By Mike Ramidden

If you don’t want the look of a manufactured home, then you might be interested in custom home building options. These custom home plans are designed for individuals so that they can have unique homes. Designing a custom one is not usually very hard, and they are fairly cheap for what you get. However, if you want you home floor plans to be designed properly, then it is important to have a good architect to work with you.

Custom home building does not have to be hard. Designing custom house is quite simple with the right tools and people helping. The first part of designing a custom one is to get a good architect to work with. That person should be knowledgeable about home plans and how to make custom houses. The main things to consider when designing your own place is how to design everything you need so that it fits in with your budget.

Try to employ some or all of these tips to save money while you beat the heat and help the environment.

1- Set central-air thermostats to kick in automatically when the indoor temperature rises above 76 degrees F.

Source: Pella.com

One of the most common reasons to replace existing windows is to increase the energy efficiency of your home — which reduces your heating and cooling bills and lowers greenhouse gas emissions. Pella windows are up to 74 percent more energy efficient¹. You’ll notice the savings immediately, because poorly performing windows and doors cause heating and cooling loss in your home. Don’t throw money out the window!

Be sure to look for these energy-efficient features:

1. Multiple panes of glass

Double-pane glass insulates almost twice as well as single-pane. Triple-pane glass maximizes your energy efficiency.

2. Low-E (Low-emissivity) glass coatings

These are layers of thermal protection inside insulating glass that help:

• Reflect summer heat and retain interior cooling.
• Reflect winter cold and retain interior heat.
• Block harmful UV rays to help prevent fade damage.

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Contact us for more information on how we can help you save energy with replacement windows in Winston-Salem and surrounding areas!

Do you want to “go green” when remodeling your home? Here are some eco-friendly options.

Renovating a home can feel like such a fresh and healthy start — until you start worrying about issues like the environmental impact of newly harvested or wasted materials, the off-gassing of newly introduced toxins, and more. Fortunately, you can take steps to make any remodel more friendly to both the planet and your own health. And well-planned green renovations can even save you money.

Plan Your Eco-Friendly Remodel

The time to begin thinking about the environmental aspects of your remodel is during the planning phase. Consider the environment when you hire professionals, decide what to do with demolished materials, and choose materials.

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Source: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com

The world is going green.  Of this I have no doubt.

What I have found lacking in the green marketplace is a concerted effort to advertise green building products and green construction.  Although large well-known building supply centers – particularly The Home Depot and Lowes – now carry green building products and materials they have not done anything other than rudimentary and unimaginative advertising.

One still has to look hard to find green building products in these stores as they are not very well displayed.  Instead of large and distinctive signage indicating the location and proclaiming the benefits of green building products, one still has to look carefully at labels on each product.  Where’s the differentiation?  Where’s the call to action?  Why isn’t this a bigger deal?

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In direct response to the growing demand for sustainable, healthy, and energy-efficient homes, David Johnston and Scott Gibson present the most forward-thinking theories and the best proven methods of new and remodeled green construction.

They begin with down-to-earth explanations of green building basics and move on to site planning, materials selection, energy efficiency, and indoor air quality — detailing along the way every step in design and construction, from framing to finishes.

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We take sustainability and green very seriously!

He was elected to The College of Fellows in 1994, The Institute’s highest honorable body.

He was the third recipient of AIBD’s “National Designer of the Year” award in 1996. His articles, designs and interviews have been published in numerous forms of the national media. Don has over 30 years experience in the design of award-winning homes encompassing a wide variety of architectural styles.

For more information on Don Ruth, visit: http://www.donruthfaibd.com

A home can be considered green when energy efficiency, water and resource conservation, sustainable or recycled products, and indoor air quality considerations are incorporated into the process of home building.

The increased availability of education for builders, growing consumer awareness and the exploding market for sustainable, environmentally friendly and recycled building products has accelerated green building’s acceptance rate and move into the mainstream.

According to a recent survey, more than half of the members of the National Association of Home Builders, who build 85 percent of the homes in this country, were incorporating green practices into the development, design and construction of new homes by the end of 2007.

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Source: http://www.newhomeguide.com

Building a new home can be a very lucrative and rewarding investment — provided that you choose the right home builder to handle the job.  These tips will help you clarify your home building goals and find the best home builder to entrust with your project.

Deciding what to build
Before you can choose a home builder, you need to have a clear picture of what type of home you want.  Much like doctors who specialize in different types of medicine, home builders also specialize in building certain types of homes.

First decide which type of home you need:  condo, townhouse, or single-family.

Then determine whether you want a custom home or a production home.  Custom homes are typically one-of-a-kind single-family residences built on land the client owns.  Because every aspect of a custom home is unique, a custom home is typically a higher-end home.  Custom home builders also tend to build just a few (typically under 25) homes per year because each project is so different.

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Having a single pane window is like having a leaky faucet. Air is constantly escaping your house. Replacing ineffective windows can give your house a refreshing new look while also saving energy and money in the future.

The name of the game is double pane. Double pane windows will save you money on your heating and cooling bills. They significantly reduce heat loss in the winter and can very easily reduce heat gain during the summer.

It is suggested that a double pane window be covered with a special low-e coating (low emissivity). Where to apply this coating depends on your geographic location. A professional window contractor in your area can assist you in performing such a task.

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Contact us for more information on how we can help you save energy with replacement windows in Winston-Salem and surrounding areas!