LEED and Energy Star - Green Homes for Better Living

Do you want to make your home more energy efficient and green? You can definitely take some basic steps to save money on energy costs, and you can fix up an existing home to make it a green home. Or, you might consider purchasing a new LEED property. A LEED certified home is one that has been certified as meeting certain measurable "green" characteristics. Even taking a few simple steps can make a home more energy efficient: unplugging unused appliances, turning off lights in vacant rooms, and replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents are just a few examples. Of course, the greenest homes have been designed to be energy efficient right from the first moment they were conceived and constructed.

LEED. A "LEED" home is a green home. One of the latest programs in green home construction is the LEED for Homes certification. LEED promotes the design and construction of green homes. A LEED-certified home can be anywhere from 30-60% more energy efficient than a standard home (U.S. Green Building Council).

Average Predicted Energy Savings of LEED Homes
Based on their average Home Energy Rating System (HERS) scores, homes certified under LEED for Homes since the program launched in January 2008 are predicted, on average, to have the potential for reduced energy usage compared with International Energy Conservation Code standards.

Who is LEED?
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environment Design. LEED is a third party certification and ratings system that encourages green construction and sustainable living. As described by the U.S. Green Building Council, "the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria" (greenhomeguide[dot]org).




Why LEED?
Green consumers are learning to seek out LEED certified homes because they can be confident that these homes and properties have been inspected, tested, and certified by an independent party. This certifies that the property is truly differentiated as a green home. Builders and developers can submit their new green construction projects to LEED for certification. The property must fulfill the necessary requirements to be certified with a LEED designation.

Other Green Home Certifications
In addition to LEED, there is the popular Energy Star for Homes certification, as well as several other localized "green" certification programs popping up all across the country, such as BuildItGreen and Earth Advantage.

Even without an official green certification, the average consumer can still take many steps towards renovating their older property and making their home more eco-friendly and green. There are many levels of "greening" for a property, from a complete top-to-bottom green home, to basic improvements such as the replacement of outdated heating, cooling, and appliances with newer Energy Star rated systems.

If you want to make your existing home green, do a Google search for "energy efficiency" and you're bound to find a wealth of ideas. The Energy Star website (energystar[dot]gov) has a ton of helpful information on what you can do to make your home more energy efficient. There are even free downloadable guides, and energy calculators. And of course, if you are looking for a new green property, talk to your realtor about finding a LEED or Energy Star home.

Steel Buildings: Why Are They So Popular?

If you've been searching for a solution to your agricultural, garage, or industrial building needs, you've no doubt noticed that steel buildings have become increasingly popular. You many be wondering why so many people are choosing steel buildings over other types of construction materials and if a steel building will work for your application.

In this article, we'll take a look at some of the applications for and benefits of these metal buildings.

What are people using steel buildings for?

A steel building can be as simple as a carport or as complex as a multi-story, ornately architected office building. These type of buildings are very popular for farming or housing combustible materials such as hay bails. Lots of people place attractive steel building on their properties for use as a workshop or garage.

NASA uses steel buildings for functional reasons to store and protect its high tech vehicles and equipment. Multiple General Motors (Hummer) dealerships also use SteelMaster's roofing system for the construction of a sophisticated and attractive clear span showroom.

Though similar buildings of the past were, well, not that pretty; the steel buildings of today are as and even more architecturally stylish than most wood constructed buildings. You might be surprised at how many buildings are actually constructed of steel. The reason is that there are important benefits to using steel rather than wood in building construction.

Why are others choosing these buildings?

There are quite a few reasons why steel buildings are so popular today:

Cost: Steel buildings are much less expensive to construct than wood buildings. Not only do the materials cost less, but the time required to erect this type of building is much less also. The steel can be precut and pre-punched before the materials ever arrive at your location.



