a range of diverse and changeable HVAC systems, lighting, on-site power and process-load solutions, as well as the building’s “envelope” of windows, walls, floors and related fixtures, for real time performance comparisons under dynamic climate conditions.

Other separate testbeds will be constructed for specific buildings subsystems such as lighting systems and controls, and window and façade systems. One testbed will be devoted to the topic of advanced sensor networks and building energy controls, and the communications protocols that link optimized building performance to smart grid initiatives. Final details of the new facilities will be worked out with Department of Energy staff to meet cost targets and schedule deadlines.

Hardware and Software R&D To Be Conducted

The N-ZEB User Facility will be used by scientists to combine a new generation of innovative building materials with components to create high-performance HVAC, controls, lighting, windows and building envelope sub-systems and systems, as well as on-site power systems.

The research teams then will work to integrate these separate building systems into N-ZEB optimized whole-building solutions with the goal of achieving very aggressive energy, demand, carbon and operating cost savings, as well as improved occupant comfort and health. Measured results from physical testing will be enhanced and extended with the use of powerful building simulation tools.

 ”The User Facility will help building industry component and system suppliers to create cost-effective, integrated building systems that deliver the performance required by net-zero energy buildings,” says Mary Ann Piette, deputy head of the Building Technologies Department. “For the owner-designer-specifier community, it will demonstrate and verify that these systems deliver the required energy performance.”

www.oikos.com

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Released at the 2010 International Builders’ Show in Las Vegas last month, the Commentary provides valuable insight to the intention and implementation of the practices and provisions found in the standard.  Developed with the input of members of the ICC 700-2008 Consensus Committee who developed the standard, the Commentary is a useful resource for any designer or builder using the ICC 700-2008 as a rating system for developing or renovating residential properties of all types, to reduce their relative environmental impact.

The National Green Building Standard is a scoring tool and certification protocol that assures projects have met stringent benchmarks in energy, water and resource efficiency, indoor environmental quality and lot and site design. It is the first such system to be approved by the American National Standards Institute. The standard covers single-family homes, apartments and condos, residential land development and home remodeling projects, and is administered by the NAHB Research Center, which also accredits local verifiers around the country.

“This new resource allows readers to better navigate the National Green Building Standard,” said Bob Jones, NAHB Chairman and a home builder from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “Each chapter breaks down the different components contained in the standard, allowing builders and remodelers to learn the best way to build green in their own communities.”

www.nahb.org

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The standard defines what green practices can be incorporated into residential development and construction on a national scale and how home owners can operate and maintain their green homes.

As part of the stringent process required by ANSI, NAHB and the International Code Council assembled a fully inclusive and representative consensus committee composed of a broad spectrum of builders, architects, product manufacturers, regulators and environmental experts. This group deliberated the content of the standard for more than a year, held four public hearings and evaluated more than 2,000 public comments submitted for consideration.

The NAHB Research Center, an ANSI Accredited Standards Developer, administered the development of the standard. The Research Center also administers a national verification and certification program for green homes through NAHBGreen, the NAHB National Green Building Program, and can now offer certification for residential projects to this new standard.

www.nahb.org

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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