Archive for Green Building

Inspiration Home in Spring: See it on the Scott Homes 2013 Tour of Homes

April 23, 2013 at 6:53 pm · Filed under Inspiration Home, Tours & Shows ·Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DSC_5945The Inspiration Home will be open one more time for just one day. Sunday, May 5, from 11 a.m. — 4 p.m. Scott Homes was recently awarded ENERGY STAR’s 2012 Home of the Year “Best Demonstration Project” award. And, yes, we’re pretty proud of that. Coincidentally, we had a tour of homes planned this spring anyway. It all works out quite nicely.

If you missed the Inspiration Home last year, or if you want to talk to the owners and see if it’s living up to it’s potential, sign up for information on Scott Homes Spring 2013 Tour of Homes.

If you haven’t heard about the Inspiration Home, here’s the skinny: The Inspiration Home has every thing — energy efficient technology and finish — we could reasonably cram into one house. We wanted people to be inspired (get it? “Inspiration Home”?)

On the system side (dry information maybe, but pretty sweet when you get the monthly bills):

  • Ductless Heat Pump (DHP), one of the most efficient heat sources on the market
  • Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) to keep the home’s air fresh and healthy
  • Walls and roof of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) for insulation, strength, longevity and reduction of waste
  • Solar hot water heater to reduce energy consumption
  • Starter Solar Panel Kit which can be easily expanded as needed
  • Triple pane windows
  • Raingardens — our goal is to have as little run-off as possible
  • Water-proofing system (NOT “damp-proof”) around basement

We also loaded the Inspiration Home up with our signature Craftsman touches. We could have added more interior details but that would have been going for Baroque.

  • Vaulted entry with custom twisted willow chandelier
  • Coffered ceilings (being in the Northwest, we thought we were getting coffee and asked for lots and lots [Oh, I've got a million of them])
  • Built ins surrounding gas fireplace
  • Re-purposed brick on the fireplace
  • Trex deck built for a lifetime right off the kitchen (BBQ heaven!)
  • Custom-built kitchen shelves
  • Re-purposed Craftsman buffet for the kitchen island
  • Custom built-in breakfast nook with the sweetest windows ever
  • Radiant heat floor in master bathroom
  • Lots and lots of storage
  • Very thoughtful ADA and multi-generational design

And, of course, there are lots of pictures to drool over.

While you’re here, take a few minutes to see all the fabulous partners who made building this home possible. Without their advice, design and products, well … we wouldn’t be calling it the Inspiration Home, I guess.

See you there!

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Introducing the Team: Scott Homes & Northwest Energy Team

April 9, 2013 at 2:52 pm · Filed under Green Building, Northwest Energy Team ·Tagged , , , , , ,

SHINC and NET EDITwNames

Scott Bergford is the owner and president of Scott Homes, Inc. (and also of Northwest Energy Team). He’s the one who sits down with you and helps you figure out how your home will look and what it will do. Scott helps you articulate your priorities  (Aging-in-place, extreme energy efficiency, capitalizing on a view, mutli-generational design) and gives you your options.

PatsGardenPat Bergford is in charge of taste and refinement. It is her artistic touch that makes our home designs so attractive. And when you come visit, schedule time to walk around her garden.

Chris is the office manager. She  is in charge of Scott’s calender and keeps track of the financial side of things. (She also stashes the good candy so we are all nice to Chris.) Chris has built two of her own homes with Scott Homes, so she is a really good resource for questions.

Eileen is a some-time writer for Scott Homes and Northwest Energy Team. She and her husband live in the Far Reach House and pay $70 a year to heat their house. Eileen has drunk the Scott Homes Kool Aid. You’ll meet her at a lot of the home shows and tours.

Scott Homes LogoScott Homes
Scott Homes builds extremely energy efficient homes. We work exclusively with Structural Insulated Panels (SIP) and really like to incorporate heat recovery ventilators and ductless heat pumps because then our home have heat bills of less than $100 a year. Which is nice.

Chad puts your dreams on paper. He creates a computer design (floor plans and elevations) based on your discussions with Scott. When you have changes, Chad is the one who makes them work.

Steve is your organizer. He gives you the list of what you have to choose (dishwashers, windows, paint color) and the deadlines for your choices. He also manages the operations so the sub-contractors and the utilities and the banks are all doing what they are supposed to in the time they should be doing it. Kinda.

Don is the guy on your site. He’s the one who meets the flooring guys and the electricians and the PUD crew and makes sure they do the right things to the right wall/floor/junction box.

Northwest Energy TeamNorthwest Energy Team
NET’s focus is to make existing homes more energy efficient through selective upgrades to your building envelope. It operates under the Scott Homes umbrella and utilizes the same resources and standards.

Paul is the fellow who comes out to evaluate your home to see what may or may not need to be done. Paul is quite serious in public settings. This confuses us because he’s quite the little japester around the office.

