As Green Building Professionals, http://www.greatlakescarpentry.com/ we consider Building Science to be the most important consideration during the design and build phase for every project we take on.
We consider Joe Lstiburek, from Building Science Corp. to be the godfather of building envelope science. We own and have read all of his books and practice his teachings during the course of construction of all of our projects.
We believe that energy efficiency is the cornerstone of green building and that in order to build safe, durable, energy efficient homes and remodels, we need to understand and implement building science principles, disciplines and best practices.
Follow this link: http://bcove.me/249e285n to an excellent video on roof insulation and ventilation, done right.
Joe is very forthcoming with information and sound advice.
Follow this link to his website for more. http://www.buildingscience.com/
Enjoy
Our Passion
Building Safe,Durable,Super Energy-Efficient Homes for the Future
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Doing Our Best
I've recently been informed that Linked-In is looking to relocate to the Empire State Building.
I suspect that Linked-In is eager to align itself with the deep green status that the Empire State Building has achieved by doing an extensive retrofit to the building envelope and mechanical systems.
The new owners of the Empire State Building will save millions of dollars on their energy costs over the long haul and will keep thousands of tons of green house gasses from polluting our environment.
The main contributing factor to this achievement was the removal and replacement of the buildings' windows.
All 6,514 windows were removed, recycled and replaced with Serious Glass.
The same Serious Glass used in Serious Windows 25 Series Fiberglass windows.
Time Magazine recently published this Empire State Building article: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2063860-1,00.html
Great Lakes Carpentry is proud to offer Serious Windows to our local building community and to our clients.
As the Serious Windows Authorized Dealer for Northern Wisconsin, we consider ourselves to be early adopters and ahead of the curve, in the high performance home building market.
We're doing our best to help our clients and other responsible builders to build homes that are safe, durable and extremely energy efficient.
Serious Windows save more energy than any other window. Period.
When we combine our SIP super-insulated building envelope system with our super-insulated Serious Window glazing option, we put our feet firmly on the path to accomplishing Net-Zero Energy and Passive House design standards.
As we move beyond peak oil and energy costs continue to rise, we'll be in perfect position to help all of the people that realize the value in what we offer.
We look forward to moving ahead with the new normal.
I suspect that Linked-In is eager to align itself with the deep green status that the Empire State Building has achieved by doing an extensive retrofit to the building envelope and mechanical systems.
The new owners of the Empire State Building will save millions of dollars on their energy costs over the long haul and will keep thousands of tons of green house gasses from polluting our environment.
The main contributing factor to this achievement was the removal and replacement of the buildings' windows.
All 6,514 windows were removed, recycled and replaced with Serious Glass.
The same Serious Glass used in Serious Windows 25 Series Fiberglass windows.
Time Magazine recently published this Empire State Building article: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2063860-1,00.html
Great Lakes Carpentry is proud to offer Serious Windows to our local building community and to our clients.
As the Serious Windows Authorized Dealer for Northern Wisconsin, we consider ourselves to be early adopters and ahead of the curve, in the high performance home building market.
We're doing our best to help our clients and other responsible builders to build homes that are safe, durable and extremely energy efficient.
Serious Windows save more energy than any other window. Period.
When we combine our SIP super-insulated building envelope system with our super-insulated Serious Window glazing option, we put our feet firmly on the path to accomplishing Net-Zero Energy and Passive House design standards.
As we move beyond peak oil and energy costs continue to rise, we'll be in perfect position to help all of the people that realize the value in what we offer.
We look forward to moving ahead with the new normal.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Building Responsibly
It's wonderful that we're finally seeing signs of spring, here in Northern Wisconsin.
The ice is off of most of our lakes, the Loons are returning, the Black Bear have awakened and fishing season will be open shortly.
It won't be long and our customer base of non-resident, second home and land owners will be here for another summer.
We're looking forward to the opportunity of being of service and of having another productive year of responsible home building and remodeling.
