Article I wrote about the details that go into the making of a home. Part of my real estate SEO services is to write in depth about the home being sold.
Concrete Actions
by Scott Salwolke
With even comedies on television focusing on the environment, it's easy for people to become immune to the message. What they are noticing, however, is the size of their recent heating bills. Contractor Joel Callahan, with Callahan Construction, Inc., has a simple solution to help both the environment and dramatically lower energy costs. Build your home out of insulated concrete.
“Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) is a system where your home's structure is built using concrete within the insulated blocks,” explains Callahan. “It's more durable and more air tight than traditional homes. It looks like a block of concrete with insulation on the inside and outside. It’s the key to building homes in the future. With the high energy costs, you need to focus on the envelope of your house. It results in higher energy savings.”
Callahan’s own home is a testament to what insulated concrete can do. Driving up the road, one won’t realize that the frame of the ranch home was built with ICF.
“What is unique about this house specifically is that the concrete goes all way up to the roof trusses,” said Callahan. “We had a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rating done on the house, where the home energy rater reviews the home to identify its energy characteristics. Some of the characteristics are insulation levels, window efficiency, and heating and cooling system efficiency. Performance testing, such as blower door test for air leakage and duct leakage, is also usually part of this rating. The energy reviewer said it was one of the best scores they've ever had.”
“The ICF system is state of the art. When the ICF industry started, many contractors had trouble. It ended up getting a lot of bad publicity. The whole key comes down to how well you brace the walls, the braces you use and knowledge of the product. We poured about 145 yards of concrete for this house and never had any trouble.”
Once the procedure is complete, there is no insulation to install on the walls, even in the basement. Where homes are required to have R11 in the downstairs walls, the R factor here is 21. Drywall and siding or brick can easily be screwed or tied to the walls, thanks to the webbing on the ICF.
Callahan estimates that the process added ten to fifteen thousand dollars to the cost of building a home worth nearly $800,000.00. For a normal size home the cost could be as little as three to four thousand dollars. And this cost will soon be made up in not just the savings on heating, but by many rebates offered to encourage energy efficiency.
“The furnace is half the size of what a normal size house would require. In fact, for a house this size there would likely be two furnaces. With the way we built the envelope of this house we'll save 1/3 to 2/3 off of our heating bills. The house works as a system. The better and tighter shell measures lead to lower energy bills and a more comfortable home. It also means the house is quieter. If it's windy outside, or raining, you don't hear it.”
Energy efficiency is a central to the home's design. Fluorescent bulbs are used throughout, which have a longer life than traditional bulbs and put off less heat. Appliances are also energy efficient. The tank less water heater is smaller in size than a traditional unit, but it heats water as it passes through. The water is immediately hot and when not in use, doesn't burn gas.
Cement walls also make the home easier to cool. An air exchanger keeps the air fresh as it pulls air out of high moister areas, such as the laundry rooms or kitchen. During the cooler seasons, it will take that air and on the way out it preheats the air coming in. The airs don't mix, but because of the baffle system being used it warms the incoming air. The opposite effect happens during the warmer seasons.
The home is set up in a three zone system, helping to further reduce the heating costs. One is the bedrooms, the second is the main house, and the third is the basement. At night the bedrooms are kept warmer, while the rest of the house is maintained at a lower temperature.
This energy efficiency will be lost to most visitors. Instead they'll be taking in the home’s appearance. Joel and Cindy Callahan designed the home themselves, using a mission style design. The exterior is a combination of red brick and old stone.
The entranceway has stained etched glass on a maintenance free door. The interior of the door is stained while the exterior has a wood grain pattern to make it look more rustic, matching the older stone look of the house. In the foyer, wood columns frame the entrance to the Great Room. The built in entertainment center, with surround sound theater and a big wide screen television, make this an ideal room to watch a movie. There is even theater style seating along the back wall, complete with cup holders.
The three children’s rooms reflect each child's personality. One child is both a Bear fan and a Cub fan, so one wall is orange and another blue. The girl's room is striking for its use of two shades of pinks. The kids share a bathroom, but it’s more like a bath and a half. There are two sinks that can be used as the third child showers.
The Master Bedroom has a double trey ceiling with crown molding, similar to the one in the Great Room. The elegance of this room is echoed in the master bath. Tile encases the shower, adding both a distinctive look and a way to protect the walls from water damage. There are antique bronze accent tiles surrounding the Bain Ultra Thermo Masseur.
“We chose oil rubbed bronze hardware because of the rich brown tones and it is also associated with a mission style home.” said Cindy. “We tried to use the antique bronze or oil rubbed bronze for most of the electrical fixtures in the home. For the bathroom the light fixtures couldn't be found in antique bronze, so they were carefully painted as if they were.”
The large family oriented kitchen has a walnut brown finish on cherry custom made triple crown cabinets. The antique bronze chandelier lights hang from inverted double crown oak treys that are over both the dining room table and the island countertop. The stainless steel appliances, Corian countertops and eleven feet high ceilings make this kitchen very aesthetically appealing.
Going down stairs one finds a completely different environment, one in which the adults can play pool and the kids can play in their own toy room. The recreation room covers most of the downstairs. The striking use of color continues in this room where Golden Gate and Brandywine decorate the room. The centerpiece is the fireplace, whose hearth is a polished stone that almost seems to glitter.
From the beginning the house was designed to be kid friendly, with plenty of room for their toys and additional computers in the den on which to work on homework. Sure to be popular with kids of all ages is a baseball diamond built in the backyard. It includes a backstop, an infield, and permanent bases.