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Today’s Top 6 Green Home Features

Over the years, concern about the environment has become a growing concern.  In the spirit of thinking globally and acting locally, the home has been found to be the logical place to employ green technologies.  Not only will green features in your home decrease your carbon footprint, they will save you money.  Here’s a list of today’s top 6 green home features.

 

1. Insulation

Insulation is one of the most important factors when it comes to keeping the temperature of your home consistent whether it’s hot or cold outside.  Poorly insulated homes will lose their heat in the winter and overheat in the summer which will inflate your heating and cooling costs.  Proper insulation in walls, ceilings, floors, around windows and throughout the house framing is your best bet when it comes to energy savings.

 

2. Windows

Window technology has come a long way over the years resulting in energy savings where traditionally energy was rapidly lost.  With double and triple glazing, better window frame construction, reflective coatings, insulated edgings, and inert gases between panes, today’s green windows minimize heat transfer and leakage while allowing more light to enter the house.

 

3. Lighting

Green lighting technologies have also rapidly changed throughout the years.  Although compact fluorescent lights (CFL) were once thought to be the ultimate answer to energy savings when it comes to light bulbs, light emitting diode (LED) technology has since surpassed that of CFLs and has now become the focus of the largest light bulb manufacturers.  By adding dimming switches, timers and other efficient lighting sources, today’s lighting technologies are reducing carbon footprints and increasing energy savings.

 

4. Plumbing

Water conservation technologies have lowered water use throughout the home in recent years.  Low flow toilets, faucets and showerheads along with water conserving appliances and circulation systems have reduced water use in the bathroom, kitchen and yard.

 

5. Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are the main users of energy in the household. Efficiently sealed ductwork, radiant energy technologies, energy efficient appliances and European-style heated flooring all bring down heating and cooling costs while reducing carbon emissions.

 

6. Smart Technology Automation

With smart technology, many home functions can be automated or remotely manipulated.  Heating, cooling, lighting, alarm systems, automated curtains systems and more can now be automatically programmed or controlled from afar allowing for more efficient use of resources.  Smart technologies are the latest improvements adding to the home’s energy efficiency.

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10 Features Not To Forget When Building A Custom Home

When building a new home it’s easy to include unique features that would require demolition and reconstruction should you want to add them later. Here’s a list of some things you might want to think about when building your new home.

 

Extra Electrical Outlets

Especially with today’s electronic gadgets, electrical outlets are used more than ever.  Add extras near where the beds will be, around the entertainment centre, on the kitchen island, around the fireplace mantle, under the windows, in the bathroom, the garage, outdoors and even under the awnings (for Christmas lights.)

 

Heated And Insulated Garage

Even though your garage won’t need to be at room temperature, heating and insulation will make a massive difference over the winter for both your vehicle and yourself if you need to be doing any work out there. The heated garage will also prevent frozen pipes.

 

Garage Hot Water Faucet

If you’re fitting your garage with a cold water faucet, it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to add a hot water faucet as well.

 

Garage Floor Drain

A floor drain in your garage will allow for easy cleaning of the garage floor as well as allow for the draining of water runoff from your vehicles.  And in the case of unexpected flooding, a the floor drain may become your saviour.

 

Heated Flooring

Something that’s popular in a lot of European countries, heated flooring can make a huge difference to your mood on winter mornings when you didn’t want to get out of your bed.  They’re easy to install when building, but not so easy as an afterthought.

 

Mudroom

An extra small room at the main entrance to dress/disrobe and store jackets, footwear and any other outdoor/indoor gear will not only keep the rest of the house cleaner, but will help keep the cold/hot weather out.  Also consider the possibility of a sink in this room.

 

Extra Wiring

Adding extra wiring before the drywall is installed will save having to replace it all later when you realize you need to run speaker or electrical wiring out to your deck.

 

Backup Generator Wiring And Storage

Having your home pre-wired for a backup generator will make installation a breeze even if you don’t have said generator yet.  While you’re at it, pre-planning a concrete slab for the generator to sit on will beat trying to find a place for one later.

 

Backwater Valves

When installing your plumbing, make sure backwater valves are included in your piping to prevent sewers from backing up into your basement.  It’s a simple addition while building, but a destructive job after the fact.

 

Embedded Safe

Everyone has valuables – even if they’re just documents.  A stand alone safe is still portable and can easily be stolen.  Think about embedding a small safe in one of your concrete walls.  Not only is it fireproof and secure, but it’s easily hideable with a simple covering.