As the cost of fuel continues to rise, I ask myself; what will it take?
How much pain and suffering will it require for the average consumer to understand the importance of building responsibly?
We talk, talk, talk about green this and energy efficient that, but when it comes down to the bottom line, few step up to the plate and make the responsible decision to invest in what we call, "first costs" of building energy efficient homes and remodeling projects.
"First costs" are the additional expenses necessary to build homes and remodels that will make them super-energy efficient.
Invest the extra $5,000. now, reap $25,000. in savings over a 10 year period.
We look upon first costs, as investments in the future.
As energy prices continue to soar, savings will increase and pay-back periods will shorten.
The fact of the matter is that by building super-energy efficient homes and remodel projects, our clients will save large sums of money for the life of the home or remodel and will make a major contribution to helping to reduce the environmental impact their project would have made otherwise.
It seems like such a win-win to me, I can't understand how someone would choose to do anything less.
The building products community has made huge advancement's in technology and have made available products that are super-energy efficient, are stronger and help to promote healthy indoor environments.
Take for instance, our Enercept SIPs and Serious Windows home packages.
We've developed building envelope packages that will put builders and homeowners on the path to Passive House and Net-Zero Energy design standards.
What could be better than thumbing your nose at the oil industry, living in a dwelling that will continue to save you large sums of money, be 2-1/2 times stronger than conventionally built homes and have safe, health, indoor-air quality.
Imagine a home that is 80% efficient, or one that consumes no energy that has been produced by fossil fuels.
Make no mistake. This is what will need to be done, if man plans to inhabit this earth in the future.
We've taken the time, put forth the effort and paid the price, in order to learn and understand the science of building.
The holistic approach that we take during design and execution phases ensures that our homes and remodels are super-energy efficient, durable, safe and perform as a system of systems.
We refer to this style of building as "future proofing".
As of this week, we're starting to see a genuine increase of interest in our product offerings.
People are starting to understand that to this day, most major brands of window still contribute to 25%-30% of heat loss in the typical application.
Our ultimate Serious Windows are 300% more efficient than most brand name, run of the mill Energy Star Rated windows.
It's time we move beyond run of the mill performance.
Close enough or business as usual just isn't going to cut it any longer.
For us, it's all about our core value of helping people.
Helping people to avoid the terrible impact of moving beyond peak oil and global warming is our main goal and gives us a real mission with purpose.
We're hoping to build an audience and hope that you will follow us through these interesting times.
We're looking forward to making a real impact in the building community.
Visit our website www.greatlakescarpentry.com and contact us today.
We'd like to hear your opinion and field any questions you might have about building science.
We love to talk about saving money, energy and our environment.
Thanks, for dropping in,
Randy
Great Lakes Carpentry, Inc.
The ice is off of most of our lakes, the Loons are returning, the Black Bear have awakened and fishing season will be open shortly.
It won't be long and our customer base of non-resident, second home and land owners will be here for another summer.
We're looking forward to the opportunity of being of service and of having another productive year of responsible home building and remodeling.
As the cost of fuel continues to rise, I ask myself; what will it take?
How much pain and suffering will it require for the average consumer to understand the importance of building responsibly?
We talk, talk, talk about green this and energy efficient that, but when it comes down to the bottom line, few step up to the plate and make the responsible decision to invest in what we call, "first costs" of building energy efficient homes and remodeling projects.
"First costs" are the additional expenses necessary to build homes and remodels that will make them super-energy efficient.
Invest the extra $5,000. now, reap $25,000. in savings over a 10 year period.
We look upon first costs, as investments in the future.
As energy prices continue to soar, savings will increase and pay-back periods will shorten.
The fact of the matter is that by building super-energy efficient homes and remodel projects, our clients will save large sums of money for the life of the home or remodel and will make a major contribution to helping to reduce the environmental impact their project would have made otherwise.
