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Posts Tagged ‘green home’
Friday, June 11th, 2010
So, why come to KADTEC to design your own house? First off, it doesn’t matter what style of house you’re looking to use in your design, we can handle it. The firm is an expert at classical styles like Tuscan home design, German architecture, French country home designs; something more fun – like gingerbread house designs, the southwest home designs, the northwest home designs, ranch home design, and all manner of contemporary house designs, modular, and mountain home designs. If you want a beach home or the latest in energy efficient home design, we can do that too. No matter what you’re looking for to design your own house, we’ve got you covered.
Then once you’ve settled on a style, we can help you with the layout. Using the latest in 3D home design software, we can create a variety of house design plans for you. You can decide where you want every room – add a tiny bathroom in just the right spot, put in a home library design, office or home theater, and then tweak the plan until it is perfect. And don’t worry that you think you need an architect to design your own house all of this. We have the latest in architectural drafting software, and our skilled craftsmen of drafters, designers, and engineers can cover every aspect of your house design, from civil drafting to full architectural renderings.
An architect can help you with the final touches to design your own house, but you need an engineer for the important design calculations and permitting. Once you have the house plans and designs just the way you want them, there’s the landscaping to consider, the layout of the entire lot, and then building and material matters to decide on. These days, many people are concerned about Global Warming. So, if you want to incorporate eco-friendly products into the plans and create an eco house design, we can do that for you. We can also cover solar house design, biofuels, and all types of alternative building materials and methods to design your own house.
Depending on where you want to build your dream house, we can guide you through the permitting process. Sometimes, it is as simple as a building permit, but not always. Coastal house designs call for unique permits in some municipalities; sometimes you need to get a variance or special exception; sometimes you have to submit energy calculations or pay road, school, and other impact fees. All these things, KADTEC can handle for you, and help you design your own house to be perfect for you and your family.
Tags: custom house plan, design your own house, dream home design, eco-friendly, energy efficient, green home, solar home designs
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Thursday, May 27th, 2010
So, what is a structural engineer, and what can one do for you? KADTEC has both a structural engineering license for the state of Utah, and a civil engineering license for the state of California, which means they can handle structural drafting. Most people don’t pay attention to this issue; they look more for a highly qualified architect. However, being sure your engineer is certified to operate in the state where you want to build is important. Structural consulting engineers have to pass a state examination in the state in which they operate, and take what are known as continuing education classes in order to renew that license. That way, you know that that they are knowledgeable about the latest structural engineering formulas. After all, if your engineer is an older lady or gentleman, you want to be sure that they know about green technology, the latest in energy efficiency, and so on. Most states require that an engineer display their license prominently. Look for that when you meet with them. With KADTEC, you can be sure that they are board certified in both structural and civil engineer. They can handle structural steel engineering, which many homes use today.
So, what is a structural engineer going to do on the home plans for your dream house? Well, the blue prints have to be drawn up to meet the building code of the municipality in which you’re going to build. That’s why you need licensed professionals, and they have to be the right professionals for the job. This is where structural consulting engineers may be needed. Architects can sign and affix their seal to some plans, but not all of them. As their name implies, they handle architectural matters. But, when it comes to plans for something heavy duty: what’s known as load-bearing members or something heavily structural in nature. Well, that’s the answer to what is a structural engineer; he or she has to oversee the structural drafting, and sign and seal some of the plans. This is where KADTEC has got you covered. It doesn’t matter what type of plans your dream home requires; KADTEC can either take care of them in-house or get an appropriate sub-consultant. We can handle all types of engineering calculations, energy and Title 24 calculations, and analyze your project to see how rough terrain and varying soil conditions will affect it. There are structural engineering formulas that are quite complex; our staff know how to handle them, and do the structural engineering calculations!
The virtue of a firm like KADTEC is the variety of their services, and that they have connections in the industry to handle whatever kinds of plans you need. When you ask us, what is a structural engineer, we’ve for the answer. You might wonder why we don’t have an architect in-house. You don’t want that. Architects are really quite the artists, but they have the weakness of their own virtue – their individual style. If you don’t care for that style, what are you supposed to do? With KADTEC, they can work with any architect you choose, thus freeing you to select the right one to design the perfect dream home for you. After the plans are prepared, KADTEC can walk you through the difficulties of getting a building permit, by making sure that the right sorts of plans are submitted to the appropriate review agency. By focusing on being civil and structural consulting engineers, we can meet the needs of your individual project.
