Posts Tagged ‘ Home performance improvement ’

Top 12 Considerations for Choosing a Home Improvement Contractor

March 2, 2011
By

Through a nine-year experience of working with homeowners and various building owners, I have observed that there are 12 considerations that are most important to a potential customer when she seeks (notice the choice of the feminine gender throughout, the usual contact in my experience) to hire a contractor. It is her expectation that these considerations are largely satisfied (often through time-consuming due diligence) before making a selection. In today’s fast-pace society the time commitment required to do due diligence is becoming less desirable therefore, customers are seeing brand recognition with its built-in credibility as an efficient way to decide on a home improvement company. The following are the 12 considerations.

1. The Right Evaluation – The customer wants and expects the contractor to have the skills and the experience to assess the job and arrive at the right evaluation. For example, is the water mark on the wall below the window the result of a poorly flashed window or is it from a leak in the roof?

2. The Belief That the Job will be Done Right the First Time – The analogy of the car repair shop is appropriate here because it embodied the classic example of repeatedly returning to address the same problem.

3. No Unexpected Repairs (Ghost Repairs) – The customer expect that no additional work is done without authorization; consider the situation where a client was presented with added cost for removal of plumbing pipes that the contractor deemed too old for the newly remodeled kitchen.

4. The Quote is the Final Charge – The customer expects to be charge the quoted price (or be offered a discount) and not more.

5. Wants to be Educated – Whenever possible and feasible educate the customer on specifics of the problem and its solutions. It is expected.

6. The Job will be Finished on Time – The customer expects the job to be completed on time, if this is not possible she must know this well in advance.

7. Be Professional – The customer expects a professional experience through out the process.

8. Be Friendly – The customer expects a friendly experience. The crew working in her home must be approachable.

9. Proper Communication – The customer expects beneficial communication during service, someone on site must speak her language to answer immediate concerns.

10. Wants warranty/Guarantee – The customer expects written warranty and guarantee for the service provided.

11. Post Job Follow up – The customer expects after-job follow-up both verbally and physically.

12. Price – The customer expects fair price for the service provided; contrary to popular belief price is often not a primary consideration but it must always perceived to be fair.

In conclusion, my interactions with home improvement customers (at times through specific survey questions) have taught me that the above 12 considerations are perceived as credibility attributes inherent in a professional home improvement company. It further highlights that brand recognition will be an important determining factor in selecting a home improvement company in the future.

Retrofit Boston is produced by Caledonia Construction Company, Inc.

Discover the Solutions for Drafty Uncomfortable Homes

February 1, 2011
By

The energy efficiency movement is starting to impact the awareness of how the indoor conditions of an existing building can be greatly improved. Homeowners who once dread the winter months and thought that they had to live with the pain of a drafty uncomfortable home are now increasingly seeking to improve these homes.

This search often brought homeowners out into the marketplace looking for solutions and the best professional help. As a result, we are seeing the most solid growth rate in weatherization services in recent years, local companies that position themselves as the brand to trust are experiencing the most explosive growth. Indeed, some spare no media opportunity to publicize their service and are bold in the assurance that the benefits of weatherization services are the improved comfort, health and efficiency of your home. Homeowners, it appears, are getting the message and are acting on it.

We have also been listening and acting, here is what we recommend and you should expect from your contractor. We know that regardless of the term that is used to describe the process, weatherizing your home is the surest way to improve its interior comfort and efficiency thereby alleviating the stress of the approaching winter. We believe that, the execution of the following basic three-step process of sealing (air sealing and duct sealing), insulation and venting when well coordinated produces optimum results in improved indoor environment.

Sealing leaks

In the first step your house is sealed off from the outside air. A blower door test will find out exactly how much conditioned air is being lost to unconditioned space. Once this is determined, work crew will seal off the house and the duct work from the outside air. This is done through the application of a variety of techniques and an array of products including foam board, expandable foam, duct mastic, caulking, and other specialized products.

Insulating

In the second step insulation is applied in your home is to stop heat from escaping. This is done with the use of various insulation products, but blown cellulose is a primary choice and is deposited in attic and exterior wall cavities. Cellulose is made with recycled newspaper treated with a fire retardant. again, cellulose is used as it has superior insulating and air blocking properties than other option such as fiberglass.

Ventilation

In the third step, at a minimum, the venting system must be checked to ensure proper venting of high moisture areas such as kitchen and bathrooms. Proper venting means that these areas are vented to the outside to control the moisture out put from cooking and showers. In addition, to conclude the weatherization project a final blower door test is recommended to provide quantitative evidence of the before and after conditions. However the real evidence to many contractors is often the many satisfied homeowners who are now proud members of their referral team.

