Graham Custom Homes is currently building a 9,000 finished sq ft custom home on the E3 Ranch in Southeast Kansas. The E3 ranch is a private, family operated working cattle and horse ranch in SE Kansas and a large portion of the property is used for hunting.
Mountain Rustic describes the style of this custom home beautifully, with reclaimed barnwood siding, 18th century barn timbers, and extensive rock work through out the home. This custom home is also energy efficient with the inclusion of a smart home/home automation system, hybrid insulation system, and a geothermal pond system.
GCH worked with Southern Wood Imports, a company in Montrose, CO that specializes in reclaimed antique lumber, to find the perfect materials for the E3 Ranch project. http://www.southernwoodimports.com/
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
A Few More Home Maintenance Resolutions...
A few more home improvements, repairs, and maintenance projects (that you might have been putting off) to add to your New Year's Resolution to-do list:
Get an Energy Audit
One of the first things on your to-do-list should be an energy audit. Hiring a professional energy auditor to assess your home's energy consumption may seem like an unnecessary expenditure. However, making your home more energy efficient can lead to more money saved over time. An energy auditor can point out poor insulation and air leaks throughout the home, which are common causes of increased utility bills over the winter. Improve Your Insulation
As stated above, poor insulation can be quite costly, especially during the winter months. What many people fail to realize is that poor insulation affects utility bills in the summer, as well. If your home is not properly insulated, you will end up spending more money on gas and electricity trying to keep it warm over the winter and cool during the summer. This makes insulation improvements an important task on your New Year's to-do-list for cutting costs in your home.
Look for Drafts
The final step in weatherizing your home for this New Year's home improvements is to check for drafts around walls, ceilings, doors and windows. After locating any air leaks, begin plugging them up with caulk, foam, tape or some other form of weather-stripping material. If you don't feel confident in doing it yourself, you can hire a contractor to do the job for you.
Start Buying Energy Efficient Appliances
According to the United States Department of Energy , home appliances and electronics make up 20% of your energy bill. From the living room television, to the refrigerator in the kitchen, replacing old appliances with new, Energy Star rated appliances can help save you money over time. Not only will you be saving money on your electric bill, but you'll also be saving the environment as well. Now that's a New Year's resolution worth making.
Get Organized and Ditch the Rental Storage Space
Many people find the need to rent a monthly storage space to store anything they can't fit in their home. In reality, most of these people would have sufficient space at home if they just took the time to do a little organizing. Consider clearing out the clutter in your garage and closets by having a yard sale. You can also donate any furniture, clothing or other household items that have been gathering dust in the attic to create more storage space.
Go Green
This New Year, embrace Green Living by making your home more eco-friendly. Instead of tossing glass, aluminum and plastic bottles or containers in the trash, keep them in separated bins. Then, head down to your local recycling center and get a couple bucks back for being environmentally conscious. Also consider going paperless to minimize waste. You can pay bills and manage your banking online, while utilizing email instead of snail mail to make your home paper-free.
Stop Buying Bottled Water and Get a Water Filter
Cut costs on your grocery bill by installing a water filter on your kitchen sink for drinking water instead of buying bottled water. While city tap water is regulated and should be safe enough to drink by itself, a water filter can provide that fresh, clean taste without having to spend as much on bottled cases of water. This is another New Year's task that can save you money while you save the environment by minimizing plastic pollution.
Refresh Your Home by Repainting a Room
Instead of going for a full remodel, you can refresh and update an old home with a simple paint job. Painting a room with a bold color, or multiple colors can bring new life to a ho-hum interior. If you feel reluctant about using loud colors that aren't typically on your home palette, do a little experimenting by painting an accent wall instead of the entire room. Worst case scenario, you can simply repaint the wall to match the original color scheme.
Improve Your Home Safety
Remember when you took the batteries out of the smoke detector for the TV remote in the living room? The New Year is a great time to make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are functioning properly. While you're at it, check and see that the fire extinguisher you've had since the 1980s still works. These tasks can prove to be invaluable on the off chance a real emergency like a gas leak or fire occurs. Plan out Dinner Menus for the Upcoming Year
Your final task for your New Year's home improvement list is to start planning out your dinners for the upcoming year. Many people find themselves eating out more when they have no idea what to prepare for themselves at home. Even consider buying yourself new cooking tools to experiment with dishes you've never served at home before, like a deep-fryer or slow-cooker. That way, you can add more variety to your dinner menu.
