Features

There are many ways to achieve the four cournerstones of Green Building – efficiency, durability, healthiness and sustainability. Each home I build balances the particular vision of the owner, the demands of the site and the budget. It's my job to assemble the right features for each owner into a cost-effective, beautiful, comfortable and live-able home.

Listed below are just a few of the many features I can offer to help you achieve your dream home, from traditional features to the most advanced earth-friendly products available today.

Whatever your tastes, I am committed to bringing together the package of features that's right for you, to make your home truly yours, a home that will give you pleasure and value through the years

— Jim Rush

Foam Insulation

This isn’t your ordinary attic. Expanding foam has been sprayed on the underside of the roof to create a sealed environment where air conditioning equipment can achieve optimum performance. Meaning you get a more comfortable home with lower energy bills.

Metal Roofing

Metal roofing is far more durable than shingle roofing. A roof like this one should last a lifetime, whereas shingle roofs need to be replaced every 15 years, on average. Metal roofs are also fire and hail resistant. And they’re perfect for collecting clean rainwater. An additional benefit is that light colored metal reflects heat, in turn keeping your house cooler and your A/C bills lower.

Side of the House

What looks like yellow painted wood is really known as Hardi-Plank™—an extremely stable cement fiber material. It doesn’t rot or warp. It’s also fire and pest resistant. And it holds paint very well. Not to mention it’s offered in a variety of styles and comes cheap. And the galvanized metal siding that sits below the Hardi-Plank™ reflects heat from the morning sun to keep your house cool and energy bills low.

Screened-in Porch

A screened porch is more than just a relaxing place to enjoy the outdoors without being pestered by bugs. It can be an avenue for natural ventilation for your whole house. This porch was created with logs from locally harvested trees, which embody less energy than timbers harvested far away. Plus, they don’t require toxic chemicals to keep from rotting. Which is especially good when it comes to child-safety.

HVAC

One of the features we often recommend is a gas fired high-efficiency HVAC system with added insulation and HEPA air filtration system.

©2007 Patrick Y. Wong
www.atelierwong.com