In brief, weatherization, the three-step process of sealing, insulation and ventilation is designed to improve the comfort, health and efficiency of your home with the added benefit of saving you money on your utility bills throughout the year.

Retrofitboston.com is produced by the management of Caledonia Construction Co., Inc.

Think Sustainable and Green

January 20, 2011
By

Over the past couple of years I have attended many seminars mostly on topics relating to green building and the environment. In truth, I was determined to make good use of the construction down time, in this economy, with a goal to learning as much as I could about home performance improvement. One such seminar taught me that the terms sustainable building and green construction have become more than simple buzz words, they have become policies promoted by the government. Policies which at their roots are designed to change the way we think about and use energy in the construction and operation of buildings. The ‘sustainable building,’ concept dictates the integration of efficiency strategies and processes that are adapted during the design, construction and operation of a building project. Green construction is the use of building materials in these processes that offer environmental benefits to the building owners (homeowners) and the wider society in specific ways. Some Advantages of Sustainable Building:

Better Design
Reduced cost of maintenance over life span of structure
Improved effect on environment and occupants
Improved interior comfort
Improved energy conservation and efficiency

Overall, the Impact of adapting Green Construction has far-reaching implications considering that Constructing buildings worldwide consumes almost 3 billion tons of raw materials annually (this, I learn at one of the seminars). When contractors, architects and professionals in the building industry adapted green construction strategies they are helping to reduce the impact on the environment. Green building projects improve the adverse effects on the environment of extraction, fabrication, transportation, installation and disposal of building source material. Additionally, green building material is first biodegradable or created with renewable resources. This ensures that they have positive impacts on the environment throughout the life of the building. While there may be hundreds of different material available, most material are selected by these builders on the basis of:
Energy and resource efficiency: Materials with measurable recycled content, natural and renewable, efficient manufacturing process, minimizing waste, available locally, easily salvaged and refurbished plus durable.

Indoor air quality: The use materials that are non-carcinogenic, non-irritants, non toxic to the reproductive process and have no adverse effect on human and animal occupants. Materials used indoors would also be easily maintained and moisture resistant to inhibit growth of toxic mold and other contaminants.

Water conservation: Systems and materials that help to reduce the consumption of water.

Affordability: Using materials that have a longer life cycle and are easily obtained geographically and are within the project defined budgeted amount.

All in all, if you have already been exposed to the terms sustainable building and green construction, then adding energy efficiency improvement, home performance improvement, renewable energy (to list just a few more) to the group will only serve to dramatize the movement afoot to change the way we think about and use energy in our buildings.

Retrofitboston.com is produced by Caledonia Construction Co., Inc

The Coolest Trend In Home Improvement

January 2, 2011
By

Although most building owners are unaware of the energy efficiency programs directed at the current building stock, they can significantly affect the interior environment of buildings.

Home performance improvement widely viewed as the latest trend in home remodeling takes a whole-house approach to home improvement where improvements to enhance the energy efficiency directly affects the comfort, health and safety in the building. In deed, the general view in building science is to intentionally controls the indoor air quality through effective energy efficiency improvement. This is achieved by executing specific steps. Below are 4 basic steps consistent with this view:

1. Tighten the envelop of the building by sealing, caulking, and insulating to create a sealed boundary between indoor and outdoor air.

2. Reduce or eradicate pollutants (toxins) sources that are in the building is one of the simplest way to deal with to improve air quality, keep them out whenever possible. In addition, Vent all combustion appliances to the outside.

3. Maintain indoor humidity within a healthy range to reduce mold sources, high moisture areas in the building such as Bathroom and kitchen must be vented properly. Bathroom fans situated on walls or in the ceiling must exhaust air outside, not just into the attic, for example. Kitchen range hoods must always be vented directly to the outside, forget the so call useful charcoal filter.

4. Intentionally introduce fresh air into the building through the use of a mechanical ventilation system, ever home should have one. In fact, commit to treating air like you do water – clean water is essential to our health, so we control it carefully. Fresh air is also essential, but in most homes (compared with being at the office), we pay no attention to controlling it. If unwanted air is kept out and fresh air is intentionally introduce this would make for a more controlled healthy indoor environment

Bundled together these 4 basic steps reduce heating and cooling costs, reduce uncomfortable drafts, minimize airborne toxins, control moisture content and generally provide for a more healthy and safe indoor environment that is comfortable.