The Bottom Line
Your New Year's home improvement list does not need to be limited to these 10 tasks. Take a quick tour of your home and inspect areas that you've been purposely avoiding, ignoring or hiding. For example, that stain on the carpet under the living room rug, or the draft you noticed around the rear sliding door. Use the coming of the New Year to help motivate you into doing something that benefits yourself and your family by properly maintaining your home.
[Article courtesy of Investopedia/Yahoo! Finance]
Get an Energy Audit
One of the first things on your to-do-list should be an energy audit. Hiring a professional energy auditor to assess your home's energy consumption may seem like an unnecessary expenditure. However, making your home more energy efficient can lead to more money saved over time. An energy auditor can point out poor insulation and air leaks throughout the home, which are common causes of increased utility bills over the winter. Improve Your Insulation
As stated above, poor insulation can be quite costly, especially during the winter months. What many people fail to realize is that poor insulation affects utility bills in the summer, as well. If your home is not properly insulated, you will end up spending more money on gas and electricity trying to keep it warm over the winter and cool during the summer. This makes insulation improvements an important task on your New Year's to-do-list for cutting costs in your home.
Look for Drafts
The final step in weatherizing your home for this New Year's home improvements is to check for drafts around walls, ceilings, doors and windows. After locating any air leaks, begin plugging them up with caulk, foam, tape or some other form of weather-stripping material. If you don't feel confident in doing it yourself, you can hire a contractor to do the job for you.
Start Buying Energy Efficient Appliances
According to the United States Department of Energy , home appliances and electronics make up 20% of your energy bill. From the living room television, to the refrigerator in the kitchen, replacing old appliances with new, Energy Star rated appliances can help save you money over time. Not only will you be saving money on your electric bill, but you'll also be saving the environment as well. Now that's a New Year's resolution worth making.
Get Organized and Ditch the Rental Storage Space
Many people find the need to rent a monthly storage space to store anything they can't fit in their home. In reality, most of these people would have sufficient space at home if they just took the time to do a little organizing. Consider clearing out the clutter in your garage and closets by having a yard sale. You can also donate any furniture, clothing or other household items that have been gathering dust in the attic to create more storage space.
Go Green
This New Year, embrace Green Living by making your home more eco-friendly. Instead of tossing glass, aluminum and plastic bottles or containers in the trash, keep them in separated bins. Then, head down to your local recycling center and get a couple bucks back for being environmentally conscious. Also consider going paperless to minimize waste. You can pay bills and manage your banking online, while utilizing email instead of snail mail to make your home paper-free.
Stop Buying Bottled Water and Get a Water Filter
Cut costs on your grocery bill by installing a water filter on your kitchen sink for drinking water instead of buying bottled water. While city tap water is regulated and should be safe enough to drink by itself, a water filter can provide that fresh, clean taste without having to spend as much on bottled cases of water. This is another New Year's task that can save you money while you save the environment by minimizing plastic pollution.
Refresh Your Home by Repainting a Room
Instead of going for a full remodel, you can refresh and update an old home with a simple paint job. Painting a room with a bold color, or multiple colors can bring new life to a ho-hum interior. If you feel reluctant about using loud colors that aren't typically on your home palette, do a little experimenting by painting an accent wall instead of the entire room. Worst case scenario, you can simply repaint the wall to match the original color scheme.
Improve Your Home Safety
Remember when you took the batteries out of the smoke detector for the TV remote in the living room? The New Year is a great time to make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are functioning properly. While you're at it, check and see that the fire extinguisher you've had since the 1980s still works. These tasks can prove to be invaluable on the off chance a real emergency like a gas leak or fire occurs. Plan out Dinner Menus for the Upcoming Year
Your final task for your New Year's home improvement list is to start planning out your dinners for the upcoming year. Many people find themselves eating out more when they have no idea what to prepare for themselves at home. Even consider buying yourself new cooking tools to experiment with dishes you've never served at home before, like a deep-fryer or slow-cooker. That way, you can add more variety to your dinner menu.
