Sound Insulation Podcasts
Master Builder Show
Today’s topic is “Why Hire A Builder.” My guest today is Jean Gibson, Vice President of Gibson Home Builders, Inc. I am often ask why hire a builder. Well, home building is a science and there is a lot more to it then most people think. If you do not know what you are doing, it can be a nightmare. During this segment, I will give you several reasons to choose a builder that is registered and has a good reputation. First of all a builder gets discounts on materials and labor. Most builders have accounts set up with several venders and subcontractors. These accounts allow builders to buy 15% to 50% below retail and that makes a great deal of difference when it comes to the final cost of a home. Subcontractors rely on builders to stay in business so again a builder gets a discount. The builder uses subcontractors that perform quality work and have good reputations. Builders talk to each other and network in organizations that weed out subcontractors that are not reputable. Most builders have subcontractors that they have used for years and keep them as long as they show up when they say they are going to show up, do what they say their going to do with quality work in a timely fashion. Second, a builder knows what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. A builder will guide you through the design of your home, site planning, orientation of the house on the lot, financing and all the things required to get you into one of the largest investments that most people make in their lives. What do you think should be the first thing you should do before deciding to build the home of your dreams? It is setting a budget that you can afford. After that is done, start looking for a lot. The orientation and size of the lot will play a significant role in the house plans you choose. In the southern region, most people live to the rear of their home with a covered patio that they can have a barbeque or where they can entertain their guest. In this case, the preferred direction to face the house would be north. The cover over the patio should be constructed using a passive solar design to block out direct sun in the summer and allow it to shine directly in during the winter months. Facing south is also a good option if you can design overhangs using a passive solar design. Facing east or west is not generally preferred in the southern climate due to problems it creates trying to cool the areas in the summer. If there are no options as to which way the house will face, then use landscaping techniques to block out the sun on the western side. Now lets talk about lot size. The reason you need to have your lot before the house plans is that you cannot fit a 70-foot wide house on a 60-foot wide lot. Most lots have building set backs and easements that require you to build within those boundaries. After you have the lot picked out, your house plans drawn, orientation of the house on the lot; we need to do some site planning. Decide where the water supply will enter the house and where the sewer or septic lines will exit the house. If you have a well, it should be a minimum of 100 feet away from the septic system. Find out where the power will enter and gas or propane tank will be installed. Now that all the utilities are located, it is time to start the dirt work. read less
Tue September 23 2008
Today’s topic is “Why Hire A Builder.” My guest today is Jean Gibson, Vice President of Gibson Home Builders, Inc. I am often ask why hire a builder. Well, home building is a science and there is a lot more to it then most people think. If you do not know what you are doing, it can be a nightmare. During this segment, I will give you several reasons to choose a builder that is registered and has a good reputation. First of all a builder gets discounts on materials and labor. Most builders have accounts set up with several venders and subcontractors. These accounts allow builders to buy 15% to 50% below retail and that makes a great deal of difference when it comes to the final cost of a home. Subcontractors rely on builders to stay in business so again a builder gets a discount. The builder uses subcontractors that perform quality work and have good reputations. Builders talk to each other and network in organizations that weed out subcontractors that are not reputable. Most builders have subcontractors that they have used for years and keep them as long as they show up when they say they are going to show up, do what they say their going to do with quality work in a timely fashion. Second, a builder knows what needs to be done and when it needs to be done. A builder will guide you through the design of your home, site planning, orientation of the house on the lot, financing and all the things required to get you into one of the largest investments that most people make in their lives. What do you think should be the first thing you should do before deciding to build the home of your dreams? It is setting a budget that you can afford. After that is done, start looking for a lot. The orientation and size of the lot will play a significant role in the house plans you choose. In the southern region, most people live to the rear of their home with a covered patio that they can have a barbeque or where they can entertain their guest. In this case, the preferred direction to face the house would be north. The cover over the patio should be constructed using a passive solar design to block out direct sun in the summer and allow it to shine directly in during the winter months. Facing south is also a good option if you can design overhangs using a passive solar design. Facing east or west is not generally preferred in the southern climate due to problems it creates trying to cool the areas in the summer. If there are no options as to which way the house will face, then use landscaping techniques to block out the sun on the western side. Now lets talk about lot size. The reason you need to have your lot before the house plans is that you cannot fit a 70-foot wide house on a 60-foot wide lot. Most lots have building set backs and easements that require you to build within those boundaries. After you have the lot picked out, your house plans drawn, orientation of the house on the lot; we need to do some site planning. Decide where the water supply will enter the house and where the sewer or septic lines will exit the house. If you have a well, it should be a minimum of 100 feet away from the septic system. Find out where the power will enter and gas or propane tank will be installed. Now that all the utilities are located, it is time to start the dirt work. read less
