Building codes are turning greener

San Antonio took the first step of the mayor's ambitious Mission Verde plan Thursday, passing new sustainable building codes aimed at making the city's homes and buildings more energy- and water-efficient.

The new rules, which the City Council passed by a unanimous vote, call for all new buildings starting in 2010 to be 15 percent more energy-efficient than currently required.

That would jump to a target of 30 percent by 2012, with a goal of carbon-free buildings by 2030.

"Carbon-free buildings" could be powered by onsite renewable energy systems, like wind or solar, that don't produce any greenhouse gases.

The ordinance also prescribes water-saving building techniques by 2010 that will cut in-home water use by 20 percent to 30 percent, San Antonio Water System CEO Robert Puente said. If 5,000 homes met the new standards, that would save an estimated 100 million gallons of water.

"I think this puts the city of San Antonio in the leading edge nationally as for doing the proper thing for the right reason," said Ed Kelley, retired president of USAA Real Estate and chairman of the task force that developed the ordinance.

The new rules came with the endorsement of an unlikely coalition - architects, developers and Sierra Club members.

"It's not often that the San Antonio Builders Association comes before you to support an ordinance that will increase the cost of housing," said Kim Shrum of the Greater San Antonio Builders Association.

Members of that coalition spent months on a task force developing the building codes. Although most acknowledge the new rules could increase the upfront costs of a home, they argue that the homeowner saves money over time because of lower water and power bills.

"The additional cost to build a new home to the 15 percent improved standard passed in today's ordinance should not cause a homeowner any additional out-of-pocket expense when looking at monthly mortgage payment plus operating costs for energy and water," said John Friesenhahn of Imagine Homes.

Councilwoman Delicia Herrera said the overall cost of homeownership was important.

"Affordable really means being able to keep your home once you get it," she said.

There is also an ongoing discussion at City Hall and among San Antonio's water and power utilities about incentive programs that could reduce or eliminate the upfront costs associated with energy- and water-efficient building methods.

The new building codes don't prescribe any specific methods to meet the energy and water saving targets. That will be left up to the builder, architect and homeowner.

The ordinance does outline a number of means to measure success. Among them is compliance with the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code, and certification by third-party programs like the federal government's Energy Star program and Build San Antonio Green.

The ordinance also calls for creating a sustainable building committee of architects, engineers, construction professionals, green building experts and others to keep tabs on the program and, among other things, ensure it doesn't become too expensive or onerous.

Such a committee is important to help vet the multitude of green building products available, said Tim Swan, task force member and CEO of Metropolitan Contracting Co.

"Sustainability is critical to our future," he said. "But we must not forget that the sustainability industry is still an industry."

Copyright 2009 San Antonio Express-NewsAll Rights Reserved

PREMIER BUILDING SYSTEMS; Homeowners Save up to 60% on Heating and Cooling Costs With Structural Insulated Panels

A growing building technique - structural insulated panels (SIPs) - is helping Americans reduce home energy use. Compared to traditional "stickbuilt" construction, SIPs save homeowners up to 60% on monthly utility bills.

According to Premier Building Systems, North America's largest SIPs manufacturer: SIPs are large, pre-made wall, roof or floor sections using high-strength wood panels sandwiching a rigid insulating foam core. They replace the wall studs and fiberglass rolls or blown-in insulation builders typically use. Because SIPs come in large sections up to 8 ft. by 24 ft., they have fewer gaps needing sealing. www.pbssips.com

"A SIP house has fewer joints, less complicated interfaces between conditioned and unconditioned spaces, and it is dramatically easier to make it tight," says Sam Rashkin, National Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star for Homes program. In tests using large blowers, the U.S. Dept. of Energy's (USDOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory found that rooms built with SIPs have 90 percent less air leakage than typical rooms.

A tight, well-insulated SIP home saves energy in both hot and cold climates. "It only costs an average of $200 to $300 a year to heat one of my SIP homes," says Scott Bergford, Owner, Scott Homes - Builder of the Year in the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and USDOE's 2009 EnergyValue Housing Awards. "That's anywhere from one-fifth to one-sixth the typical costs for this region," adds the Olympia, Washington-based builder.

"While SIPS have been around for several decades, they are getting more attention as homeowners and commercial building owners are looking to build green," says James Hodgson, general manager of Premier Building Systems. "The energy savings are pretty dramatic, and a SIP home or building costs about the same as wood frame construction."