The Bottom Line
Your New Year's home improvement list does not need to be limited to these 10 tasks. Take a quick tour of your home and inspect areas that you've been purposely avoiding, ignoring or hiding. For example, that stain on the carpet under the living room rug, or the draft you noticed around the rear sliding door. Use the coming of the New Year to help motivate you into doing something that benefits yourself and your family by properly maintaining your home.
[Article courtesy of Investopedia/Yahoo! Finance]
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
5 New Year’s Resolutions For Your Home
We all start off the new year with the best intentions for self-improvement. And if your house could talk, it might have a few resolutions of its own. The good news is that these tasks are all relatively inexpensive and easier to accomplish than, say, exercising more or losing weight.
1. Change the furnace filter
A well-maintained furnace runs more efficiently. During the heating season filters should be checked monthly and cleaned or replaced as needed. Better disposable filters cost $10 to $30 but will last up to three months.
2. Check smoke and CO alarms
Batteries should be changed at least once a year. Smoke alarms usually need to be replaced every 10 years and carbon-monoxide alarms every five years. Check the alarm for its manufacture date. CO alarms should be on every level of your home, and smoke alarms should be in all bedrooms, hallways, the attic, and the basement. Remember, you need both smoke and CO alarms for the best protection.
3. Perform a radon test
After smoking, radon is a leading cause of lung cancer. Long-term test kits give you a more accurate idea of average radon levels, because levels can vary from day to day. Winter is a good time to test because doors and windows are likely to be closed and the home's stack effect is more likely to draw radon-containing soil gasses into the living space. Place the detector on the lowest level of your home.
4. Install a programmable thermostat
By automatically lowering the home's temperature by 5º to 10º F at night or when you're out, a programmable thermostat can pay for itself in less than a year. The trick is to get one that's easy to read and use. They can also help save on cooling costs.
5. Clean your humidifier
If dry indoor air in the winter has your humidifier working overtime, remember that it needs frequent cleaning. Minerals in tap water can cause an accumulation of scale, a breeding ground for bacteria. So check the owner's manual to see which parts need to be descaled with vinegar and disinfected with bleach. Filters and wicks also require periodic replacement. Hard water can increase scale buildup.
1. Change the furnace filter
A well-maintained furnace runs more efficiently. During the heating season filters should be checked monthly and cleaned or replaced as needed. Better disposable filters cost $10 to $30 but will last up to three months.
2. Check smoke and CO alarms
Batteries should be changed at least once a year. Smoke alarms usually need to be replaced every 10 years and carbon-monoxide alarms every five years. Check the alarm for its manufacture date. CO alarms should be on every level of your home, and smoke alarms should be in all bedrooms, hallways, the attic, and the basement. Remember, you need both smoke and CO alarms for the best protection.
3. Perform a radon test
After smoking, radon is a leading cause of lung cancer. Long-term test kits give you a more accurate idea of average radon levels, because levels can vary from day to day. Winter is a good time to test because doors and windows are likely to be closed and the home's stack effect is more likely to draw radon-containing soil gasses into the living space. Place the detector on the lowest level of your home.
4. Install a programmable thermostat
By automatically lowering the home's temperature by 5º to 10º F at night or when you're out, a programmable thermostat can pay for itself in less than a year. The trick is to get one that's easy to read and use. They can also help save on cooling costs.
5. Clean your humidifier
If dry indoor air in the winter has your humidifier working overtime, remember that it needs frequent cleaning. Minerals in tap water can cause an accumulation of scale, a breeding ground for bacteria. So check the owner's manual to see which parts need to be descaled with vinegar and disinfected with bleach. Filters and wicks also require periodic replacement. Hard water can increase scale buildup.
[Article courtesy of Consumer Reports magazine]
Monday, October 17, 2011
Heating Systems and You
Maintain your equipment to prevent future problems and unwanted costs. Now is the time to perform routine maintenance on your home's heating system to ensure that it is running efficiently this winter
A handy-dandy maintenance checklist offered by EngeryStar.gov:
A typical maintenance check-up should include the following.