Tue September 02 2008
Today’s topic is Universal Home Design. My guest today is Jean Gibson, Vice President of Gibson Home Builders, Inc. What is Universal Design? When veterans came home from World War II they were different than when they left. They had seen things they couldn't forget. They had wounds that needed healing. And many of them had disabilities that they would have to live with for the rest of their lives. These men and women got our attention. They had served our country when we needed them the most. Now they needed our help to go on with their lives. Everyone tried to help. Families gave love and support. The government offered health and other benefits. Even architects did their part. They began looking for new ways to design homes so people with disabilities could live with dignity. "Barrier-free" homes had their problems, at first many of them were ugly. So, most people didn't want to live in them. As a result, builders didn't construct many of them. That made accessible homes hard to find. If you could find one, you probably couldn't afford it. It's taken many years, but housing designers have found a better way. It's called "universal design." Homes that have universal design features look like other homes. But they are much easier to use. Universal design is getting popular for two reasons. First, it looks nice. People with disabilities don't feel like they are settling for an ugly house. And people who don't have disabilities think that universal homes look and work much better than the old models. Second, more people want universal housing. This means that the old ways of designing homes just don't work anymore. We all want more comfort in our homes. Opening doors with arms full of groceries is as difficult at 30 as it is at 70. People live longer than they used to. More of us are living with disabilities. The traditional home that serves you well when you are healthy won't always take care of you when you break a leg or hurt your back. Younger people want a home that will take care of them when they are sick or injured. People now realize that they need homes that will grow old with them. The 82 year old still wants to live in her own home. She just needs a home that allows her to do it. That's where universal design comesin. Features for Today read less
Tue August 26 2008
Today’s topic What Is Watts In a Home. My guest today is Jean Gibson, Vice President of Gibson Home Builders, Inc. Watt (W) Electric measurement of power at one point in time, as capacity or demand. For example, light bulbs are classified by wattage. (1000 watts = 1 kilowatt) unit of power equal to volts x amps. Kilowatt (kW)1000 watts. A unit of measure of the amount of electricity needed to operate given equipment. For example, one kW is enough power to illuminate 10 light bulbs at 100 watts each. (volts x amps = watts) Ampere (Amp) The unit of measure that indicates how much electricity flows through a conductor. It is like using cubic feet per second to measure the flow of water. For example, a 1,200-watt, 120-volt hair dryer pulls 10 amperes of electricity current. (amps = watts/volts) Energy Hogs 5000 watts Electric oven 5000 watts Clothes dryer (electric) 3800 watts Water heater (electric) 3500 watts Central Air Conditioner (2.5 tons) 1500 watts Microwave oven 1500 watts Toaster (four-slot) 900 watts Coffee maker 800 watts Range burner 500-1440 watts Window unit air conditioner 200-700 watts Refrigerator 60-100 watts Light bulb (energy hog because houses have lots of lights, and it's easy to leave them on when they're not being used) Fans 100 watts Floor fan or box fan (high speed) 15-95 watts Ceiling fan (Bigger fans and faster speeds use more energy. My 2004 42" Hampton Bay uses 24/28/42 watts on low/med/high respectively, according to the manual. Progress Energy says on high speed fans use 55/75/95 watts for 36"/48"/52" models respectively.) Computers (see more about electrical use of computers) 140-330 watts Desktop Computer & 17" CRT monitor 1-20 watts Desktop Computer & Monitor (in sleep mode) 120 watts 17" CRT monitor 40 watts 17" LCD monitor 45 watts Laptop computer Other 60-100 watts Regular light bulb 4-165 watts Video game (While playing game, 30W for PS2, 70W for XBox, and 165W for XBox 360. See full report at DX Gaming) 55-90 watts 19" television 18 watts Compact fluorescent light bulb 4 watts Clock radio 3 watt-hours Total power stored by an alkaline AA battery. This is to put batteries into perspective. If you could power your clock radio with a AA battery, it wouldn't even last an hour. We have more on batteries on our Guide to Household Batteries. I work at home so I don’t use fuel to commute and I am replacing incandescent bulbs in my home with energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs. read less
Tue August 19 2008
