| This company makes insulated forms for pouring concrete walls. These forms look like giant Lego Blocks that snap together. Once the blocks are all put together and braced, they are filled with concrete. This makes for a super insulated wall system that is very strong and quiet. We used this product on one of our energy efficient homes with great success. For more information go to www.logixicf.com. You can see a list of house designs that have been engineered to work with this product.
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| This company makes the finest floor, wall and roof sheathing on the market today. Their floor sheathing carries a 50 year warranty. After first trying this product over 5 years ago during a very harsh winter we became sold on it. A house we were building got snowed in before the roof could be installed. It stayed this way over a period of a month or so. The sub floor was covered in snow and ice. When every thing finally melted there was absolutely no damage to the sub floor, what a great product. We now insist that all our homes be built with their products. For more information go to www.huberwood.com. |
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| This company makes a radiant heating system that is designed to go under tile work. The uniqueness of this product is that it is very energy efficient. An electro plastic mat is installed on the sub floor before the tile goes down. This mat is a low voltage device that is self regulating. A transformer that is usually installed in a closet near by supplies the power. We used this product on a house that had no heat in the bathroom with great success. For more information go to www.warmfloor.com.
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| This is a wonderful product that I first tried on my own home. This is a fiber cement siding that has the look of real wood without the hassles. When I built my first house I wanted real wood siding, so I opted to use cypress and cedar. Well almost immediately there were problems. First the stain finish needs almost constant upkeep; second the wood boring insects are relentless. When I decided to build my second house I looked for an alternative. Vinyl and aluminum siding were out of the question, they just look so cheap and fake. Then I came across the Hardie Siding, this changed everything. With the look and feel of cedar siding without all the hassle, I was sold. I now insist that all our projects consider using this product. For more information go to www.jameshardie.com.
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| If you are looking for the most incredible garage doors on the market today go to www.designerdoors.com. This company has a line of stock garage doors as well as a custom line of doors that are absolutely beautiful. I have used these doors on custom homes with breath taking results. The magnificence of the different species of woods, as well as the unique designs of the doors themselves will add to the beauty of your home.
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| One of my pet-peeves is a cheap door. I have been in million dollar homes only to find that the interior doors are hollow with cardboard cores. These are the same doors that are put in track town homes. These doors have no substance, they are lightweight to the feel and provide very little sound proofing and no fire rating at all. All the doors look the same with fake wood grain finish and the same 6 panel design. The Masonite Door Company makes a wonderful line of solid core doors that have a sound and fire rating. The weight of these doors gives them a substantial feel when you go to use them. The company offers many different door designs to help you make your home unique. To find out more about this product go to www.masonite.com. Click on new products and check out the SAFE N SOUND line of doors.
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| e first found out about tankless water heaters while attending the International Builders Show. After talking to several manufactures and going over all the literature, we decided to recommend Rinnai to our clients. Unfortunately it took almost a year for a forward thinking client that wanted to invest in this energy saving product. After installing the tankless heater the client was delighted. You have unlimited hot water on demand, meaning you don’t have to pay to heat a large storage tank full of water, whether you are using hot water or not. The hot water is made the instant you turn on the faucet and turns off the minute you turn it off. For more information on this energy saving product go to www.foreverhotwater.com.
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| There are many window manufactures on the market today and we have used several different ones over the years. In the last few years we have gravitated towards Jeld-Wen. They have a large selection of window styles in various price ranges. I have even had them make me custom windows for an addition to a 100 year old house. They have great customer service. If clients have an issue about their windows the factory will send a service tech to the client’s house to take care of the problem. I find this kind of service invaluable. Although you may pick any window you wish for your project, we highly recommend Jeld-Wen. For more info go to www.jeld-wen.com.
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| If you are looking to add an addition on to your existing home or are looking to update your old heating and air conditioning system you should take a look at www.mrslim.com. This system uses NO ductwork for heating or cooling your home. Instead it uses a split system with a small indoor unit installed on the wall in the room you want to heat or cool. There are 2 small pipes that go outside and connect to the outdoor unit. This system is very energy efficient and extremely quiet. If used to replace noisy window units you will be amazed at the difference in the sound level. The units come with a remote control that can be used anywhere in the room. I have used these units to heat and cool whole houses, as well as spot heat and cool additions. Because each room can be individually controlled, you don’t have to heat or cool rooms that are not being used and you can set different temperatures for each room being used. This product has been around for a long time in Europe and South America and is used extensively in commercial applications. These split systems are now starting to become popular with the American home owner.
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