Posts Tagged ‘nc custom homes’

Exterior Finishing

Monday, January 18th, 2010

 

Exterior Construction

Exterior Construction

During the exterior phase of construction the interior can also be under construction, we will address interiors next week.

Garage doors can be installed before the concrete flooring is poured, but most door installation professionals would prefer the flooring intact first. All drywall should be hung, but not finished, thus allowing for a much smoother paint job later. Keep in mind that your garage doors are a very important aspect of your home, especially during bad weather. All DV Wise custom homes demand a smooth and obstacle free door installation project for our sub-contractor, because when the weather is at its worse, your garage doors are too.

The brick used for your home is a major aesthetic point for your home. An unprofessional job here will haunt you forever. We use seasoned, local professionals only for all our brick and stonework. Good or bad brickwork will greatly affect the curb appeal, resale value, and be a constant reminder of a job well done or a few dollars saved. Brickwork can not be repaired without a major renovation. Doing it right the first time applies greatly here.

Our siding contractor will be installing the siding, soffits and gutters. Contractors rarely enjoy working behind someone that does the same work they do. Again, a penny saved may be many dollars lost.

Stucco is applied best during spring and summer conditions. Patience pays off well waiting a month or two for better conditions. Applying stucco is done in phases, with the color applied in the final step.

We consider your driveway and garage flooring long before its time to pour. The day when the concrete truck is scheduled to arrive, we ensure all needed personal are aware, prepared and on site ready to install your driveway. This too is a step not to be taken lightly, mistakes here can be costly and unappealing. You should wait with finishing the concrete, until all the heavy trucks and equipment are finished with their jobs. Try to make this one of your last projects, especially when it is not done on the original soil. Your driveway should be reinforced with rebar, although it is almost impossible to eliminate all cracks, rebar helps greatly.

Decks should be constructed after the stucco and/or siding is completely finished. Railing is required for all decks 2 feet or more off the ground on all NC homes. Various forms of railing are available, aesthetics again should be greatly considered. The railing should be very stable and attractive.

Landscaping is nearing the final stage of the building process, indeed it is an exterior aspect, but should be done after the interior of the home is complete.

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A Solid Frame

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
framing-a-home

Framing a Home

Everything that is stable must have a solid foundation or footer, and then focus is on the framework of the structure.

The frame of a DV Wise home is carefully constructed to exceed all state and local codes. We feel that although their regulations will guarantee a solid frame, we are convinced it can be better.

Our framing contractors are seasoned veterans that we have worked with for nearly a decade. This experience ensures every aspect of the frame meets or exceeds requirements. Extra attention is paid to all load bearing areas of the frame, meaning the homes doors will always open and close properly. Stairs and hardwood flooring will stay stable and not squeak or settle over time.

The roofing consists of top quality materials only. The sheathing, sealant, paper, shingles and all materials used on the roof are durable and applied to withstand the weather and climate of the homes area for decades.

Sheathing is used to protect and secure the exterior framing. This man-made material is composed of wood, glue and fiber, enabling it to be stronger and more durable than plywood. The sheathing and home wrap is the base for weatherproofing a home. Each element of the exterior walls is equally important as the other and applied to maximize the comfort inside the home.

Framing a structure is the first step to a square and even home; every board is specifically cut to size and secured exactly in its place. No liberties are ever taken when framing a DV Wise home, thus all our homes are level, and built spot on square.

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Is LEED on Track to Save the World? The Understatement

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

Watson describes a few assumptions he’s made to keep his projections on the conservative side. But there are some others that he doesn’t mention, such as the number of buildings that are built to LEED standards that never sign up with GBCI. The report does include a factor for “built-to-LEED” projects, but Watson only includes in this category buildings that are registered but don’t reach certification – about 30% of the total. (My guess is that many of those registered-but-not-certified projects never get built at all.) There is a much larger group of projects that use LEED as a design and construction guide, either at the request of the owner or to meet government regulations. How well these projects actually follow LEED and ultimately perform is anyone’s guess, but there are a lot of them and they must have some benefits. Even more significant, but harder to quantify, is LEED’s market transformation impact. LEED is not affecting just individual buildings. It is educating and inspiring project teams, leading to more aggressive energy and environmental codes, and generally having an impact on the way all buildings are built (at least in some locales). Watson’s report doesn’t try to factor in these secondary benefits of LEED. I don’t know how one might do that, but I suspect that they’re huge.

Source: www.BuildingGreen.com

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