In addition to saving energy, SIPs help seal out pollutants such as radon, molds, and pollen for healthier indoor air, and reduce construction waste up to 60% by eliminating the need to cut studs, joists and other framing materials on site.

"A SIP home is a true green structure that looks just like any other home," adds Hodgson. "SIPs fit with any architectural style, and virtually any floor plan can be easily converted to SIPs construction. Plus they are far stronger and straighter than buildings framed on site."

Real Estate Outlook: Turnaround in Sight?

Almost no one in the economic forecasting business wants to take the risk of announcing that it's now official. We're past the rock bottom of the down cycle for real estate and now we're moving into recovery mode.

That's understandable, but the fact is that the signs are all there. Sales and pending sales of homes have turned up sharply in hard-hit markets. House prices are more affordable. Consumer confidence polls show slight but noteworthy improvements in the public's outlook.

Check out developments for the week of April 6 alone:

Mortgage applications for purchases of resale and new homes were up again — 8% for applications using conventional loans, and a remarkable 17% gain in applications to buy houses using low-downpayment FHA mortgages.

Mortgage rates remain at near historic lows, though they may be bottoming out. Thirty-year fixed rates rose a tenth of a percent on average, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, to 4.7%. Fifteen year rates stayed flat, around 4.5%.

A group of new consumer-sentiment polls came out showing that Americans are feeling better about their economic prospects for the first time in months. A survey of 15,000 adults by Discover Financial Services recorded a significant jump in confidence between February and March. A New York Times/CBS poll of 1,000 consumers found the same. The Times even put the results at the top its front page with the headline: "Poll Finds Brightening Outlook on U.S. Economy."

Members of NAHB reported that shoppers' visits to look at new houses for sale are "on the rise and consumer interest is increasing.” The association also announced that more than half of all U.S. households — 55 million of them — can now afford to buy the median-priced $200,000 new home. That's up 45% in the past 24 months.

Even Business Week, which has been particularly harsh on housing in recent years, ran a cover story about the turnaround getting underway — focusing on hard-hit areas of Florida, California and Las Vegas, where sales have been rising fast and unsold inventory taking a plunge.

The report quoted Paula Hellenbrand, president of the Cape Coral Florida Association of Realtors®, who predicted an end to inventory problems on the near horizon.

"At this rate (of current sales),” she told the magazine, "we're going to see a big shortage of inventory by summer, and that will trigger price increases.”

That would be extraordinary, especially in view of still-rising unemployment and depressed levels of spending by consumers. But don't count it out.

This article appeared in the April 14 issue of Realty Times and was reprinted with permission.


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Construction Costs Lowered!

As businesses throughout the nation and the world in every industry and profession are coping to reduce overhead and other operating expenses in order to remain competitive while giving lasting value to their customers, Elegance in Design Custom Homes is proud to have accompished just that.

Throughout all of 2008, as a founding partner of a local buyers purchasing group, we have been negotiating prices for goods and materials that would bring significant savings to you, our clients. To date we have been able to bring overall costs down 9%! I am especially pleased to announced that basically every category of durable goods has been contracted and our clients are reaping the benefits.

Due to the success in the material cost savings, we have been over the last 2 months working to bring favorable labor costs to the table. Stone masons, stucco installers, framers, roofers, etc., have all been contacted and we are now starting to see decreases on the labor side of the operations.

For example, a project to be started in August of 2008 had a frame labor cost of $5 p/sq ft. As this house was in excess of 8300’ framed, the quoted cost was greater than $41k. Today that same house would be built at $3.75 p/sq ft framed which results in a greater than $10k savings! When you factor in the other labor cost savings we here at Elegance in Design should be able to build any new home at rates we havent seen in years, which gains a tremendous amount of additional equity for the homeowner.

Final home costs are still determined by each individual buyer based upon their level of finish out.

As another service that was recently added we are now able to give a customer 10 free initial hours of design time with an award winning interior designer. Those hours can be spent on any facet of the project, from paint to fixture selections, to window treatments and furniture. Once again lasting value is being built into the project not only from a cost basis standpoint, but also from a customer service perspective.

Thank you for your continued support!

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Watch for updates and progress to include photo's!

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