Retrofitboston.com is produced by Caledonia Construction Co., Inc

Getting to know Building Retrofit

October 26, 2010
By

Definition of Building Retrofit
The basic definition of building retrofit is the improvement of the infrastructure of the building to increase its energy efficiency, comfort, safety, health and durability. This could include improving building components, building operating systems and equipment, and installing energy efficient appliances.

Why the Need for Building Retrofit
Buildings account for about 40% of the total energy consumption in the US according to the Department of Energy, which is why policies are being debated by the Federal government to enacted laws to ensure that buildings becomes more energy efficient. States governments searching for ways to better manage costs are already making changes to their building codes to facilitate more energy efficiency construction and improvement to existing buildings.
It is clear, energy efficiency solutions for our homes are no longer an individual crusade. The government has come forward to initiate ground breaking changes to allow homeowners and commercial property owners to adapt more environmentally friendly and energy efficient solutions which help them save money through better utilizing of energy resources.

Why the Government Cares about Building Retrofit
Building retrofit is being promoted by the government because it is unique in providing, as a package, solutions to three far-reaching fundamental priorities, economic development, environmental protection and social goals.
In an effort to achieve these priorities (which I will expand in another post) the Federal government in the short run is providing funding to state governments to carry out retrofit programs while it debates building retrofit priorities in its long term energy policy. In addition, the Federal government is encouraging individuals to adapt energy efficient solutions by providing a dollar for dollar tax credit (up to $1,500) for energy efficiency home improvements.
It is becoming more apparent that government policies are inching towards a long over due comprehensive solution to the nation’s growing energy problem with building retrofit an integral part of the equation. If the government cares, it is therefore logical to assume that laws and penalties to ensure that buildings meet a certain standard of efficiency are to follow.

The bottom line for Retrofit
Building retrofitting scaled up to achieve wide spread participation, claiming the optimum energy efficiency, becomes the foundation on which sustainable and renewal energy are built. The fact is while 40% of energy consumption is through buildings; most structures have not been built for energy efficiency, retrofitting a standard building can realize energy saving that could reduce the adverse effect on the environment

Energy Efficient Replacement Windows

October 11, 2010
By

As a homeowner, have you ever asks why you should replace your current windows for more energy efficient replacement windows. It is a legitimate question. Replacing windows can cost the homeowner a large sum of money. However, if the homeowner does install energy efficient windows in his home, he could end up recouping his investment within a few of years. Your windows may offer the best view of the neighborhood but the fact is, they are also some of the prime locations for energy loss in your home. Energy efficient windows can lower the cost of your energy bills by almost 30 percent!

Do your research: In order to make sure that you have the best quality windows installed for your money, make sure you do your research. If you check with the NFRC [National Fenestration Rating Council] or Energy Star you will get an unbiased breakdown of your options. These organizations offer a rating system that will help you, as the homeowners determine, the energy-efficient window, perfect for your  needs.
Rating Information: The rating system has been created on the basis of the following three main factors-
  • U-Factor represents conductive heat loss
  • Solar Heat Gain Coefficient is the amount of direct solar radiant heat that gets in through the window
  • Visible Transmittance is the measure of how much visible light gets through
The way it works:

Double Glazing:
Double glazing is two class combined to create a sash, currently the basic replacement window.  It improves the performance of the windows by reducing the loss of energy through increase insulating.
Air space:
Again, replacement windows that are double glazed have  air space between the two panes of glass. This provides a form of insulation, however, any space more than an inch thick can decrease the energy efficiency. So look for air spaces that are between ¼ to 1/2” thick.
Gas for Low Conductivity:
To further decrease the energy loss manufacturers filled the space between the two panes of glass with dense odorless gases called Argon or Krypton which reduces the conductivity of heat through the glass.
Glass Coats with a Tint:
In order to limit the penetration of UV rays the manufacturers tint the glass in a very subtle way, this increased the efficiency of energy by limiting the penetration of the sun light.
Low-E- Coatings:
Another way to reduce heat loss is by adding a coat of a low emissive [Low-E] compound like silver or tin oxide. Placed on the inside of the glass, this coating is so thin it is not visible to the naked eye but reduces the heat loss by reflecting the heat back into the room.
So, what energy efficient replacement window does your home need?
Depending on where you as the homeowner are located, you would require some or all of the above factors. As a result, replacement window manufacturers create products for all climates and regions.
For best results, opt to have a home performance improvement contractor help you select and install the windows. This will ensure that energy efficient replacement windows are installed for optimum performance.

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