A New series!

We will be writing a series of articles on “The Least That One Should Do When Building A New Home” (or remodeling an existing home).

What is important to note is that many of the topics we will be discussing are either very low cost when doing any project, this being whether the home is new or remodeled and that many of the items listed are actually code required minimum in select regions of the country already, so they are readily achievable! Examples of this would be hurricane rated glass in windows for hurricane zone states and counties, or adding a continuous insulation later in exterior walls which is often required in colder climate parts of the country, so they are considered a “low hanging fruit” that most builders can achieve very easily.

Below is a basic outline to the topic and what the upcoming series will be about!

1.     Build a home to the Fortified Gold Level of construction, because code minimum outside seismic zones is very weak to any wind events as seen in just the first 11 second of this Fortified Home video: https://blog.nationwide.com/benefits-of-fortified-homes/

2.     Include a proper fence and gate around the home site with a secure outside package delivery container.

3.     Provide a source of drinkable water to the home independent of the utility company.

4.     Use commonly available low-cost fire-resistant exterior and interior materials in the home construction.

5.     Provide sources of heating, cooling, cooking, and lighting to the home independent of the utility grid. 

6.     Select the most energy efficient windows and none of the sliding type units. Instead, you want to use the crank out type, with a standardly available hurricane glass rating which also provides a first tier of breakage resistance against other events.

7.     Increases the security of first floor doors and windows, consider upgrading the front entry door and adding a secure entry foyer, as found in other countries home designs, including a higher security door from the garage to the home and avoiding weak sliding glass patio doors with better options.

8.     Air sealing the exterior cladding of the home with a tape made for this purpose at all seams or some system like the Zipp panel system.

9.     Include a “continuous insulation layer” to the walls as a thermal break before the siding goes on.

10.  Choosing commonly available higher energy efficiency products for the major sources of home energy consumption such as:

• Heating and cooling systems.
• Water heaters.
• Appliances, such as those with energy star ratings and if you can do better than that for less cost.
• Lighting.

11.  Provide planned ventilation with high quality air filtration to the whole home.

12.  Provide exterior security lighting and select a home security system where you can expect to upgrade over time as technology is ever evolving quickly in this area.

13.  Follow Japanese bathing principals to layout a three-room bathing configuration and choose more inherently hygienic fixtures types.

14.  Choose interior finishes which do not promote mold and/or allergen growth such as smooth cleanable flooring, and mold resistant drywall.

15.  Consider how your family can reduce sources of indoor air contamination such as smoking outdoors only, selecting non allergen producing pets or having outdoor pets.

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