Landry & Foy Builders

IS SOLID STATE LIGHTING READY FOR PRIME TIME?

March 29, 2008 – 8:10 am

“Bright white light at a fraction of the cost of regular light bulbs.” That is the promise of the latest lighting fad. LED (stands for Light Emitting Diode) is the newest kind of lighting to hit the consumer market. You see them all over the place now: flashlights, car taillights, desk lamps, cell phones, emergency lights are just a few of the applications for this promising new technology. The most exciting thing about LED lighting is the large amount of light produced with so little power input. In some cases lumens per watt is 1/10 that of a regular light bulb.

I just attended a seminar sponsored by PG&E about LED lighting. The speaker was a Lighting Consultant, Stan Walerczyk of Lightingwizards.com. He did a good job of conveying the complexity of lighting design and addressing the issue of weather LED is the panacea that the marketers say it is.

In a regular light bulb the light comes from a wire heated up till it glows by applying an electric current. In a LED, the light comes from a semi-conducting chip that emits photons when an electric current is applied. Though LEDs produce more light per watt of electricity than a regular bulb, they also produce heat. As in all semiconductors, the efficiency goes down as the heat goes up. This makes the design of LED fixture challenging. There are a few good designs out there for LEDs and more coming along all the time.

The technology is advancing very quickly and I am excited about working it into my designs to save our clients money. If we use less energy to light the night we can design smaller solar photovoltaic systems. This will save more money and make solar all the more affordable.

I expect LED lighting to make great inroads into the green building tool kit for those that are concerned with helping mitigate global warming. I also hope this has piqued your interest in this innovation and you will see how you can fit this energy saving technology into your life.

Here are some other sources of info on this subject:

If you would like advice on how to integrate this exciting new lighting into your next home construction project, as always, don’t hesitate to call me.

Thanks for reading!

Posted by Bob Landry in Remodel Comments (0)

Remodeling on a Budget

October 24, 2007 – 10:52 am

How can you remodel your kitchen or bathroom without breaking the bank? The key to renovating on a budget is the choices you make in terms of the design, the materials and the building techniques. A resourceful and experienced builder can help you with this complex set of decisions which otherwise can be totally overwhelming! There is no substitute for experience when it comes to optimizing a budget.

It’s helpful to choose a builder early on in the design process, because he or she can identify items in the design that might be less costly if done another way. Then, as the design develops, the builder, who keeps up to date on what things cost, can continue to advise you on decisions that will enhance the design while saving money.

One way to simply your life when remodeling on a budget is to choose a builder that also has design skills, which means that you can deal with one person rather than two when making your choices.

Cooking Up a New Kitchen

When I was growing up, Laminate countertops (a.k.a. Formica) got a bad name because the patterns were not very attractive and it looked like a bad imitation of marble. This is no longer the case. Modern Laminate countertops come in a dizzying range of colors and textures. If you are looking to save some money this can be an attractive, high performance option.

Cabinets are usually the hardest thing to choose and the most expensive line item. Many people think that to maximize value and get the highest quality, they need to buy cabinets from a large manufacturer. We have found that there are many excellent local cabinetmakers who can give homeowners the quality of factory cabinets with service that the big guys just can’t match. On the other hand, sometimes just a good paint job with new pulls is all the existing cabinets need to look like a million bucks!

Lighting is another aspect of the project that can make your head spin. A myriad of choices and new California Energy Codes make lighting one of the hardest things to select. Having a knowledgeable designer/builder in the loop early on can help avoid costly surprises later on.

Flooring is something that some people don’t think too much about, but can make a huge difference in the feeling the room creates. The range of cost of the various choices is very wide — from inexpensive but attractive Laminate (a.k.a. Pergo) to affordable ceramic tile to pre-finished laminated wood to solid wood to expensive and beautiful tile or stone. Each material has aesthetic and performance characteristics that need to be considered and it’s virtually impossible for the average homeowner to keep up with all the choices out there. Look to your builder to learn about your choices and their costs.

Here is a list of things to think about when planning your kitchen remodel:

What don’t you like about your kitchen now?
What floor plan will best serve you?
How much counter space do you need?
What activities will be taking place?
Where do the important appliances get used?
Which sink configuration do you prefer?
When are the counters in use? (Morning and evening sun in your eyes as you work can be annoying.)

Updating Your Bathroom

All the same issues in the kitchen are in the bathroom, and more questions to think about?

Do you want a tub or shower or both?
Will a curtain work, or a door?
What plumbing fixtures?
One sink or two?
Where and how to hang towels?

These are all things to think about at the onset that will affect the budget. Tile work is expensive. So is heavy, trimless glass. To save money, keep the square footage of these materials down. The cool stuff in magazines is generally expensive so watch what you fall in love with!

