Some Ideas to Consider …

  • Fairfield County Green Home Building Strategy #2 – Energy Saving Materials & Systems

    Country Club Homes Custom Home Builder Remodeler Fairfield County New Canaan Connecticut green building-As an award-winning Connecticut custom home building company, Country Club Homes, Inc. is continuing the fifty-seven year old family tradition of building high-quality homes that are carefully designed to meet the needs of homeowners in Fairfield County. With our current economic climate of ever-increasing energy costs, we now face as great a need as ever for homes that utilize green principles.

    In our three part series of posts on the subject of Fairfield County green home building strategies, we cover two other topics on the Blog in posts #1 and #3 of the series:

    Fairfield County Green Home Building Strategy #1 – Passive Solar
    Fairfield County Green Home Building Strategy #3 – Building Envelope & Air Quality

    In today’s post, we will discuss the following two subjects: environmentally-friendly home building materials; and heating and cooling systems that improve energy efficiency, referencing an excellent BHG.com article.

    Environmentally-friendly Home Building Materials — Using environmentally-friendly home building materials is a foundational green building principle. Examples of some of the products include:

    • Recycled products such as rubber and polymer roofing that imitates slate to reduce weight and maintenance; and durable blended recycled glass and concrete countertops, backsplashes, shower surrounds, walls, and floors.
    • Lumber materials including fast-growing bamboo for beautiful, durable flooring; and non-toxic exterior grade lumber.
    • Coatings such as low air-polluting volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
    • Other home products including a wide variety of insulation types, Low-E windows which insulate and maintain interior temperatures while blocking ultraviolet light, and effective exhaust  fans to remove “stale air” will be covered in our next post in the series: Fairfield County Green Home Building Strategy #3 – Building Envelope & Air Quality.

    Heating and Cooling Systems That Improve Energy-Efficiency – Another major strategic approach to saving resources and protecting the environment is utilizing air and water heating and cooling systems that improve energy efficiency and ultimately lower the cost of running Connecticut homes. Example systems are:

    • Gas furnaces with efficiency ratings in the upper 90% range with variable speed air-handlers
    • Programmable thermostats
    • On-demand tankless water heaters
    • Solar home power systems utilizing photovoltaic panels, and much more!

    Country Club Homes, Inc. is committed to green building – designing environmentally sensitive custom new homes and home remodeling projects that incorporate energy efficient home building materials; and heating and cooling systems.

    If you are planning a custom new home, or home remodeling work, and are seeking Fairfield County architectural design and construction services that incorporate green design, please contact Country Club Homes, Inc. website by telephone at 203-762-0550.

    Image Source: Country Club Homes Portfolio

  • The Studs of Construction: Understanding the Lumber in Your Home

    You’ve encountered the studs of construction before: You measure and mark the walls to hang a piece of artwork. The first nail goes in easy-breezy, the second one nearly jars the teeth out of your head as you pound it in. That’s a stud. Homes in Fairfield County and around the country are usually framed…

  • Adding a Sauna to Your Home is Great for Your Health

    An in-home sauna may seem like an unnecessary luxury, but in reality it can provide significant benefits to your health. A sauna’s heat works to sooth your nerve endings, relieve tension, reduce joint pain, and relax your muscles.  Spending time in a sauna also works to calm your body and relieve it of stress which promotes…

  • Create Cleverly Concealed Work Spaces in Your Home

    Have you discovered that you could benefit from additional workspaces in your home? Using creative built-in storage is an excellent way to create unique spaces designed specifically to meet your family’s needs. Contemporary Family Room by New York Architects & Designers Murdock Solon Architects via Houzz   Considering adding a: Homework center: Does your kids’ homework spill out across…

  • How to Tell if a Wall or Column is Load-Bearing

    Many homeowners seek to open up space in their home during a home renovation project by removing a wall. This can connect spaces and completely transform a home’s layout. Before a wall can be removed it must first be determined whether the wall is load-bearing. This can be determined by: Traditional Staircase by Wilton Design-Build Firms Country Club…