Tags: dream home, eco-friendly, energy efficient, green home, Structural Engineer, structural engineering
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Tuesday, April 13th, 2010
When it comes time to create just the perfect dream home, you need talented people, like a luxury home architect, to help you. Whether you’ve got an architectural 3D rendering of your dream home, or you’ve just outlined a floor plan on a napkin, you need skilled professionals to turn your dreams into reality. And, don’t think that you have to have a luxury home architect to design your house. Yes, some municipalities require an architect to sign and seal architectural drawings, but others allow a structural or civil engineer to do it. And, anyone can draw up the house plans; and the members of the staff at KADTEC are experts in that area. On top of that, KADTEC is in the process of getting an architectural license. So, soon the firm will have a luxury home architect, and be able to handle all the dream home plans and construction needs in-house.
Many people look at home design and think it’s just a matter of coming up with the right layout, get a luxury home architect to draw some plans, and getting a building permit. But, there’s a lot more involved in the process than that. First off, you need to figure out an affordable home design, and then come up with home floor plans. So often, people fall in love with a dream home design, and then try to come up with the money. These days, that is not a good way of selecting a home.
KADTEC can help you with Victorian house designs, Tuscan home design, and any other styles you want. The most important aspect of any home design is making it affordable. Meeting with the engineers at KADTEC, they can advise you on various alternative building methods that will save money and are eco-friendly and are also green architect resources.
Once you have a workable layout for your dream home, the engineers will do all the necessary calculations for your home – energy calculations, fire flow, water, sewer, review the geology report, handle the structural drafting, and so on. If the soil in your area is especially poor, they can design a retaining wall or other feature to give your home the best support. This is not the sort of thing a luxury home architect is qualified to do. If your home design needs a height variance, a special exception, or if you’re looking at encroaching on a building setback – the engineers can handle all of these issues; here again, these are not the sorts of things a luxury home architect is an expert at.
So, no matter what sort of houseplan you have in mind, KADTEC has the home interior design software to create a 3D architectural rendering, and the expertise to create a full set of plans for submittal to obtain a building permit. Any review fees – for plans review, permits, school and/or impact fees, the company can handle. If an architect’s seal is needed, KADTEC can coordinate that as well. Whatever you need to get your dream home designed, we can do it.
Tags: alternative house design, custom house plan, dream home design, green home, luxury home, Tuscan
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Saturday, February 27th, 2010
Many people like the idea of creating green home plans. They look around and see Global Warming getting worse, pollution on the rise, and natural resources being depleted. So, if you want a great house, yet one that is eco-friendly, KADTEC can help you create green home plans you can be proud of.
Yet, some people worry that “going green” – as they say – is going to entail a high cost to their dream home plans. That does not have to be the case at all. These days, you can create just about any type of green home building you want. Here again, some people feel that to be truly green, you have to go with log cabin home designs. But, there are alternative building materials that will allow you to create any style of home you want, and still make them green home plans.
So, what sort of home do you want? Whether it be a Victorian home design, a modern home design, and even ranch house plans can be turned into green home plans. The key is using the right green technology, having a green architect, and making use of the green appliances and green products available in the marketplace. I know, that’s a lot of green! And you want to make sure that you don’t waste a lot of your own green – your money – in carrying out your dream home plans. This is where affordable green homes are important, and where having an engineer who’s an expert can help you. A high efficiency washer and dryer might be slightly more expensive now, but over their lifetime, they’ll save you money, and be less of an impact on the environment.
It’s said that Civil Engineers are unique in that they pay attention to the bottom line, to the cost of something. When creating your green home plans, this is an important point. Sometimes, architects – even green ones, can get carried away, and it’s up to the engineer to essentially rein them in. Green technology doesn’t have to be expensive; it can be as simple as using passive solar home designs. The right sort of green technology can put efficient insulation in your walls and roof, a solar-powered hot water heater in your house, and maybe even a wind or solar electrical system to provide some or all of your home needs. If the cost of such measures is outside your means, there are still green products that are affordable. By making use of recycled building materials, you can save money, and help the environment.