To sum up, if you are trying to get the most from your money for any renovation project, I highly recommend enlisting the help of a professional designer and an experienced builder or a firm that offers both, as early in the process as possible. This will help you navigate through all the decisions required, create the finished space that is just right for you, and save you money in the long run.

Posted by Greg Foy in Remodel Comments (1)

Good Design

September 7, 2007 – 10:57 am

When you walk into a room and look around you should feel comfortable. Drawn in. If you’re lucky you will draw a deep breath and wonder how can such a beautiful room exist. That is the feeling you get when entering the dining room at The Awahnee.

It’s possible to have that same feeling in your home. The way buildings are commonly constructed is to minimize the cost per square foot. This can only yield a compromised product.

I implore people to choose good design ahead of a low cost per square foot.

It will make you happy.

Posted by Bob Landry in Design Comments (0)

Smart Growth and Green Building

September 1, 2007 – 11:03 am

I just returned from a vacation in The Grand Teton Area of Idaho and Wyoming, an area where I lived for a time when I was in my early 20’s. The town of Jackson, Wyoming and the close outlying area is barely recognizable with all the growth and sprawl. I talked to a couple of people who were aware of the idea of smart growth but for the most part all the bad aspects of commercial development are in play. Over the hill in Teton Valley Idaho it is even worse. Golf coarse luxury home developments are popping up right and left. The little airport in Driggs now handles jets and they have an antique plane museum. There is some consciousness of smart growth but it looks like the golf course gated communities are winning.

In Santa Cruz County we have kept the large developers at bay by erecting a massive bureaucracy that makes it hard to develop anything. The unintended consequence of this policy is that wealthy people can afford the time and money it takes to build. Wealthy people will build wherever they want. What we have in the outlying areas of our County are big homes on large properties spread all around so that there is no way to have an effective public transit system.

Every time you need anything you have to get in the car and drive to the store and park in a giant parking lot. When we design a new building we have to address the issue of parking first, instead of quality of life issues.

We as a community and a society need to change the way we look at growth and development. We need to encourage new development to occur close in to the urban center near transportation routes and commercial services so that we can have a viable public transport system that has the ridership to sustain it. The way it is now, there aren’t enough riders to make it work.

We need to develop multiple transportation options at the same time so that eventually people will have choices of ways to get places. Personally, my bicycle is my first choice of transportation so when I remodeled my garage, I included a storage locker for 10 bikes and a work area where I can do my own maintenance.

When we designed the Solar System which sits atop our new garage, we allowed for future expansion to be able to charge an Electric Vehicle with electricity made from the Sun. We plan to add a wind turbine to the system too. Check out www.windside.com. When we retire our plan is to not buy gas or electricity and have a very small carbon footprint.

There are so many ways we can all contribute to saving the planet from the mistakes we’ve made up till now. Please call me to discuss ways to make your construction project fit into the new paradigm of development.

Posted by Bob Landry in Green Building Comments (0)

Spot Light on Green Lighting

August 13, 2007 – 12:49 pm

Here’s a way to dress up a room and reduce your electric energy consumption — install attractive, energy-efficient light fixtures.

More efficient lighting is actually required in residential and commercial construction as a result of Title 24 of the California’s State Building Code, adopted in October, 2005. The code applies to new construction as well as remodels.

When shopping for light fixtures at suppliers like Johnson Art Studio, you’ll now find “green lighting.” Each of Johnson Art Studio’s light fixture designs complies with Title 24. They use the highest quality electronic ballasts for their fluorescent fixtures and have several wattage levels available. They carry 12 Volt florescent bulbs that run in all fixtures with medium base sockets.

As residential designers and builders, we have found the biggest change required by Title 24 is the requirement for lighting in kitchens. Now, 50% of the wattage in kitchens must be “high efficacy, ”which means that mostly fluorescent fixtures be used. The beauty of fluorescent bulbs is that they use 1/4 the wattage to produce the same amount of light as an incandescent light bulb, and they last up to 10 times longer. The color of their light is much better than it used to be, and they produce far less heat. Mandatory electronic ballasts eliminate flicker and hum while providing “instant on” illumination.

To stay up to speed with the changes in lighting for our clients, we turn to a Title 24 expert — Lynette Sergius of Archigraphics. Lynn is current with all the latest information from the government and manufacturers, and advises us on how to optimize the different lighting parameters. If you are installing fixtures, you will get the help you need at evironmentally-conscious suppliers like Johnson’s Art Studio.

Lighting is no longer a matter of getting some cool light fixtures to dress up a home. A well-designed, sensible lighting plan that takes conservation into consideration is the way to go.

Posted by Greg Foy in Lighting Comments (0)

Balancing Aesthetics and Budget

August 10, 2007 – 9:45 am

How do you strike a balance between aesthetics and budget? This is the question I spend my working life trying to answer.

In 25 years of residential designing and building I’ve only had one client who did not have a budget for their project. They had a vision and the resources to carry it out without compromise. Their house is a real showpiece and perfectly suited to their needs and wants. This scenario is by far the exception.