It seems like such a win-win to me, I can't understand how someone would choose to do anything less.
The building products community has made huge advancement's in technology and have made available products that are super-energy efficient, are stronger and help to promote healthy indoor environments.
Take for instance, our Enercept SIPs and Serious Windows home packages.
We've developed building envelope packages that will put builders and homeowners on the path to Passive House and Net-Zero Energy design standards.
What could be better than thumbing your nose at the oil industry, living in a dwelling that will continue to save you large sums of money, be 2-1/2 times stronger than conventionally built homes and have safe, health, indoor-air quality.
Imagine a home that is 80% efficient, or one that consumes no energy that has been produced by fossil fuels.
Make no mistake. This is what will need to be done, if man plans to inhabit this earth in the future.
We've taken the time, put forth the effort and paid the price, in order to learn and understand the science of building.
The holistic approach that we take during design and execution phases ensures that our homes and remodels are super-energy efficient, durable, safe and perform as a system of systems.
We refer to this style of building as "future proofing".
As of this week, we're starting to see a genuine increase of interest in our product offerings.
People are starting to understand that to this day, most major brands of window still contribute to 25%-30% of heat loss in the typical application.
Our ultimate Serious Windows are 300% more efficient than most brand name, run of the mill Energy Star Rated windows.
It's time we move beyond run of the mill performance.
Close enough or business as usual just isn't going to cut it any longer.
For us, it's all about our core value of helping people.
Helping people to avoid the terrible impact of moving beyond peak oil and global warming is our main goal and gives us a real mission with purpose.
We're hoping to build an audience and hope that you will follow us through these interesting times.
We're looking forward to making a real impact in the building community.
Visit our website www.greatlakescarpentry.com and contact us today.
We'd like to hear your opinion and field any questions you might have about building science.
We love to talk about saving money, energy and our environment.
Thanks, for dropping in,
Randy
Great Lakes Carpentry, Inc.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Timber Frame Home Tour
We're hosting our Timberpeg Spring Open House Tour, in Northern Wisconsin, during the month of May.
You can follow this link to see photos and information to schedule your tour.
http://timberpeg.com/SpringHomeTour2011#Wisconsin
These luxurious homes are also very energy efficient.
Both of the homes open for tour have high performance building envelopes and geothermal heating systems.
As Certified Green Building Professionals we're always looking for better, more energy and resource efficient ways to build.
It's great to have a mission with purpose.
Visit our website and contact us with questions.www.greatlakescarpentry.com
We love to talk about energy savings, building performance and indoor air quality.
By using the most energy efficient building components, our homes are able to meet the most energy efficiency design standards.
From Energy Star Rated and Green Built Certified to Passive House and Net Zero Energy home standards, our building envelopes will make it possible to achieve the standard of choice for our clients.
These are exciting times and we're proud to be on the high road of doing the right thing for our clients, for our country and for our planet.
We look forward to any comments or inquiries.
Thanks, for following.
You can follow this link to see photos and information to schedule your tour.
http://timberpeg.com/SpringHomeTour2011#Wisconsin
These luxurious homes are also very energy efficient.
Both of the homes open for tour have high performance building envelopes and geothermal heating systems.
As Certified Green Building Professionals we're always looking for better, more energy and resource efficient ways to build.
It's great to have a mission with purpose.
Visit our website and contact us with questions.www.greatlakescarpentry.com
We love to talk about energy savings, building performance and indoor air quality.
By using the most energy efficient building components, our homes are able to meet the most energy efficiency design standards.
From Energy Star Rated and Green Built Certified to Passive House and Net Zero Energy home standards, our building envelopes will make it possible to achieve the standard of choice for our clients.
These are exciting times and we're proud to be on the high road of doing the right thing for our clients, for our country and for our planet.
We look forward to any comments or inquiries.
Thanks, for following.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Out of Focus
As a builders' we're passionate about building responsibly and about helping our clients to understand and realize the value of investing resources in a super-insulated building envelope.
