Last month, my family and I spent a week in Guatemala building homes for families in need (see picture below). The experience made me reflect on the expectations we have for our own homes.
The families in these Guatemalan villages were overjoyed...
You’ve probably heard that an ICF home is more efficient than others. Here’s a quick crash-course about ICF homes. Maybe you’ve even come across figures like 32% to 44% energy savings. But how accurate are those claims? And is a net-zero home really...
Some people would like to be involved in the construction of their new home beyond just writing a check and picking out colors. If that's you, this is the blog for you.
Maybe you have that can-do attitude that built America that we see all over...
Today we're going to be talking about three reasons that do-it-yourself homebuilders fail to meet their sustainable goals. Right now you're probably not too sure how to get started designing and constructing your custom Net Zero home or ICF home....
Last month I discussed some common questions builders receive regarding whether R-Value Homes allows homeowner clients to specify or choose some of the subcontractors (we call them Trade Partners) to work on their home.
I started by looking at...
Can my electrician friend and I moonlight the electrical when you build my house? Do you allow me to use some of my preferred subcontractors on my custom home build?
These are common questions builders get. Bringing your own Trade Partners is...
R-Value Homes is pleased to show off one of our 2023 Homes.
The home dubbed "Burken Punt" features stunning detailed craftsmanship and unique custom features. You cannot help but feel the difference when standing inside an R-Value home. This West...
I need to start by qualifying these comments. The problems below are mostly unique to custom home building. Semi-custom and Production Home Builders, or “spec” builders are structured differently, and can often achieve higher accuracy with square...
An unfortunate reality is that many folks get blindsided with the actual cost of their home. We seem to think the only things that make a home costly to build are the flooring and countertop choices. In part 1 we looked at design, in this blog we’ll...
Recently I encountered an interesting study on the real cost of home ownership. I’ll look at the data below, but suffice to say I found it quite interesting, because it reminded me of the main reasons my wife Missy and I purchased our 1893 Victorian...