Massachusetts Builders Blog

An old post that is worth re-publishing: I just had a great experience as a lawyer last week. A client called and he was not unhappy. In fact, he was about to start a home renovation project, and was really looking forward to it. He found a contractor he liked, and he and the contractor were working together collaboratively. A colleague suggested to him that he come see me to draft their contract. It certainly made sense. For less than 1/2% of the value of the project, we hammered out a contract that spelled out the understanding of the parties. It is in compliance with local law, so the contractor is protected. In fact, the homeowner told me that the contractor was willing to chip in and help pay for my fee. Discussing the contract terms helped the homeowner further define the scope of the project and a realistic payment schedule. We discussed what would happen if change orders were necessary and how they would be handled. The homeowner decided what would constitute an unreaso...

A nice post by Leah Thayer on timeless truths for remodelers: http://www.remodeling.hw.net/blogs/postdetails.aspx?BlogId=lthayer_blog&PostId=87929 It includes the following advice: company owners, that what really matters is that you do the following, year in and year out: Screen your potential employees, potential clients, and potential business partners. Pay attention to red flags the moment they begin flying, and act swiftly. (Hire slowly and fire quickly, in other words.) Hire people who complement you, rather than resemble you; who have skills and opinions you don’t have; who seem comfortable challenging you, on occasion. Give them the information they need to do their jobs, and the tools and training they need to get the information and skills they don’t have. Know your numbers, and not just your account balance. Write down your systems -- how your company does things -- and make sure the right people see the right ones (e.g., clients know how change orders work; salespeopl...

From Chris Cheatham's Green Building Law Update http://networkedblogs.com/p6540532 Email This Print Comments (5) Trackbacks Share Link If there was a LEEDigation doomsday clock, I would move it up about 5 minutes towards midnight based on the following decision by the USGBC.* Real Life LEED recently reported that the USGBC has decreed that, starting June 26, 2009, Credit Interpretation Requests ( CIRs ) will no longer be applicable to all projects: "Effective June 26, 2009, credit interpretation requests ( CIRs ) submitted by any registered project will no longer be vetted by USGBC or its LEED Technical Advisory Groups. As a result, CIR rulings will now be applicable only to the project that submitted them. For LEED version 2 projects, rulings on CIRs submitted prior to June 26, 2009, will be honored until they are retired by USGBC or incorporated into general USGBC-issued project guidance, such as through errata or addenda." All you non-practitioners out there may be w...

GREEN BUILDING Home " style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 2px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 2px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "> About Integrity " style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 2px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 2px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "> Green Building http://www.integritywindows.com/?page=Green_Building Everyday, Integrity from Marvin Windows and Doors approaches our business with one question, “How can we do it better?” From creating energy-efficient windows with a lifecycle that far outlasts the competition to ensuring we lessen our impac...

This one is from the Concrete Masonry Association of California and Nevada: http://www.cmacn.org/energy/leed/index.htm Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a rating system promoted by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to design buildings that are environmentally responsible, energy efficient, and profitable. The LEED rating system is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance sustainable buildings. Even though the rating systems is voluntary, governments such as California has made it mandatory for all state buildings to comply with LEED. Credits not explicitly related to energy design are also included in this section to provide guidance for those who take advantage of masonry properties for LEED design. The LEED New Construction (LEED-NC) rating scale is divided into five environmental categories and a sixth design category. In order to become LEED compliant, a building must achieve 26 out of a possible 69 points. There are...

From: BUILDER 2009 Posted on: June 19, 2009 4:14:00 PM What the New Home Buyer Wants http://www.builderonline.com/sales-and-marketing/what-the-new-home-buyer-wants.aspx?rssLink=What+the+New+Home+Buyer+Wants Responsibility has replaced indulgence, according to speakers at PCBC. By: Teresa Burney Related Articles Save / Share Even as we worry about today, researchers, community planners, and pollsters are probing consumer demand to predict what they will want tomorrow and the definitive answer from those presenting their findings at the Pacific Coast Builders Show is something different. The current economic situation has triggered a shift in people’s values from an era of indulgence to one of responsibility, trend tracker J. Walker Smith of Yankelovich said Thursday morning. That translates to the home-buying consumer as a desire for homes that fit but don’t exceed space needs, are greener, and that are part of a community. It doesn’t mean that buyers are dour, though, he said. Instea...

From Tony Marnella's Blog at http://tonymarnella.wordpress.com/ . I wrote back in January about the behind the scenes inspections and testing that the green high performance homes get that many don’t know about or if they do, don’t appreciate the intensity of them. Since we continue to hear about Buyers wanting the “Best Deal” or the “Best Value”, it occurred to me that the Value of these homes is also not being realized. For instance, 100% of the homes we build here at Marnella Homes are built to the Earth Advantage/Energy Star “Gold” level. Our homes are extremely well sealed and with blow-in insulation achieve a very low leakage rating. Also, with our 95%+ HVAC systems, fully sealed ducting and all inside the home in conditioned space. Our home owners save on average $40 – $50 a month in our 1400 – 1600 sqft homes over a similiar sized code built home. Home owners have been sold over the years all the features that builders put in and are told how great they are and sometim...

Van Millwork has been running a series of seminars in construction, and the two I attended were excellent. The second, on sustainability, was quite educational. I learned a great deal about options in lighting and how they are constantly increasing, solar heating systems and doors made from recycled materials. The most surprising part of the presentation, however was the overall message. I had thought, up until now, that going green was always a more expensive proposition. Those who chose to do it were usually willing to pay more in order to make less of a negative impact on the environment. The presenters stated that with careful planning, however, green remodeling or new construction does not necessarily have to cost more. With government rebates and reduced operating costs, one could institute greener options and not increase costs. They stressed that the most important aspect of green building is to develop a unified approach. They strongly recommended having a design team tha...

How to Make Every Drop Count « Prev Post | All Posts By Rob Watson , June 12, 2009 Back in February, I wrote a newsletter introduction noting the importance of water from a resource perspective. This week, in honor of the new McGraw-Hill publication on the importance of water efficiency , I wanted to explore some of the opportunities and techniques of saving water (and energy) in buildings. According to McGraw-Hill, saving energy is a big motivator for saving water. Indeed, heating water requires approximately 10 percent of all building energy use in the U.S., mostly in the residential sector. When you add the energy to treat and pump water, it represents approximately 6 percent of national energy consumption, about half as much as all cars and trucks use. At home, I've got a great 1.5 gallon per minute Roadrunner showerhead by Evolve . Based on flow rate, this showerhead saves more than 40 percent of the water and water heating energy compared to a code minimum (which if it were ...

Here's a fun, new site for renovation ideas and information: http://renovationjunky.com/

http://www.ecohomemagazine.com/green-products/readers-top-requested-products-shine-spotlight-on-green.aspx

Another thoughtful post from Construction Law Musings, the blog of fellow construction lawyer, Christopher Hill. http://constructionlawva.com/2009/06/six-ways-to-insure-your-construction.html

Read a thoughtful post on the issue from my colleague, Christopher Hill at Durette Bradshaw: http://constructionlawva.com/2009/06/green-building-litigation-and-risk.html