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 [...]

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 an interesting story: a company is hoping to be build a new town in New Mexico. Only thing is, you can’t live there. It’s a ghost town. The town (currently called the Center for Innovation, Testing and Evaluation) will have all the amenities that a real city would have, including houses and businesses. Everything would be fully [...]

If you’re considering adding solar panels to a clients’ home, part of that consideration is surely the matter of cost: Are solar panels with the investment the homeowner would have to make? To be sure, solar panels can be a great way to reduce or perhaps even eliminate a household’s electricity costs, while also making [...]

It’s a fact: nothing is certain by death and taxes, and before we die, we will (hopefully!) be old. Old age means various physical and mental changes, and with more and more Baby Boomers joining the ranks of the 65 and over crowd everyday, universal design is something builders and remodelers should be thinking about. It’s [...]

We spoke to designers, architects, builders and others in the home and fashion industries. As we had those conversations, some topics kept cropping up. Here’s what your peers are talking about: the top trends for 2011 in home building and design. Let us know if this matches what you’re hearing. What would you add? Trend [...]

With a new year just barely begun, it’s time to think of some resolutions. In addition to all the personal ones you may have made, it’s always a good idea to think about what sort of professional resolutions you can make. Here are a few ideas. Focus on marketing. Getting the word out can differentiate [...]

Happy New Year readers! Here’s to 2011 being a year of recovery, rebuilding and well, just plain old building. Before we begin blogging this year, we wanted to take a look back at the top five posts of 2010. Enjoy! Amazing builder videos DeWalt-16 Nail Gun by David Wiggins Q&A with green builder Matt Risinger [...]

Hire Locally Will Become the Law in San Francisco New York Times “Under the ordinance, city contractors and subcontractors working on city-financed construction projects worth $400,000 or more would be required to hire at least 20 percent of their workers from San Francisco. The requirement will increase by 5 percent each year until it reaches [...]