Dan manages the projects. He figures out schedules and orders parts. He is also the office sage. We sit at his feet and ask him to share with us the wisdom of The Old Days.

Mark is the HVAC lead installer smartypants. He knows how the framistan connects to the gizmo thingie. And stuff.

big home and garden showYou can meet us this weekend at the 2013 Olympia Master Builders’ Big Home and Garden Show (April 13 & 14)! There are COUPONS and discounts and everything so drop in and say hello!

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Concern for Animals Doghouse!

March 27, 2013 at 4:55 pm · Filed under Green Building, Structural Insulated Panels

Yeah. It’s a big dog house.

And it’s warm and cozy and solid and if there’s an earthquake you can live in it while you rebuild your home. Or if your brother-in-law visits for three weeks, he can sleep in it. But mostly it’s to keep your best friends out of the rain, wind and heat.

It breaks down into 7 sections and can be dealt with by 3-4 guys and a truck. And a pizza. And a beverage of choice.

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The Dogwood House is on display with many other dog and cat homes at the Westfield Capital Mall in Olympia near the movie theater entrance. These dog and cat houses were built to Read the rest of this entry »

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HRV Defined: Heat recovery ventilators let you breathe easily

March 12, 2013 at 3:09 pm · Filed under Green Building ·Tagged , , , , , ,

Popular Mechanics image from a good article on how HRVs work.

Popular Mechanics image from a good article on how HRVs work. Click image to read more.

Heat recovery ventilators (HRV) are arguably as wonderful as ductless heat pumps. Really. No foolin. This is me saying it.

What an HRVs does.
Heat recovery ventilators exhaust “used” air from your home and bring in fresh outdoor air. That’s the “ventilation” part.

The nifty bit is the “heat recovery” part: The outgoing air — the air you’ve already paid to heat — transfers its heat to the incoming air. Read the rest of this entry »

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Investing in an Organized Builder: Passing the Baton

February 19, 2013 at 12:52 pm · Filed under Green Building ·Tagged , , ,

After several months of working closely with our clients and their dreams, there comes a day when we pass the baton. Obviously, from this series of articles, organized builders (we) want to make sure clients know what to expect throughout the building process … including what happens after move-in and beyond the expiration of the builder’s service warranty.

Good builders know how and when to pass the baton for the care and maintenance of the house to homeowners. This is an incremental process that logically Read the rest of this entry »

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Investing in an Organized Builder: Protection

February 11, 2013 at 12:38 pm · Filed under Green Building ·Tagged ,

Okay, financial and insurance protection is not the most exciting topic. But it can quickly become uncomfortably exciting  if you don’t check out some basic things when you interview a home builder/contractor.

Scott_MortEdited

Professional builders don’t allow themselves or their clients to be at risk. To mitigate and prepare for hazards, Read the rest of this entry »

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Investing in an Organized Builder: Responsiveness

January 28, 2013 at 3:02 pm · Filed under Green Building ·Tagged , , , , ,

A home is a major financial investment. A custom home is frequently a deeply emotional investment. When you have invested so much in a personal project, you expect a certain level of responsiveness, right?

The number-one complaint among dissatisfied custom home buyers is that their builder is slow to respond, or never does. An organized builder understands the importance of being responsive from the first contact through completion and beyond.

Often, professional builders develop a process for responding to calls or Read the rest of this entry »

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Investing in an Organized Builder: Cleanliness

January 20, 2013 at 9:34 pm · Filed under Green Building ·Tagged , , , ,

CleanSite

There are several signs indicating a professional builder’s business acumen, organizational skills, and other capabilities that help ensure ultimate satisfaction with your new home. Today we’re touching on cleanliness.

First impressions. A clean and organized job site often reflects a builder’s overall organizational competency and respect for the materials. An organized job site is safer and more efficient.

Worker safety is always a factor. Maintaining a site where workers Read the rest of this entry »

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Investing in an Organized Builder

January 14, 2013 at 7:55 pm · Filed under Green Building ·Tagged , , ,

Designing and building a custom home is a joy. You find yourself really thinking about how you live and what is truly important to you. It is an investment of thought, time, money and emotion and is something most people only do one or two times in their lives. You want to get it right with a minimum of hassle. You want a builder that has it together.

Boy@iHome

Custom design and building is complex. When you approve your home design, we push the Go Button. Read the rest of this entry »

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Bring a Little Sunshine

September 26, 2012 at 7:10 pm · Filed under Inspiration Home, Tours & Shows ·Tagged , , ,

Last month we collected money at the door of the Inspiration Home (over $1,100!) to support our local Salvation Army. All that money gets used right here in Olympia to help local families. Thank you!

This Saturday we’re showcasing the warm, energy efficient Inspiration Home on the 2012 Thurston Solar Tour. For the Solar Tour we’re collecting cold weather clothes and gear.

As the morning’s mists linger into the afternoon and the nights are cooler, we’re all sorting through our closets, deciding what will be replaced and what will go. If you have any clean jackets, Read the rest of this entry »

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