What can home shows offer you as you build your custom home?

Part 3

In What can home shows offer you as you build your custom home? (Part 2), we continued discussing how attending a home show can demonstrate energy efficient designs and options for you as you build your custom home. In this article, we will continue to examine how some specific topics covered by venders at a home show can benefit you as you build your custom home.

In Hot Water

A home show can provide you with many options in the construction of your new custom built home, including the appliances that you will use every day. Many people in the United States start their day off with a shower. This is a morning ritual that is both hygienic and psychological for most people. The difference between a hot and cold shower can mean the difference between a good and a bad day. Yet the device that so many of us rely on to provide that hot water does not do so efficiently. Most home owners use a hot water heater to keep 40 to 80 gallons of water hot. This is nice when we need it in the morning or at night, but what about the rest of the time.

A "tankless water heater," also known as a "demand water heater," can help keep your new custom built home environmentally sound, while still providing that hot shower you cherish so dearly. Many venders at home shows will have both kinds of water heaters, and can discuss with you the benefits and drawbacks of each in turn. Integrating a tankless water heater into your new custom built home can be more expensive, but choosing a contractor that specializes in green building can help you design your custom home, while also helping limit those extra costs.

Forming the Foundation

For those home builders who desire to build green, the foundational walls are a great place to start pondering your carbon footprint. Most foundations are predominantly concrete slabs, which is energy-intensive and is manufactured through non-environmentally friendly methods. The chemical makeup of the concrete can also have a profound impact on the environment. Also, concrete slabs often store thermal energy rather than insulate against it.

The form walls of your home can also be an important opportunity to chose energy efficiency over standard methods. Using Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF) in your foundational walls can have a profound impact on keeping custom home builder's carbon footprint to a minimum. The ICF is a cementitious matrix of recycled foam or wood fibers that not only provide a better frame for your new custom built home, but also insulates your home from heat and cold. More information can be found at home shows, where venders can discuss options for your new home. This should be a key question new custom home builders ask of venders and contractors, such as Built Green Custom Homes, Inc.

Again, finding the right venders to answer your specific questions is very important when you visit a home show. Doing a little homework before attending can mean more answers and less time wasted at the show.