My guests today are Ronnie & Suz Godfrey with R Godfrey Homes and Jean Gibson with Gibson Home Builders, Inc. Site Management & Waste Recycling Green Built North Texas homes incorporate efficient site management and waste recycling practices on the jobsite in order to help reduce the environmental impact of the home while under construction. For instance, site design principles such as tree preservation and protection, recycling measures, and storm water permitting procedures established by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) are processes used in the construction of all Green Built North Texas homes. For Green Built North Texas homes, site management is also about minimizing job-site waste; in fact, the average single-family home in the United States estimated to generate more than 6,000 lbs. of construction waste. Green Built North Texas builders develop waste management plans in order to reduce the burden on increasingly scarce landfill space. Water Efficiency The average indoor daily water use in today’s homes is estimated to be slightly over 64 gallons. Implementing water conservation measures can significantly reduce this amount and help conserve this vital resource. For this reason, Green Built North Texas homes are especially welcomed in North Central Texas, and may help extend current water resources. The importance of water resources is becoming increasingly recognized in our area. Competing demand between sending water to growing urban areas and making water available for irrigation highlight the issues surrounding the scarcity of this valuable resource. Green Built North Texas homes are designed to conserve water both indoors and out. More efficient water delivery systems indoors such as low-flow plumbing fixtures, combined with rainwater harvesters or native and drought-tolerant landscaping choices outdoors can help prevent unnecessary waste of our water. Indoor Air Quality Healthy indoor environments attract many people to “green built” homes. After energy efficiency, the quality of a home’s indoor air is often cited as the most important feature of a green home. This is important in North Central Texas where high levels of allergens and pollen are not uncommon. Reported diagnosis of allergies and respiratory ailments has increased, and more people are aware of their sensitivities to chemicals that can off-gas from construction and home furnishing materials. These factors have contributed to a heightened awareness of the air we breathe inside our homes. Even though there is no authoritative definition of healthy indoor air, Green Build North Texas homes incorporate measures that can mitigate the effects of potential contaminants by controlling the source, diluting the source, and capturing the source through filtration. Energy Efficiency Energy consumption is of paramount concern to today’s homebuyers due to financial and far-reaching environmental impacts, which range from the mining of fossil-fuel energy sources to environmental emissions from burning non-renewable energy sources. In addition, each home consumes energy year after year, meaning that the environmental impacts associated with that use accrue over time. Therefore, energy conservation is an integral part of all Green Built North Texas homes. On average, a home built between 1990 and 2001 consumed about 12,800 kWh per year for space and water heating, cooling, and lights and appliances. In an effort to lower energy consumption and reduce the homeowner’s annual utility expenses, all Green Built North Texas homes are, at a minimum, built to the EPA’s Energy Star® performance standard, which means that they are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the latest International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) requirements. read less
Tue August 12 2008
Today’s topic is Green Building Certifications. My guests today are Cathy Williams & Jim Edmonds with Enviro Custom Homes. NAHB Certification One key element of NAHB’s suite of green building tools is a green home certification program, which is administered by the NAHB Research Center. The Research Center will accredit home certification program verifiers and act as the sole home certifying body for the National Green Building Program. All homes certified as part of the National Green Home Certification Program will be measured against the best existing definition of green and sustainable home construction. Currently, the certification program is based on the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines, published in 2005. In late 2008, homes certified under the national program will also have the option of being certified based on the National Green Building Standard (ICC 700-2008), which includes provisions that define green attributes for subdivisions, multifamily dwellings, remodeling projects, additions and single-family homes. There are three green home certification levels available in the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines – Bronze, Silver, and Gold. (An additional Emerald level will be available in the National Green Building Standard.) The green levels and certifications address seven key green construction areas – Site, Resource Efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, Homeowner Education, and Global Impact. Green Professional Designation Offered by NAHB's University of Housing, the Certified Green Professional designation is another way building professionals can become educated in, and involved with green building. The designation requires 24 hours of NAHB-approved training, and additional continuing education every two years. Subjects covered in training discuss how green homes provide buyers with lower energy costs and higher value, and will include strategies for incorporating green-building principles into homes without driving up the cost of construction. The designation curriculum is based on the highly-successful Green Building for Building Professionals two-day course, and other requirements. Upon successful completion, that individual is awarded the CGP designation, recognizing a high degree of professional competence. This designation is available to individuals only, and does not apply to companies, nor to specific homes or projects. Training courses are offered at national events like the International Builders Show, the National Green Building Conference, and similar events. In partnership with local home building associations, required training is also offered at additional events and locations. For more information about the Green Professional Designation, visit www.nahb.org/cgpinfo or call the NAHB at 800-368-5242. read less
