We have change our blog address…

http://www.taylormadeplans.com/blog/

THIS LOCATION WILL BE CLOSED IN A FEW MONTHS.

Sincerely,

Lynn Taylor
Taylor Made Plans, LLC

Details make a home. People love historic homes because of the details lacking in the homes of today. Our award-winning stock plans are preferred by builders and homeowners because we pay attention to the details. By combining the design elements of older homes with modern building materials and methods, we create home plans that have a beautiful historic feeling, and are easy to build. We provide detailed drawings in order to ensure that the completed home will be as beautiful as it appears on paper.

Order form with prices and “terms & agreements” as of 3/30/2010

Please see our addition & renovation page on our web site for a document that explains the Taylor Made Plans process.

In this video, I discuss how to stop air infiltration during the construction process; before you install all the finish products. This is some great information to have before you start the construction process on a home renovation, addition, or new construction. Energy Star, AIR SEALING info

Th is simple slide show I created demonstrates what to look for on your roof in the next big snow. If I show your roof, let me go ahead and apologize,….I tried to cut the bottom of the house off to protect the “innocent”.

The most expensive way also happens to be the best way. That would be to spray foam on the roof deck of your home. This insulation method will maintain a reasonable temperature in the attic. The Icynene Insulation System (open cell) provides excellent results and can pay for itself in 3 to 5 years, depending on your energy bills. With cooling and heating bills, it is pay now or pay later, year after year. Therefore, if that is not in your budget, then installing an minimum R-38 batt or lose insulation in your un-used raw attic will be an energy efficient alternative.

I recommend asking the insulation company to install “attic rulers” when blown-in lose insulation is used. The attic rulers will give you a visual reference point to monitor the amount you requested and received.

Example of a attic ruler on roof trussess

This is from the NAIMA web site about attic rulers…..“When blown insulation is used, NAIMA recommends that attic rulers should be installed, one for every 300 square feet of attic area. The installed thickness of blown insulation should not be less than the minimum settled thickness on the attic card. The Federal Trade Commission does not require attic cards, but it is typical practice and helpful to the current and future homeowner. Consult CABO/MEC Guidelines on attic cards & rulers.”

I have given you some web sites below that provide more information about insulation and knee walls. You may need a home energy audit, which tells you exactly where your home is leaking. In Nashville, Jeff Middlebrooks of E3 Innovate LLC conducts quality home energy audits.

My thoughts on window replacement: I consult regularly with homeowners about many issues, and replacing their old windows always comes up. There are so many other areas of your home that need attention and will give you significant cost savings. Some of these areas include attic and knee wall insulation, air leakage between the floor and crawl space, rim board insulation, air leakage at exterior wall penetrations, leaking ductwork, etc. Replacing windows is really far down on the list. It is expensive with very little return on investment compared to having insulation installed and stopping the air leaks.

Types of insulation for homes

Knee wall information:

Energy Savers - Knee Wall Insulation and Air Sealing

HGTVPro Video – Insulating Attic Knee Walls

Knee walls in the attic must be properly insulted, sheathed, and sealed.

Button Up: Attic doors and kneewalls

Attic knee wall diagram

What You Get When You Order Plans
A set of home plans includes:
•Detailed floor plans, including wall placement and room, door, window, and stairway dimensions; door and window sizes are located on the floor plans
•Electrical layout plan, showing location of fixtures, outlets, and switches
•All exterior elevations, including exterior materials, details, and measurements
•Building sections (if necessitated by complex design)
•Wall sections and details
•Porch details
•Foundation and floor framing plans
•Framing details
•Ceiling and roof framing plans

Curtis is proactive in saving the client money, while maintaining quality building methods and my design ideas. I personally have witnessed Curtis saving the client money even though it took money “out of his pocket” (cost plus bidding) He is very conscious of the client’s budget and a quality builder. His contact information: cborntrager@gmail.com and (615) 568-3689 cell

What is Thistle Farms? Thistle Farms is a non-profit business operated by the women of Magdalene. By hand, the women create natural bath and body products that are as kind to the environment as they are to the body. All sales proceeds go back into the program. In addition, they make GREAT products, so check them out!

Over the years I met several of the women participating in the Magdalene program…they have so much courage. I am grateful and excited to be involved in another residential project.