Safety: Unlike a wood structure, steel is not flammable. This makes steel buildings ideal for hay sheds, barns, and storage sheds. When used as barns, steel buildings provide a safe and temperate environment for the animals inside when ventilated properly.

Bug Resistant: While wood structures are vulnerable to termites, steel buildings are impermeable to these damaging insects. Anyone that has had a run-in with these tiny yet destructive critters understands how that it is much easier to prevent termites than to get rid of them.

What to look for in a steel building

With the rising popularity of steel buildings, many manufactures have arrived on the scene to meet consumer demand. However, be cautious before you choose a vendor. Some of the things you'll want to research before making a choice are:

-Grade of steel: 80 grade or higher is ideal
-Quality of the steel coating: Coating protects the steel material from rust and decay
-Energy Star Rated steel materials: Using Energy Star rated materials can yield a 15% to 20% cooler environment.
-Laser guided pre-punched holes: Laser precision means less room for error in construction
-Whether or not the company has a customer service department
-Warranty: length and conditions
-Number of years in business
-Dedicated customer service department -After all sales people sell and do not do customer service very well.

There are countless reasons why people choose steel buildings over other kinds of construction today. One idea is to talk to others who use steel buildings for the same applications that you are considering and ask them why they made the choice of steel over other construction materials. If you keep your eye open, you're likely to begin noticing that there are more steel buildings around than you may have realized!

Tips for Selecting a Great Real Estate Contractor

When you decide to build a home rather than to buy a home or when you make the decision to remodel the home that you already have, you most likely intend to get the job done with the help of contractor. Unfortunately, contractors have earned a somewhat bad reputation as some have failed to live up to their contracts or provide the quality of work homeowners expect when they buy their services. In order to keep yourself from being disappointed by your contractor, it is important that you follow these simple tips.

Tip #1: Ask Your Friends and Family

The single best way to select a contractor is to ask around. If your friends or family members have worked with a contractor that did a good job for them, you should put that contractor high on your list. The more recently the friend or family member hired a contract to work on their real estate the better. After all, if a contractor just did a great job a few months ago, he or she is likely to still be able to provide the same level of service.

Tip #2: Check References

Of course, you may not know anyone that has recently purchased real estate or that did any remodeling to their homes. If this is the case, you won't have much of a starting point when choosing a contractor. Therefore, it is essential that you check the references provided by the contractor. Ideally, you should check into references for jobs that are completed as well as for jobs that are in progress. This way, you can check out the real estate in varying levels of completion in order to determine the quality of the work.

Before you buy the services of a contractor, you should also talk with some of the references. Ask the references important questions, such as:

- How well did the contractor stay on schedule?
- How happy were you with your real estate when the job was completed?
- Did you feel as if the contractor listened to you when you ran into a problem?
- Were your concerns easily resolved?

Talking with past clients is an excellent way to get an idea of the type of work the contractor does as well as his level of commitment to customer satisfaction.


Tip #3: Check the Contractor's License

If you are going to buy the services of a contractor, you certainly want someone that is properly educated in the craft. Before you sign a contract and buy the materials for the job, check with your Contractors State License Board in your state. By checking with the board, you can confirm that the contractor is licensed and you can also find out the areas of specialty in which the contractor is licensed.

When checking on licensing, ask the contractor for his or her pocket license as well as another form of identification. Then, check the license against the other form of identification in order to make sure the names match up. Since it is illegal for a contractor to use another contractor's license, a reputable contractor will have matching identification.

Tip #4: Make Sure the Contractor is Insured

As the buyer, you shouldn't be expected to buy insurance to cover the job. Rather, the contractor should have insurance in place. Check to make sure the contractor is insured against property damage, worker's compensation, and personal liability. Ask for a copy of the certificate of insurance to verify coverage as this will protect you if something goes wrong while on the job.

Deciding to buy real estate in order to build your own home or to remodel your current home is an exciting time in your life. Make sure you do your homework before selecting a contractor in order to prevent your dream from turning into a nightmare.