If you’re familiar with the lingo of the environmental movement, then you know that a person’s carbon footprint is how they contribute to the amount of greenhouse gases are dumped into the atmosphere. Reducing that footprint is the aim of green home plans. By utilizing all that technology has to offer, and hiring an engineering firm skilled in implementing green technology, you can have the most energy efficient home design possible. At KADTEC, we’re experts at doing just that.
Tags: alternative house design, dream home, dream home design, energy efficient, green home, log home, modern, passive solar, solar home designs
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Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010
When you want to design your own home, what’s the first thing that pops into your head? Probably a good architect; after all, you generally need one to do the layout of your custom home design, draw up the blue prints, and get the place looking just the way you want. While an architect is key to helping you design your own home, he or she is not the first or last step in the design process. Whatever type of home design you are looking to create, you need a qualified engineer to help you in every aspect of your home’s creation.
First off, when you start unique home designs, you have to settle on a style of architecture. Do you want something classic – a nice Tuscan home design, maybe early Colonial? Maybe a nice contemporary home design or Spanish home design is what you’d like. Maybe you want that luxury home design that you’ve always been dreaming of, or an eco-friendly house with solar power. Well, it doesn’t matter if you want to look at coastal home designs or rustic mountain home plans; KADTEC can take your dream home from concept to turn of the key.
Once you decide on the style for your home design, you need to consider the size. How much home can you truly afford, and this is an important point. Look at the state of the economy and banking system just now; the last thing you want to do is design your own home that’s too big for you to afford. So, sometimes it’s best to go with small home designs that you can afford, and layout the floorplan such that you can add to it later. No matter the size of your home design, our skilled design staff are experts at using 3D home design software. They can create a variety of home designs for you to consider, tweak, and settle on.
If you like the idea of some eco-friendly landscaping; some plants that require minimal water and fertilizer to thrive, we can help with that. Another thing that many people want to consider is a green home design. We can incorporate solar power, biofuels, and any other alternative home design methods and materials you want to make use of.
Many people think only an architect can create the plans for their dream home, but that’s not the case. Very often, a qualified Civil Engineer can help you design your own home. Also, you often need a structural engineer to sign and seal the plans if your home design incorporates a steep slope and/or a retaining wall. No matter the permitting process, KADTEC can help you through the paperwork, the permit fees, and all the necessary calculations involved in helping you design your own home.
Tags: custom home design, custom house plan, design your own house, green home, small home design, Tuscan, unique house design
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Sunday, December 13th, 2009
The idea of log home designs has a lot of appeal for some people. Maybe it’s the idea of going back to nature, or you’re thinking of how Abraham Lincoln grew up in one. They can be beautiful, but they also have problems associated with them. Rather than going with a log cabin home plan, there are great mountain home designs available that are much better.
Log cabin home designs look quaint and pretty from the outside, but they’re fraught with troubles. Termites are everywhere, especially out in the wilderness. Unless you want to go to the expense of getting the logs for your log home building and cabin treated, those little buggers can literally eat you out of house and home! And, if you do treat the logs, now you’re putting chemicals into the environment, not very eco-friendly. Then there’s properly sealing the log home designs so you get a nice tight seam between the logs. Yes, modern chemicals and sealing compounds are good, but getting the log cut so that they fit together close enough for a firm seal is labor-intensive, and expensive. And finally, there’s the issue of getting through those walls. A plus of log home architectural design is the insulation that the logs provide. But, that’s a double-edged sword. Anytime you want to run a utility line, a pipe, or anything else in and out of the house, you have to do some serious drilling!
Instead of log home designs, take a look at the great mountain home designs that KADTEC has to offer. Step one, meet with the staff to look over our portfolio of previous works. From them, you can get some ideas as to the perfect dream home for you. If you have an architect already lined up, our staff can coordinate with them in your mountain home design. If you don’t have an architect, KADTEC can help you find one. Also, the company is in the process of getting its architectural license. No matter what services you need to design your home, we’ve got you covered.
