Remodeling, Home Repairs, Design Services & Landscaping for the South Sound
Sustainable Design & Construction (360) 628-9241
Cascadia Design Build aligns itself with consultants and suppliers to stay on the cutting edge of green
building technologies. We offer remodeling, new construction and landscaping services for Thurston and
Pierce Counties.
TECHNOLOGY & BUILDING PRACTICES
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In the last ten years technology has advanced radically concerning sustainable materials and building
techniques and . We are at a tipping point in where it is affordable both in cost to build and savings on the
back end, that "green building" is the common sense choice for today's consumer.
IT TAKES A TEAM
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The contractor, is no longer the "end-all" source for knowledge on new products or building technologies. It a takes a team of experts in their respective fields to keep up with the changing material and building technologies. It is also vital to get the key people together in the early stages of the concept development and design phase of a project to get the desired results. (Especially if you are going to certify your project)
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BENEFITS OF ECO-BUILDING-
- Immediate savings in energy and water usage
- A more comfortable, healthy and user friendly environment
- Creates a more durable structure and reduce maintenance and operating costs
- Increased efficiency of resources utilized, including energy, water and materials
- A higher resale value and a quicker turnaround on the market.
- Sustainable architectural designed homes and landscapes are highly valued.
- Reduces the impact on the environment through site planning, positioning and reduced maintenance
- The satisfaction that you are doing your part to conserving our natural resources
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MAKING WISE CHOICES
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It can very confusing to separate what is a viable GREEN product or process from something that
says it's GREEN. Green is every where on product advertising. As consumers, how do we sift
through all the GREEN noise and invest our money wisely to get the results we are looking for?
Green also has different meanings for different people. To some it's energy savings, to others it the
building materials or how the land is affected when you put a building on it.
Sound confusing? We can help. Cascadia Design Build aligns itself with designers, architects,
specialty contractors and suppliers to stay on the cutting edge of sustainable building technologies.
We sift through the "GREEN" noise and determine who we will listen to, learn from and work with.
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SUSTAINABLE BUILDING APPLICATIONS
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REMODELING: The result are not as impactful as redoing the whole house, but the section you are workingon can be an improvement over the old inefficient construction practices and materials. See: Remodeling Page
Energy retrofitting: This is the process of taking older homes and building and reducing the air/energy losses
through the building envelope. (i.e. windows, failed insulation, outlets, heat ducts) See: Energy Retrofitting
LANDSCAPING: Building landscapes that work with the natural elements of the land and water systems to
reduce the impact on the land and it's natural systems. SEE: Landscaping & Landscape Design
NEW HOMES: Absolutely the best place to apply all the sustainable elements. You start with a clean slate to
build on and the sky is the limit. See: Design-Build & Sustainable Design & Architecture
COMMERCIAL: Many of the system and practices we use on homes today started in the commercial industry.
See: Architecture & Landscape Architecture
Factors effecting the design and construction of a sustainable home
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Your budget is the most vital consideration
- The end result you desire in terms of comfort, livability, energy savings, maintenance & resale value
- Is the home is going to incorporate universal design and disability access features?
- Which "Green" rating system is going to be used? (Or which combination of programs?)
- Choosing the right designer, architect and contractor
- Is the property going to be new or reclaimed land, urban or rural?
- How extensive is the landscaping going to be incorporated into the sustainable design?
- How the building is going to impact of the natural ground water and eco-systems
- Choosing the best placement of the building to take advantage of passive solar
- Choosing the foundation system. (New eco-foundations are sealed environments)
- Choosing the building system (i.e. SIP panels, ICF's, advanced framing, etc)
- Insulating and sealed the building for minimal air and energy loss
- Which heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system is best suited to the goals
- Deciding if solar energy is going to used. Or at least, a solar hot water system.
- Which Energy Recovery Ventilation Systems is to be used to vent the home
- Choosing the proper doors and windows for the best energy efficiency
- Designing the best plumbing system and choosing the specialty components to fit your needs
- Choosing the right appliances to reach the desired sustain goals or energy efficiency
- Even the roofing materials are tied to the overall design in sustainable building
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It's one thing to draw a line in the sand and say we are going to build all new buildings and homes more energyefficient and sustainable. But, what do we do about the millions of structures that are already in existence?
Most homes are a leaky sieve to the outside world allowing energy to escape. Some of this is caused by older
building codes, but much of it is due to pour building practices. I heard a statistic that a typical house built in the
1990's has to reheat the air in the house seven times an hour because of the loss of energy due to pour insulation
and air leakage.
Saving energy is one of the major factors in green building. building codes are becoming increasingly stricter in
terms of how homes are to be insulated, as well as, focusing on stopping the flow of inside air to the outside. But,
that leaves a huge number of older homes with ever increasing energy bills.
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THE RETROFIT PROCESS (ENERGY STAR: COMMON HOME PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS)
1. INFRARED IMAGE SCAN
Infrared scanning allows the professionally trained Thermographer to take a thermal picture of your walls and ceilings to show exactly where
insulation is damaged or missing and reveal hard-to-detect areas of air infiltration.
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2. WHOLE HOUSE ENERGY AUDIT
We bring in a specialist to help identify where your house is loosing air and energy and then
design a plan to seal your home up.
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3. THE RETROFIT WORK
This is a combination between home repair and remodeling. Many of the solutions are simple common
sense fixes and some may require more extensive work.
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4. THE RESULTS
- Immediate savings on your energy bill (depending of the season). NOTE: The results will vary depending
on how extensive the retrofit process is.
- Comfort: This work will cut down on the cold drafts in the home
- Peace of mind knowing your heating your home instead of the world outside
- Resale value: As the consumer market is becoming more educated, there is an increased focus on buying
homes that meet certain energy standards. Back to the top
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Cascadia Design Build (360) 628-09241
Remodeling, Home Repairs, Design Services & Landscaping SERVING: Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater and parts of Thurston & Pierce Counties Arch-Eco Design (360) 273-9291 Arch-Eco Web Site Home Design & Architecture, Sustainable Design, Landscape Architecture, Landscape Design, Commercial Architecture, Master Planning SERVING: Based on scope of work, site location may not be a factor Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling - Water Damage Repairs - Handicap or Disability Design & Remodeling - Home Repairs - Basement & Garage Remodels - New Additions & Design Build Projects - Painting - Install Doors, French Doors, Sliders & Windows - Hardwood Flooring, Carpet & Vinyl - Tile & Stone & Countertops - Green Building & Remodeling - Interior Design - Decks, Fences & Arbors - Walkways, Steps, Patios & Driveways - Landscaping - Landscape Design &Architecture - Painting - Retaining Walls & Erosion Control, Siding, Roof & Skylight Repairs, Sprinkler Systems & Garden Irrigation, Sustainable Design & Architecture   |