All of the other projects had a bigger wish list than the client could afford. This is normal. The culture we live in is pushing us to have more stuff. All the stuff we have needs a place, weather it’s a bigger closet for more clothes or a bigger garage for the new sports car.

I love to build. The bigger and more craftsmenship involved the better. I also realize that the delicate balance of size, looks and budget is hard to achieve. To get there takes experience and constant relentless attention to the details. Every decision needs to be weighed and considered as to is it the optimum choice, all things considered.

I believe it is my responsibility to help my clients get the most of what is important to them for their money. If more square footage is what they want and the budget is tight I can help economize the design to create a large but attractive solution. If quality is the most important, then I can provide them with the best available choices. If a tight schedule is part of the picture, we have the resources to work as rapidly as possible to meet the requirements.

The worst thing is when the client can’t build the project because the design is too expensive. Steps need to be taken all along the way in the design phase to insure the project is within the means of the owner. This is easier said than done and always a moving target because costs are continuously on the rise, so it’s important to stay current with real construction costs. At Landry & Foy Builders we have our ears to the tracks with regards to costs of all the systems that go into modern buildings and work closely with the various craftsmen and trades people to stay up to date on costs.

In the last few years the notion that we need to do a better job of taking care of our environment has gained acceptance. Green Building is now a thing people recognize and ask about. This is not a new idea, having first come to the public awareness back in the sixties. Current events lately though have begun to demand that we now take these issues more seriously. This is yet another dimension that needs to be taken into account when considering a construction project. I take them very seriously myself, so much so that we have installed photovoltaic solar panels and a net metering system on our house and are now producing more electricity than we use. I can help you do this for your project as well.

The puzzle of balancing all the variables and striving for the optimum solution is why I get up in the morning and look forward to working on the projects of our clients. Solving these puzzles is very satisfying, then I move on to the next challenge. .

Call us now and let’s start working on a solution to yours.

Posted by Bob Landry in Construction Comments (0)

Landry Goes Solar!

May 22, 2007 – 12:01 am

The Landry Family Is Going Solar for All Our Residential Electricity

Given the current climate situation, and the fact that world oil production has peaked, the cost of electricity will only be going up in the future. So I’ve decided to do what I’ve been encouraging my clients to do for years — I am putting in a system of photovoltaic (p.v.) panels as part of rebuilding our garage and workshop.

During the daytime, the panels will generate more electricity than the house requires. PG&E will buy our excess electricity during the day, and sell us back electricity at night at a lower rate. They call this “net metering.” Anyone that is hooked up to the grid and installs an alternative renewable power supply can do this. As an added incentive, the State and Federal governments are offering attractive tax breaks and rebates to homeowners and businesses for installing solar panels.

System Components

The system is designed to generate all the electricity we use in one year. It consists of 20 Sanyo p.v. panels, an inverter to convert DC electricity to AC, a two-way PG&E meter and a cut out switch to isolate the system from the grid for servicing. We will be integrating the solar panels into the new roof over our new garage. The panels will have a very low profile — they are only about seven inches high.

Full Circle Solar is the contractor we chose for the installation. They are a local company of experienced eco-experts that have been designing and installing in our area for about 30 years. You might know Mike Arenson (a.k.a. Solar Mike) who taught at Cabrillo College for many years. He is the company’s head designer and has designed the largest residential p.v. system in Santa Cruz County.

The Costs

Our system will wind up costing us about $24,000 after the rebate and tax credit. However, by adding the cost of the system to our construction loan, the monthly cost will only be about $150 (based on a 30 year 5.9% loan), and the interest is tax deductible. Once the loan payment equals our electricity bill (currently $100 per month), the system will be paying for itself. I predict that will happen in 12 to 16 years.

Expandability to Power an Electric Car

In the not too distant future, we are planning to get a plug-in Hybrid Electric car. By adding panels or a wind turbine we could charge our car with renewable energy. That will be very exciting as well!

Is solar in your future?

If you are interested in incorporating a p.v. system into your home or business, please give Landry & Foy Builders a call at 831-479-9306. We have experience designing and building green homes and remodels and look forward to making our community more self-sustaining.

Posted by Bob Landry in Solar Energy Comments (0)

Quality

May 8, 2007 – 2:01 pm

When you hear someone say “They don’t make them like they used to”, too often it’s not a rueful reminiscence, but a brutally truthful statement of fact. Most things are not made like they once were, not with the finest materials, not by hand, not with passion, not with laborious time-intensive attention to detail and craftsmanship. Today, when one comes across something that is superbly designed, beautifully made and not compromised in any way at all, it comes as a bit of a surprise. A wonderful occurrence that reminds us the right way is still alive and well. That reminds us not to settle. That reminds us to raise our expectations.

Posted by Greg Foy in Construction Comments (0)