Once you have a basic layout, KADTEC can advise you on making your rustic mountain home plans as eco-friendly as possible. These days, there are lots of green home construction methods available. How do you know which ones are right for you? The staff at KADTEC are experts at green house design, and can guide you in the process of selecting the best elements to work into your mountain home plans.
So, before you let some builder talk you into a log home building plan; check out the better alternatives that KADTEC has to offer. Remember, this is your home, the place you’re going to want to stay in for a long time. Log home designs may seem quaint, but you want the best design possible; that’s what KADTEC can do for you.
Tags: dream home, dream home design, dream home plans, eco-friendly, green home, log cabin, log home, mountain home plans, rustic
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Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Getting your home designed the way you want it is really only half the battle; you’ll want home landscape designs and ideas to finish it off. We at KADTEC don’t do landscaping, but we have a great bunch of landscapers that we work with regularly. When you find just the right lot for your dream home design to be realized, you’ll want to get a good home landscape design to go with it.
Landscaping can be as varied as the styles of homes that we can design for you. These days, there are landscape and home design software programs that allows you to review a plethora of home landscape designs and ideas before you ever stick a shovel in the ground. That’s an important feature of any landscape architecture design. As we’ve all seen from recent events, times are a bit tough these days. You do not want to waste time and money on a lot of different full sets of blue prints, only to find just the right home landscape design. That’s the virtue of landscape architect software; you’re landscape architect can create a variety of virtual layouts for your home, and then you can select the one you like.
You have a number of issues to consider when reviewing the home landscape designs and ideas for your dream home plans. First off, where are building? Are you planning to on a coastal home design, or maybe a mountain home plan? Each of these is a unique environment that will impact your home landscape design. A home built near the beach means that the soil is sandy, and the air is very salty. Plants that are very sensitive to salinity won’t thrive in such a situation. You need to be sure that your landscaper knows about such things. If you’re building in a northern clime and/or the mountains, you’ll want to avoid tropical plants. If your landscaper doesn’t think of that, your plants will wilt in the first winter’s frost. Then there are what are known as invasive or nuisance spices of plants. If your landscaper has home landscape designs and ideas that include such spices, your landscaping plan won’t be approved! Those kinds of plants are damaging to the environment.
Then there are other home landscape designs and ideas related to green home plans and being eco-friendly. It’s no secret that, these days, more and more people are concerned with the environment. That concern can extend to your garden and landscaping. A really good home landscape design can incorporate hardy plants that don’t need a lot of care. Desert plants can survive on much less water and fertilizer than other plants. For that matter, you can get a garden composter so that you use organic matter to create natural compost and fertilizer. If you can avoid putting chemicals into the soil, the local environment will be that much better for it. For that matter, if you or any of your neighbors use well water for drinking, you’ll want to minimize dumping chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides into the water table.
Tags: dream home, dream home design, dream home plans, eco-friendly, green home, landscape design, mountain home plans
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Thursday, October 29th, 2009
When looking to build a new home, green roofing products, and other materials can yield a great dream home design. And, don’t worry that using green appliances are going to bust your budget. These days, you have a plethora of products to choose from, and many are very reasonably priced. In some cases, the government even gives you a tax break for using green roofing products and other similar materials in your house design plans.
Also, you don’t have to worry that you can only use green roofing products and the other building materials on some mountain-man looking cabin. No, you can create a modern house design in any style you want. If you love minimalist architecture or want a truly unique house design, we can help you do that. Do you want some really contemporary home designs, or maybe a rustic mountain home plan? We can help you create them. Green roofing products can be used on all of these styles of homes; and we can help you do so much more.
In terms of eco-friendly products and green appliances, there plenty to choose from. A hybrid vehicle is a good start, and then maybe a garden composter to help you fertilize your garden and landscape areas naturally. The less chemicals you dump into the environment, the better. You also don’t have to spend a fortune as you strive to help save the planet. Something as simple as a passive solar home design can incorporate thermal window panes, orienting windows to maximize winter exposure and minimize it during summer can be very helpful.