Again, I want to apologize for how dark the video turned out in the beginning. The window opening was throwing the camera off.

The Earthcraft guidelines PDF will give a highlight of all the requirements for the EarthCraft House single-family residential program. Here are technical names for the framing details we where discussing in the video; INSIDE “TWO-STUD” CORNERS, T-WALL ALTERNATIVES, Ladder T-wall, and SINGLE TOP PLATE on non-load bearing wall.

Curtis mentions the LP^® TechShield^® radiant barrier sheathing which is a great product. LP Building Products donated the roof decking. We want to thank Tommy DeLoach at LP Building Products and his contact information: tommy.deloach@lpcorp.com.

Remember the “Central cutting area” while framing, you could use this technique on any construction project!

First, I want to apologize for how dark the video turned out in the beginning. The window opening was throwing the camera off.

We refer to this type of framing as either “Smart Framing” or “Advanced Wall Framing” technique. We wanted to show you some of the wall framing details so it would help you understand  Earthcraft’s Smart Framing or Advanced Wall Framing. This method is efficient, uses less material, and savesnergy. I was amazed at the small amount of waste we had on the job site.

As you can see, there was a lot of activity on the job site that day. I had already been at the site early in the day, and Keenan Allen was there, and I asked him to come back and join us. Keenan is with Bassco Nashville and I have always been impressed with his commitment to his clients.

His contact information:kallen@bassco.biz and (615) 394-1519 cell.

Earthcraft’s Smart Framing or Advanced Wall Framing

In this video, Jeff and I are discussing the sealed or conditioned crawl space construction and capillary breaks. HGTVPro.com has a video about stopping capillary moisture – keep water from moving up into foundation by using capillary breaks. Please remember there usually a couple of different construction methods you can use with the same result. In addition, check the climate zone in which your property is located.

Jeff Middlebrooks of E3 Innovate, is our Energy Star certified and EarthCraft house “third party verifier.” He will fill out the paperwork, make site visits, and verify that EarthCraft construction guidelines are being followed. Jeff donated his services for this project. Third party verifiers are important to the process, because the owner hires them, not the contractor or residential designer. We will not have a “certified” home until the end of construction when all the points have been totaled. You could go through the entire process and fail. Hopefully, we have covered everything and will pass! Jeff Middlebrooks can be reached at 615.292.0393 and Jeff@e3innovate.com.

Finally the groundbreaking on November 12^th! Our first official meeting for a new Magdalene house on Arthur Avenue was on Friday, June 12^th. There had been discussions and meetings over the last year or two in regards to remodeling the existing house; however, every person who inspected the house said it was beyond repair…so it was removed. The Magdalene staff wanted to build a home as “green” as they could. We definitely could build an Energy Star certified home, but an EarthCraft house? I pulled together a design team, including Curtis Borntrager of Borntrager Homes, Inc., Jeff Middlebrooks of E3 Innovate, and Shonna Sexton of Shonna Sexton Studio. We finished the construction drawings on September 9, 2009. The process took longer than usual, because of the pro-bono work and EarthCraft home design. This is why everyone is so excited at the groundbreaking!

We will be videoing and blogging about the construction process of the house for you. I believe it is important to show you what the energy efficient & green products look like on the building site. This will assist you for your own home addition or new home project.

Jennifer Barrie works for Kilowatt Ours which is actually a movie her brother, Jeff Barrie, filmed about a plan to re-energize America. The film is a “timely, solutions-oriented look at one of America’s most pressing environmental challenges: energy.” In the Interview, Jennifer demonstrates the differences between regular light bulbs and energy efficient ones. She also speaks about ways to save money by saving energy and electricity; and who doesn’t love to save money?! Take a look at the video to learn more about Kilowatt Ours and for some great tips!

I started out with speaking to Sandra Noble Canon who works with eHome America. eHome America allows first time home-buyers to take a class online and educated themselves on the process of buying a home. Sandra speaks about the actual program, who it’s for, and how it can help people. Check out the video to get more information on the great program!

I stopped at the Jackson Pacific booth to speak with Billie Linder. Jackson Pacific specializes in creating ornaments for various organizations like schools, churches, preservation groups, neighborhood associations, and alumni groups to raise funds! What a great idea! Check out the process Jackson Pacific goes through to create the replicas of buildings and turn them into ornaments.