Saving money in new construction

We would like to build a new home.  Just.  For.  YOU!

We recently completed a new home for some very nice people who got exactly the home they wanted.     They found a Langley Builders floor plan and a lot at The Highlands they liked and signed an agreement to purchase the house upon completion of construction. They had the ability to choose their finishes as the house was being built.   This is called a “PreSale”.   It cost them less money than buying a finished “Spec” home.

Why??  We, the builder, pay less interest to the bank and there is less waste of time and materials – no repainting, changing of appliances, carpet, cabinet faces, lighting fixtures and other miscellaneous items that can occur when purchasing a newly constructed house.

How much less?  You can save between $4,000 and $6,000 for Builder’s construction interest costs and approximately $4,000 to $6,000 in change orders and upgrade costs.  That’s $8,000 to $12,000 in potential savings!

Come and look at our construction.

Check out our floor plans.

Meet with us – together we can make your new home a reality!

Slide show for the NEW Peregrine House

The Peregrine houses are finished and look great!  We made a slide show of photographs to give you an idea of the spaciousness and warmth of these homes.  Watch the video – Read our blog that talks about the construction of these homes – Then come see them in person.  We would enjoy showing you the quality and energy efficiency of these homes.

Sales at The Highlands

It has been a wonderful fall!  We have four new sales at The Highlands since August and the fall colors have been glorious!  The BEST  BUY currently available is our floor plan we call the Finch on Lot 6 for $279,000.00.  Come see what The Highlands has to offer!

Open House/Grand Opening

1056 Village Loop

Open House/Grand Opening

December 3 and 4, 2011

1:00PM to 4:00PM

Join us for a friendly visit and a cup of hot cider.

 The Peregrine homes located on Lot 20, 1056 Village Loop and Lot 21, 1050 Village Loop are now finished – including the landscaping!  We have furnished the home on Lot 21, 1050 Village Loop, as a model home which includes a refrigerator and a front-loading washer with dryer.

The comfort of the BiosmartTM Infrared heating technology is immediately noticeable and the energy savings will be noticed for years to come. The attention to detail and the finish work is outstanding.

We will have special financing available for these two models through the end of December.  Copies of the details for this special financing are available at the Model Home at 1050 Village Loop.  As an additional incentive, Langley Builders is offering the refrigerator, washer and dryer included in the price on Lot 21, 1050 Village Loop for $349,500.00 and on Lot 20, 1056 Village Loop for $334,900.00 until December 31, 2011.

Final energy testing

The Peregrine on Lot 20 attractively landscaped.

WE PASSED OUR FINAL ENERGY TEST WITH FLYING COLORS!

There is a lot of technical information contained in this blog.  Please take some time to read and familiarize yourself with the terminology and the requirements.

The blower door test determines how well the building is sealed.  This test is a new requirement in the Washington State Energy Code.  All new homes in Washington State must pass this test.  The minimum standard to pass is measured at 0.00030 Specific Leakage Area (SLA).  Here are the results for Lot 20 Duct Testing Calculator and for Lot 21 Duct Testing Calculator. They are identical:  SLA = 0.00013.  This indicates that our homes, the Peregrine floor plans are .5666% better than the standard which adds to your comfort, lowers your energy usage and saves you money!

This plus a 4 Star Built Green rating is why this house is a perfect investment!

Robert Stockmann of Pinnacle Inspections, who performed the tests, adds: “Here are some useful links…it’s a long explanation at times but the old axiom “Build it Tight & Ventilate it Right” equates to superior indoor air comfort and increased energy savings for the homeowners.  No matter how well or how much insulation you have in a home, it doesn’t matter one bit if the house is “ leaky”.  Once air is allowed to infiltrate the wall, floor and ceiling cavities of a home in an uncontrolled manner, it basically renders the insulation useless, produces uncomfortable indoor climates, increases energy consumption for heating and/or cooling AND it can cause numerous other issues, such as interior moisture condensation issues.  When the homes reach a specified air infiltration rate, then mechanical ventilation is required to produce necessary air exchanges within the building.  This is why the HRV is an excellent choice to provide a good balanced exchange of bad indoor air and fresh outdoor air.”  We have installed the Panasonic ERV  to maintain the indoor air quality in the Peregrine homes.

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/blower-door-basics

http://www.pct.edu/wtc/docs/articles/Blower-Door-FINAL.pdf

http://www.buildingenergysolutions.com/pdfs/bdtest.pdf

Close to Completion-The Finishes

Close to completion–The finishes …
This is the phase where of all the planning, preparation and attention to detail from the early stages of construction start to show.  This is the FRUITION: Where form and function are evident and good planning and execution are on display.  Now is the metamorphosis from a raw “box of construction” to a livable house.

Please join us during the final stages of completion.

Finishes being installed: cabinets, flooring and lighting

Insulation inspection and dry-wall installation

The insulation inspection by the city building inspector and our independent inspector\verifier was completed and we passed without any issues or repairs or re-inspections necessary.  Now the process of dry-wall cover is in progress which includes proper nailing and screw patterns and the application of special corner treatments such as rounded or square corners on passage-ways, windows and alcoves. The City of Langley is one of the few places left that do a nailing\screw pattern inspection on dry wall.  Once all the dry wall is in place the floors are cleaned and covered with kraft paper prior to finish application which is both dusty and wet . Dust & moisture control procedures are paramount and must be adhered to strictly.  THIS IS WHERE THE INTERIOR OF THE HOME STARTS TO BE DEFINED.

Insulation: FLOORS, WALLS, CEILINGS and AIR BARRIERS

INSULATION – FLOORS, WALLS, CEILINGS and AIR BARRIERS

The areas between the floor joists are filled with batt insulation and the entire subfloor area is covered with a radiant air barrier.  This radiant air barrier provides protection from air wash which can reduce the effectiveness of the insulation. The radiant barrier also reflects any radiant heat back into the warm floor insulated area preventing heat loss to the cooler earth at the bottom of the crawl space.

Crawl space showing plumbing and air barrier

The same installation process applies to the walls and ceilings.   All insulation and barriers exceed WA State building code for this area.

Wall and Ceiling insulation

We are now ready for 3rd party independent verification of application and R-value prior to the installation of the sheet-rock.

Heating and Ventilation

Heating and ventilation in the Peregrine models at The Highlands.

The first photo below shows the two BioSmart® Therapeutic Ceramic Far Infrared In-wall Heaters and the Panasonic ERV, energy recovery ventilation installed in the Greatroom.   The Panasonic ERV is the black box in the middle and the two heaters are to the left and right of the ERV.  The WhisperComfort energy recovery ventilating fan provides indoor air quality with a balance of supply and exhaust air.  These systems work together to provide an integrated, therapeutic heating and indoor air quality system for maximum comfort and energy savings.

The second photo shows how we sealed all wall, floor and ceiling penetrations. All of this specialty sealing is in preparation for the final installation of insulation and radiant barriers.

Peregrine models have rough electric and plumbing

The rough electrical and plumbing are complete on the Peregrine models.  Sealing and special insulation is underway, with wall, roof and floor insulation starting next week. This an excellent time for a site visit to see the ‘bones’ of the electrical, plumbing and ventilation systems.   These systems will provide improved indoor air quality and make these unique and well constructed homes very comfortable.  We will provide construction site tours Wednesday, July 27 through Sunday, July 31, 2011 from 11am to 4pm or by appointment at later or earlier times on these same days. This is a short window of opportunity beginning July 27th because once the drywall is installed you won’t be able to see this, so come out and have a look!!!

Lot 20 Siding	Lot 21 Heaters
Lot 21 Electric Panel