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Wednesday, November 21, 2018

By Kevin Harris


You've painstakingly saved up enough money to venture into home ownership. You're now faced with an all-too-familiar dilemma: build a new house from scratch, or buy one that's already on the Bang Saray real estate market. While there are pros and cons to each option, popular opinion suggests that you're better off choosing the latter.

In reality though, you'll find that few (if any) available properties for sale are built to cater for your desired living patterns. In particular, purchasing a ready-made home could mean making compromises in your commitment to live sustainably. By contrast, a custom build will allow you to fully adopt the latest concepts.

Of course, building a custom green home doesn't mean that you have to conform to the strictest requirements. Rather, it's about investing the bulk of your resources in the most important areas. Although specifics will vary, you want to make sure you:

Choose the Location Carefully: You can save yourself lots of headaches by choosing a plot that has utilities in close proximity. Just make sure to study its topographic details prior to buying. Ideally, it should allow you to orient the house in such a way that the longest sides face north or south. Also consider how the surrounding landscape will affect construction and vice versa.

Size Your Needs: The bigger a house is, the more it costs to build and maintain. Now, that's not to say that you should keep square footage to a minimum. What really matters is to keep your lifestyle in mind when sizing your home -- this will help you avoid paying for space that ends up sitting unused.

Opt For Green Materials: From the foundation to the attic, you want to use materials that will minimize the impact of construction on the environment. Look for products such as reclaimed wood, plastic, glass, as well as natural products like cork, bamboo and linoleum. It's worth noting that these won't cost you more than their conventional counterparts -- just as long as you purchase them from sources closest to the construction site.

Go Solar: It wouldn't be enough to talk about green building without mentioning solar -- it's after all the most cost-effective energy source. Speaking of which, there now are panels that can harness enough to cater for all the energy needs of your home. They're also cheaper and better-looking compared to their predecessors. Don't think that is an enough incentive? Well, how about the chance to qualify for tax breaks?

Keep it Tight: Or rather, tightly insulated -- it's the most effective way to lower your ongoing heating and cooling costs. The principle works best when applied to a multi-story structure, but what should use for the insulation itself? Closed-cell spray foam is your best bet due to its superior thermal performance and pliability. This means it'll tightly seal all nooks and crannies around your home.

Like every other construction undertaking, your custom home build will involve a handful of elements. Even so, these points should be enough to help you prepare the framework. And while the project won't be as easy as buying a property off the shelf, it won't have you endure the headaches of renovating to suit your ideals.




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