How It’s Made: Low-E Glass ECOHOME “Low-E glazing falls into two broad categories: soft coat and hard coat. Both applications involve depositing a thin, transparent coating of silver or tin oxide on the glass surface to allow short-wavelength sunlight to pass through while blocking long-wavelength heat radiation. The difference between the two coatings lies in [...]

Positioning your business for 2013 Housing Zone “We interviewed a number of top remodelers about how they are positioning their business in 2013, and the top challenges and opportunities they expect to face. We asked them to reveal their keys to a successful 2013.” Australian Banks Try to Stimulate Home Building New York Times Here’s [...]

It truly is amazing how vision and ingenuity can lead to some very unusual houses. In very tiny configurations. Over in Warsaw, one architect saw a space between two buildings–not a space most of us would have thought of for a house. After all, it was only fit for walking between the two buildings…right? But Jacub Szczesny [...]

If you are a builder or remodeler dealing with multifamily housing, you know that building codes regarding size are very important. In high-density urban areas, people sometimes actually want smaller spaces — it’s greener, often less expensive and there’s less to clean. San Francisco might very well end up with the smallest-allowable apartments in the [...]

Integrity Windows and Doors brings their energy efficiency commitment to the next level with the introduction of a tripane glazing option for Wood-Ultrex casements and awnings. These windows combine Integrity’s exclusive Ultrex material with three panes of glass and argon gas to create the ultimate in performance, beauty and strength. With argon gas added, Integrity’s [...]

As part of the eHow Home video series, designer P. Allen Smith is in the midst of an impressive undertaking: Careful planning, smart design and quality craftsmanship converge when Smith and his colleagues build an environmentally friendly home for $150,000 in 150 days. In a recent installment of this series, Smith documents the window selection and installation [...]

If energy efficiency is so desperately sought after by homeowners and energy savings unquestionably add value to a home, shouldn’t a proper appraisal take these variables into account? These were the guiding questions behind Recognition of Energy Costs and Energy Performance in Real Property Valuation, a comprehensive valuation guide created by the Appraisal Institute and the [...]

When it comes to energy efficiency, the most expensive strategies are the often the least effective and the least expensive strategies are often the most expensive. That’s what Peter Pfeiffer of Austin, Texas-based Barley & Pfeiffer Architects recently told an audience during a lecture titled, “Smart Design for Hot/Humid Climates.” If you have 30 minutes, [...]

Here’s a cool project we wanted to show you. It not only features Integrity, but also our sister brand Marvin Windows and Doors. The Manor Garden, a newly constructed, multi-family residential building designed by Anthony Vandermark Jr. and Frank Minervini of Minervini Vandermark Architecture, successfully blends modern building methods and materials into its neighborhood’s historical context. [...]

Green Building Megatrends for 2012 BUILDER “Yudelson unveiled a list of 10 other green megatrends destined for growth in 2012, both in the U.S. and abroad. And while, like the rest of the home building industry, green building will certainly face headwinds in coming days—such as squeezed budgets among families and governments—the market is poised [...]