We're always thrilled to find ourselves collaborating with a client that understands the long term energy savings that they will reap and the environmental impact that they will impose by building a vacation or retirement home in our beautiful region of Northern Wisconsin.
I recently provided a Serious Window quote, for a builder that was involved with bidding on a US Forest Service project.
Serious Windows save more energy than any other window and are Made in America.
Windows contribute 25% to 30% of heat loss in most structures.
It was disappointing to find that the window budget was not able to support a super-insulated windows and the the builder would most likely use a run of the mill window with no more than a R-3 insulation value.
The priority was to ensure that the glass have a blast film applied to the interior or the glass.
I'm having difficulty in understanding the perceived level of threat that a U.S. Forest Service building in the Upper Peninsula would be under.
I like to think that our government would have the foresight to see the value in long term energy savings and the amount of tax payer dollars that could be saved and would specify nothing but energy efficient components for all of it's projects going forward,.Not to mention the fact that our dependence on foreign oil should be considered a matter of National Security.
My strong belief is that the single most important investment in any structure is in the energy efficiency of the building envelope, as there is typically only one chance to get it right.
This means a structure such as a Structural Insulated Panel building envelope and Serious Windows.
It will greatly reduce the cost to operate and allow for proper management of ventilation, in order to achieve healthy indoor air quality.
Perhaps my thinking is flawed, but I believe that it's time to stop living in a world of paranoia and start thinking about the future of our country and our environment.
We need to stop doing business as usual and looking first to the bottom line and the cheapest ways to get there.
Thinking long term and planning for a energy efficient future is our only hope for a secure future.
I'm looking for help in getting our message, and our products to those that see the value in acting responsibly, when it comes to putting a structure on our planet that will last 100 years, if built properly.
Visit us at http://www.greatlakescarpentry.com/
We love to talk about building science, energy efficiency and healthy indoor air quality.
Stay tuned for more....
Rather than investing in the future
We're always thrilled to find ourselves collaborating with a client that understands the long term energy savings that they will reap and the environmental impact that they will impose by building a vacation or retirement home in our beautiful region of Northern Wisconsin.
I recently provided a Serious Window quote, for a builder that was involved with bidding on a US Forest Service project.
Serious Windows save more energy than any other window and are Made in America.
Windows contribute 25% to 30% of heat loss in most structures.
It was disappointing to find that the window budget was not able to support a super-insulated windows and the the builder would most likely use a run of the mill window with no more than a R-3 insulation value.
The priority was to ensure that the glass have a blast film applied to the interior or the glass.
I'm having difficulty in understanding the perceived level of threat that a U.S. Forest Service building in the Upper Peninsula would be under.
I like to think that our government would have the foresight to see the value in long term energy savings and the amount of tax payer dollars that could be saved and would specify nothing but energy efficient components for all of it's projects going forward,.Not to mention the fact that our dependence on foreign oil should be considered a matter of National Security.
My strong belief is that the single most important investment in any structure is in the energy efficiency of the building envelope, as there is typically only one chance to get it right.
This means a structure such as a Structural Insulated Panel building envelope and Serious Windows.
It will greatly reduce the cost to operate and allow for proper management of ventilation, in order to achieve healthy indoor air quality.
Perhaps my thinking is flawed, but I believe that it's time to stop living in a world of paranoia and start thinking about the future of our country and our environment.
We need to stop doing business as usual and looking first to the bottom line and the cheapest ways to get there.
Thinking long term and planning for a energy efficient future is our only hope for a secure future.
I'm looking for help in getting our message, and our products to those that see the value in acting responsibly, when it comes to putting a structure on our planet that will last 100 years, if built properly.
Visit us at http://www.greatlakescarpentry.com/
We love to talk about building science, energy efficiency and healthy indoor air quality.
Stay tuned for more....
Rather than investing in the future
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