It's The Custom

A thermal image from an energy audit, credit www.energytribe.com

As the price of energy continues it’s perpetual climb, the only way you can really combat the rising costs is by decreasing your usage. Many St Louis families are trading in their gas guzzling vehicles for better fuel efficiency, and an increasing number of our clients are paying closer attention to the energy efficiency of their new custom homes as well.

While energy efficiency may seem like a  like a nebulous concept, there are tools available to homeowners that measure their home’s energy efficiency and to help determine what steps can be taken in order to reign in their usage. Whether you’re considering a small upgrade or a complete energy efficient renovation, the first step towards improving your home’s energy efficiency is performing an energy audit.

One of the most common energy audits on the market today is the Home Energy Rating System, or HERS. This audit can be completed by an authorized professional and assigns each home a score to determine the it’s efficiency. The HERS score takes into account many energy efficiency factors such as on-site energy production (such as solar panels), and energy usage such as that by lighting and appliances, and the results of a blower door and infrared camera test to evaluate the home’s thermal envelope and how many times the air within the home is exchanged with the outside. You can learn more about what happens during an energy audit by checking out our interview with Marc Bluestone, a registered energy auditor with Home Green Home.

After factoring together the audit results homeowners can determine and prioritize which upgrades and renovations can be done to save hundreds, and even thousands of dollars each year on home energy costs. While most often performed during the construction or renovation of a home, these test are also becoming increasingly common during the inspection phase of a home’s sale so many homeowners are opting to have these test done prior to listing to correct any issues, and even to help aid in the marketing of their homes.

You can find a home energy auditor by contacting the St Louis Home Builder’s Association, or by contacting your local gas or electric utility. It’s perhaps one of the best tools a homeowner has to combat the rising costs of energy.

The powerful storms that rolled through St. Louis last weekend have left many residents with a lot of damage, and the need to find a good general contractor to make repairs and even make some major renovations.

Unfortunately there are also many storm chasing, fly-by-night operations that are poised to take advantage of homeowners who have found themselves in a bind and in need of repairs.

When hiring a contractor for a home renovation or repair project the most important thing you can do is a little bit of homework before making their selection – it can save thousands of dollars and can help make sure you get a quality job for your money.

Here are a few important tips for selecting a general contractor for your storm repairs, renovations, or additions:

Keep it Local – Avoid the storm chasers who roll into town specifically to take advantage or storm victims and support your local economy by hiring a contractor in St. Louis, and preferably one headquartered within a reasonable driving distance to your home. By keeping it local you may also shave some costs and time off of your project because subs and materials are more likely to come from local suppliers.

Check Credentials – Make sure that your contractor is a member of a nationally recognized, professional organization such as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the local chapter of the Home Builders Association (HBA), or National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI). It’s easy to determine their affiliation by looking for membership affiliation on their website, or simply by asking them during your initial conversation. Many organizations will also list member companies and contractors on their websites, which can also be a great way to start your start your contractor search. These memberships are important because they support their reputation, but many of the associations also require ongoing education as part of their membership, meaning you can be confident your builder is up to date and knowledgeable.

Check the BBB – One of the best resources for customers who are considering doing business with anyone new, it only takes a few seconds to search for a builder’s name or company on the Better Business Bureau’s website to see if there are any past complaints, to check out their rating, and make sure they are approved.

Nothing Beats a Referral – Happy clients develop a good relationship with their contractor over the course of their home project, and the contractor should be happy to pass along contact information for a few past clients. But be wary if they can’t, or won’t, give this information to you – this red flag could mean they haven’t been in business very long, or that they have a series of bad projects in their past.

When hiring a general contractor it may be tempting to jump to the lowest bid blindly, however taking a company’s track record and qualifications into account when making you decision can prevent a lot of hassle, wasted money, and disappointment.

A shot of the exterior of the ranch home we will be renovating to a 1.5 story, energy efficient home in Olivette, MO

With the recent economic downturn, and subsequent drop in home values, many homeowners are deciding to stay put and renovate their existing homes, and recent reports show that this trend will continue. And as you might guess, the process of providing the tight thermal envelope needed for an energy efficient home becomes a little more challenging with a renovation project.

We are just beginning an interesting home renovation in Olivette, Missouri-an older community about 15 miles west of downtown St. Louis. We are working with a wonderful young family to turn a 60-year-old ranch into a story and a half, “new” home. Part of the project will include removing the existing roof and adding attic trusses for a three bedroom, two bath second floor with a loft.

As they say, this is a perfect home for the project because it has good “bones.” But, as our energy audit found, this home does not have a good thermal envelop. A home energy audit helps assess how much energy your home consumes and evaluates what you can do to make it more energy efficient. Part of that process is a blower door test which showed an air exchange rate of 11. That means the air inside the house is replaced 11 times in one hour which is not efficient. We are currently building new homes with air exchange rates below 3, and our goal with this renovation project is to cut the air exchange rate to less than two-which will save the homeowner substantially on their utility bills, make the home more comfortable, and improve the indoor air quality.

An energy audit showed that the home was cycling air 11 times per hour-over three times more often than a new, energy efficient home.

As the demo process began, we quickly found what was causing the problem – no wall insulation and there wasn’t any kind of sealing package. This is not unusual as many older homes have been built with little or no insulation. This retrofit will include a very thorough caulk/seal and insulation package. The home will also be Energy Star rated and verified green through the National Association of Home Builder’s National Green Building Program.

The entire renovation should take about 3-4 months and we invite you to follow the process on our blog. We’ll let you know what we’re doing and why as we work through the project. This is a terrific “old” home, and we look forward to making it “new” again.