Category — Energy effeciency

In going through this process, I am amazed at the difficulty of making decisions on floorplans and architectural details based on lines on paper. I think the thing that really gets me is the finality of those decisions. Give me the digital world and I can make decisions in a heartbeat, and stick to them. Give me a choice on a placement of a physical wall and I go blank. [Read more →]

As we did our original walkthrough, Kris, from Stafford Home Services, said that recessed lighting would make a dramatic difference in the space, especially in the bedrooms. Boy was he right. Today the Stafford Home Services Electrical guys installed the lighting in the bedrooms and hallways. What an amazing difference. The ceilings are not short but they certainly seemed lower with the old ceiling units in there. [Read more →]

Stafford Home Services has come in and torn out the old HVAC system. They will be installing a new, 95% energy efficient Bryant furnace and AC unit as well as new ducts. Dan, a partner at Stafford, will be focusing on energy savings and as well as space saving designs. Stay tuned as he has some interesting ideas.

Stinson Builder roughed in the space in the rear addition for the three windows that will be going in next week. We have selected three energy efficient, 6′ wide Marvin Integrity windows. Each window consists of one large 5’x6′ fixed pane with two 20″x3′ awning windows on the bottom. Two will be along the left of the NW corner, with a double patio door to the left to them and one other on the adjacent corner.

Fast and furious framing! Brandon and his team bumped out the kitchen wall, made a new stairway (after removing the old), framed the new bedroom wall and the basement (as well as added Foamular insulation panels) and moved two windows. Watching those guys work was quite a wonder. [Read more →]

Jason Stinson has the most amazing sub’s (subcontractors.) They just do great work and are great people, across the board. My most recent experience with this is Stafford Home Services. They are a one-stop-shop for Electrical, HVAC, Low voltage and all the services in-between. Low voltage being media rooms, recessed speakers, sound systems, security systems and the like. [Read more →]

You can’t start a good renovation project without a good architect. A good architect knows not only the form and function of a home but incredibly important details like how a person lives in a space and maddeningly complex things like codes, appliances, materials, good contractors, certifications, rebates, etc… Now that is a tall order. Fortunately I found all of that, and more, with Phillip Broussard from the St. Paul-based Architron. [Read more →]