Heating Specific
A handy-dandy maintenance checklist offered by EngeryStar.gov:
A typical maintenance check-up should include the following.
- Check thermostat settings to ensure the cooling and heating system keeps you comfortable when you are home and saves energy while you are away.
- Tighten all electrical connections and measure voltage and current on motors. Faulty electrical connections can cause unsafe operation of your system and reduce the life of major components.
- Lubricate all moving parts. Parts that lack lubrication cause friction in motors and increases the amount of electricity you use.
- Check and inspect the condensate drain in your central air conditioner, furnace and/or heat pump (when in cooling mode). A plugged drain can cause water damage in the house and affect indoor humidity levels.
- Check controls of the system to ensure proper and safe operation. Check the starting cycle of the equipment to assure the system starts, operates, and shuts off properly.
Heating Specific
- Check all gas (or oil) connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and heat exchanger. Improperly operating gas (or oil) connections are a fire hazard and can contribute to health problems. A dirty burner or cracked heat exchanger causes improper burner operation. Either can cause the equipment to operate less safely and efficiently.
- Inspect, clean, or change air filters once a month in your central air conditioner, furnace, and/or heat pump. Your contractor can show you how to do this. A dirty filter can increase energy costs and damage your equipment, leading to early failure.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Sealing Your Drafty Home (and Save Money!)
Now is the time to think about your winter energy dollars. You can save on your heating bill by reducing air leaks in your home. One of the quickest dollar-saving tasks you can do is caulk, seal, and weatherstrip all seams, cracks, and openings to the outside. For a small initial cost, you may be able to save hundreds of dollars over the course of a year. Homes typically have two different kinds of issues: drafts and under-insulated. Hire a good home inspector to investigate your house and inform you of the problem areas. Check out nachi.org or ashi.org to find a certified home inspector in your area.
Heating a house pressurizes the inside air & drives it through ceiling penetrations into the attic, which draws in cold replacement air through every crack that it can. The first fix is plugging the air leaks into the attic area. This is the most effective way to eliminate the drafting through other areas. With the attic area addressed & the walls soon to follow, you will be on your way to an improved heating & air conditioning bill. Most homes have numerous places to suck in cold replacement air: bath fans, electrical outlets and switches, fireplaces, windows, plus any break in the exterior envelope. Sealing these leak areas will give you a much more efficient home!
Heating a house pressurizes the inside air & drives it through ceiling penetrations into the attic, which draws in cold replacement air through every crack that it can. The first fix is plugging the air leaks into the attic area. This is the most effective way to eliminate the drafting through other areas. With the attic area addressed & the walls soon to follow, you will be on your way to an improved heating & air conditioning bill. Most homes have numerous places to suck in cold replacement air: bath fans, electrical outlets and switches, fireplaces, windows, plus any break in the exterior envelope. Sealing these leak areas will give you a much more efficient home!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Fall Chores!
One item that should be on your 'Winterize To-Do List' is to clean your gutters! Once the leaves fall, remove them and other debris from your home's gutters. Water trapped in gutters can cause major damage to your gutters, roof, and walls. Don't forget about those downspouts! Clogged downspouts can also present a problem. A pressure washer can sometimes be the best and fastest way to breakup debris. Simply insert sprayer tip into downspout and spray until unclogged. As always, if the project seems too dangerous or time consuming, hire a professional to do the job.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The Deer Clover Project
The Deer Clover Project: This 6300 sq ft custom-built spec home is tucked into a vast Aspen grove, just below the infamous Fish Creek Falls trail head. The views through the 16 foot wide glass patio door to the Steamboat valley below and the mountain ranges beyond are breathtaking. Panoramic views from the vaulted great room are awe-inspiring. From the master suite and the private master deck, the Steamboat ski slopes jut into view. Deer Clover boasts six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, plus two powder rooms – including an ample sized guest suite. The oversized four-car garage offers additional storage in the loft area. The outdoor space does not pale by comparison. Over 3000 sq ft of decks and stamped concrete verandas including an outdoor grilling space and a wood-burning fireplace.
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