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Ideas for Quick But High Impact Summer Kitchen Renovations

As summertime arrives, your kitchen transforms from a place to create hot, heavy and filling wintertime meals to one that will become known for cool, light and refreshing dishes.  Why not make your surroundings reflect the change in season? Here are some tips for easy kitchen renovations that will usher in the summer.

 

Brighten Your Colours

Changing the colours of your cabinetry from dark light will make a massive impact on the feel of your kitchen.  Upgrading to maple or even brighter colours such as white or yellow will give your kitchen that summertime feel.   Whether resurfacing or simply painting, the fact that cupboards occupy so much kitchen surface area means that changing their colour will cause a major shake up in the room’s ambience.

 

Match Your Appliances

If it’s time to upgrade your refrigerator, stove, dishwasher or other appliances, consider streamlining them to match.  Nothing creates cleaner lines and coherence than matching appliances.  Aligning appliance characteristics give a uniform framework to the kitchen that will reflect the summertime sunlight in a positive fashion.

 

Modernize Your Countertops

Whether you choose stones such as  marble, granite or slate or one of the newer man-made materials such as Caesarstone or Neolithic, updating your countertops can do wonders for the light reflecting capacity of your kitchen.  A simple change in countertop material can change the atmosphere of the whole room.  Consider a material that accentuates your appliances and cabinetry for maximum impact.

 

Accent Lighting

Accent lighting will brighten up your kitchen with minimal cost.  Whether adding undermount lighting to your cabinetry, adjustable track lighting to your ceiling or wall lighting to highlight special areas, these are all quick and easy ways to spice up your kitchen.  Adding accent lighting is a low cost renovation with high rewards as a result.

 

The ushering in of summer is a perfect time to change the profile of your kitchen with simple renovations that result in a fresher, cleaner look. Simple changes can make huge differences.  By adding more light, coordinating appliances and countertops and brightening your colours, you can ensure the season is reflected in your kitchen.

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Classic Color Schemes That Will Always Be In Style

Every spring and autumn you’ll notice the headlines of the housekeeping magazines featuring the trendy new color scheme of the season.  That’s all fine and well if you enjoy redecorating and painting your house twice a year. It may also work if you revel in a radical color scheme that you rarely find anywhere else.  But for most of us, house painting and furniture purchasing is not a biannual event nor do we like to wake up to fluorescent pink and green walls everyday.  Thankfully there are a handful of color schemes that will always be in style.

 

Black And White

Black and white is a definite classic with a high contrast that delivers a sophisticated look.  Adding stainless steel appliances evokes a cool modernism, while adding wood finishes or floors will warm things up.  Anything matches with black and white, so accent with your own personality.

 

Blue And White

With blue being a timeless neutral color, blue and white remains a consistent designer color scheme.  Add into the mix the wide variety of blues available and you’ll have a room that remains inviting year after year.  Vary the textures and shades of blue with different pieces to create flow and drama.

 

Orange And Blue

Sitting directly across from each other on the color scale, orange and blue are complementary opposites that work well together.  Used in moderation as accents and delineated with strong white walls and furnishings, these two bold colors can be used for dramatic effect.

 

Rustic Autumn

Still beautiful year-round, a rustic color palette featuring shades of brown and orange like rust, pumpkin go well with the textures of exposed wood, bricks and slate.  These bold colors can be balanced with white or off-white accents.

 

Springtime

Another seasonal color scheme that works year-round is a springtime motif.  Yellow can be harder to decorate than many colors, but when tempered with grey or off-white furnishings and floors, the result is refreshing and sunny.  Darker greens are more effective when used on the lower half of a wall and complemented with a lighter hue higher up.

 

The takeaway?  Classic color schemes will always be in style.  You don’t need to be constantly catching up with the seasonal trends.  Make it easy on yourself and choose a color combination that suits your personality and stands the test of time.

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The Dividends of Investing in Office Renovation

 

An important viewpoint to change in doing business is seeing renovations as an expense. Renovating your office is actually an investment that will generate dividends for years to come.

 

Cut energy costs

One of the more tangible dividends you can get is cutting the costs of future energy use. This is a great opportunity to change the mechanics of your office interior to use energy more efficiently. Upgrade the electrical panel, HVAC system, and plumbing. Re-organise all the ductwork, pipes, and electrical wiring in the most straightforward way possible. Check the insulation throughout the office and bolster any areas that are lacking. Then replace all your lighting sources with energy-efficient ones. A great idea for rooms that see irregular use (e.g. supply room, photocopy room, conference room, etc.) is to install motion-sensor lighting so that it’ll automatically shut off when there’s no activity in the room. Finally, buy energy-efficient office machines to take the place of your old ones. You can then reinvest the savings you get from all these upgrades back into the company.

 

Enhance staff performance

Your staff is one of the smartest investments you can make. At the end of the day, they’re the ones who help you run a successful company. Renovating the office to give them a better working environment is one way to show your appreciation for their dedication. One of the easiest changes to make is to establish a colour scheme in the office through wall paint and furniture. The colour scheme can be your brand colours, colours that influence productivity, or a combination of both. Install larger windows so that your staff get more natural light during the day. And get rid of overhead fluorescent lights. Instead, use more ambient lighting in common areas and provide each desk with individual lighting – all with energy-efficient bulbs, of course. Making use of technology and re-arrangeable furniture in your conference room will make meetings more interactive and collaborative. Quiet zero-disturbance work zones throughout the office will help employees who need to focus on intensive work sprints. If your staff feels comfortable and well-equipped in the office, their productivity and performance levels will naturally increase to your benefit.

 

Reinforce company branding

When a business first starts up, it’s often concentrating on upping revenues and market share; it may not have the time yet to establish company core values. As the company matures over the years, its core values will start to solidify. These values are what will form the backbone of your company branding. And office renovation is the physical path to reinforcing company branding. That means making changes to office design all the way down to the materials so that that your office re-aligns with the updated company core values. Your clients will get the brand effect when they walk in as will your staff, who will then take pride in helping you spread the company brand further.

 

Increase potential clients/sales

All the above work in conjunction to increase potential clients/sales. If the new office design also optimises your company’s workflow, it’ll attract even more clients and sales with the new streamlined services you now offer.

 

Raises the bar on competitors

The beauty of renovating your office is that it shows your competitors that you’re confident in the future of your company’s growth. It makes them wonder at the source of your confidence. That’ll generate two different reactions: 1) they’re so shaken up that they bail out of the game; or 2) they push themselves to find creative ways to stay competitive. Both these reactions are good for your company. Yes, even the latter one because ever-flowing competition means that the industry is innovating as a whole, which enriches the lives of both customers and companies.

 

Want to get your money’s worth? Give us a call and we’ll help you maximise the returns of your investment.

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4 Design Considerations for Second Floor Additions

Heidan Construction - Custom Homes

 

Sometimes, building up with a second floor addition may be a better idea than building out. Or upgrading to an entirely new and larger house for that matter. It’s great if you’ve already maxed out your property lot and if you don’t want to buy into an overpriced market.

 

Whatever the reason, here are 4 major design considerations if you decide to build a second floor addition:

 

Structural strength of house

One of the most important preliminary steps of adding on a second floor is to make sure your house can hold up the addition. You also have to factor in the additional weight when the rooms fill up with furniture, fixtures, and potentially more people. All this involves having your contractor verify that the foundation and load-bearing structures are up to code. Older houses and areas that are prone to earthquakes also need careful attention to make them structurally sound.

 

Strategic placement of stairs

This can be a tough design choice if you have limited floor space. No matter how creative you try to get and still keep to code, the new staircase is still going take up a significant amount of room. The best-case scenario is if you already have stairs going down to the basement. That way, you can just put in the second floor staircase directly above that. Otherwise, it’s best to ask for help from your contractor’s professional creativity.

 

Behind the walls

With the addition of extra rooms in the second floor, you have to make sure that the HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems can take on the strain. Can the existing systems handle the extra outlets, fixtures, and vents? What’s the most efficient way to install the necessary ductwork, wiring, and pipes to connect the second floor to the rest of your house? These are important questions your contractor can help you answer. The solutions will ensure that the inner workings of your house will run properly after the addition. A second floor addition is also a timely opportunity to overhaul the internal mechanics of the house for future energy savings. Think about upgrading your furnace, electrical panel, and hot water tanks as well as their respective delivery systems. Then install energy-efficient fixtures that will minimise the use of electricity and water. Beefing up insulation while you’re at it will also help in reducing HVAC costs.

 

Roof over your head

How you decide to deal with your roof will have a huge impact on your budget. The more expensive way is to completely demolish the roof and build a whole new one on top of the second storey. The advantage of this option is that you’ll get a brand-new roof that’s custom-fitted to the second floor addition. The more economical way is to temporarily lift up the entire roof and replace it as soon as the framing’s done for the second addition. A lot of work has to be put in afterward though to seal in the roof properly since it won’t be a perfect fit. Of course, if you’re simply building a small second-floor space on top of your garage or porch, then the existing roof wouldn’t be an issue at all.

 

The finishing phase of a second floor addition melds the style of the new structure to that of the original one. A successful addition is one that looks as if it belonged there the entire time.