It’s important that you find a green architect who understands such things. While we don’t currently have an architect in-house, we work with plenty who know how to properly design a green home. they will design a home in whatever style you like, and make use of green roofing products and other alternative house designs to make your home as green as possible. Yet, we can also keep an eye on the bottom line. You want to do your part to help with Global Warming, pollution, and the depletion of natural resources, but you also want an affordable green home.
If you feel that a passive solar system isn’t enough, and want to explore different types of alternative energy, we can help with that as well. There are solar home designs available, and we can work with you and your architect to make your home as energy independent as possible. Using green roofing products and other green building materials can be just the first steps in creating a truly green home. Depending on where you live, wind and solar power can augment or even replace making use of power from your local utility. By trying to build a green home, you can do your part to protect our fragile ecosystem, and KADTEC can help you do it.
Tags: contemporary home designs, dream home plans, eco-friendly, energy efficient, green home, green roofing products, minimalist, modern, mountain home plans, passive solar, rustic, solar home designs, unique house design
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Friday, October 16th, 2009
There’s no denying that we live in “interesting” times, shall we say? Making sure that you have energy efficient house plans is of critical importance these days. Gas prices vary widely, and sometimes getting enough home heating oil is tough, especially if you live in a remote location. This is where energy efficient home designs are vital.
There’s a lot of debate as to the causes of Global Warming, but no one can deny that the world is warming up, and greenhouse gases are the driving force behind it. So, if you want to reduce your carbon footprint, energy efficient house plans are the way to do it. Maximizing your insulation, putting good shingles on the roof, and installing high efficiency appliances can be the key to achieving all of this. Many times, the construction methods used by the builder can be critical. It’s important that, when building a green home, it gets built right. Here’s one example: some builders will cut a notch out of the wall insulations when installing an electrical outlet. Each of those notches is a tiny hole in your insulations. If they do that for every outlet, it can add up to the equivalent of an open window in lost energy! Do you want to leave a window open all winter and all summer? What affect is that going to have on your energy efficient home design? Not only is your money essentially billowing out the window, but you’re pumping still more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This is where KADTEC can help you by insuring that the energy efficient house designs outlined in your home blueprints are carried out properly.
Today, there are a variety of energy efficient house designs you can choose from when laying out your dream home plans. It doesn’t matter what architectural style you want: a Victorian home design, some cottage home designs, and even something as different as German architecture. All of these types of homes can benefit from eco-friendly products. Building a green home doesn’t mean having to sacrifice anything, if your engineer knows about all of the green architect resources available.
Energy efficient house plans can incorporate something as simple as passive solar home designs – the windows oriented to get plenty of the winter sun, and little of the hot summer sun. Then there are full solar home designs you can look into that will give you maximum energy efficient house plans. There are solar hot water heaters, and solar panels to go on your roof to supplement your electrical system. Depending on where you live, your energy efficient house plans could include a windmill. Placed in the right location, one of those can generate a lot of electricity. You can also check with your local utility, and see if they have a buy-back program with people who generate their own power. Some municipalities require their electric companies to buy power people generate themselves. As a result, if your energy efficient house plans prove very efficient, you may end up selling your excess power!
Tags: cottage, dream home, dream home plans, eco-friendly, energy efficient, green home, passive solar, solar home designs, Victorian
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Saturday, September 26th, 2009
Do you want to design you own dream home? For some, it’s a Victorian home design or a little gingerbread house nestles amongst some maple trees. For others, it’s a luxury mountain home with the Grand Teton Mountain Range (or some other range) as the view out their master bedroom window. Or maybe you’ve always dreamed of a little beach home design in the Florida Keys or on the Pacific shores.
Well, it doesn’t matter if your dream home is a Tuscan villa, German architecture, a ranch home design, or an eco-friendly minimalist home design; KADTEC can help you design you own dream home. We have the technology – 3D home design software, and other programs that will allow us to guide you through the process from conception to construction of your dream home plans. With our knowledge in engineering, you can focus on the layout and design of your own dream home, and we’ll take care of the calculations, plans, and permits.
Once you’ve selected the location for your dream home, you need to consider how you want to lay out the property. Is your land very steep? If so, you may have trouble with erosion when it rains. We can grade your lot to prevent that. Do you want to design a dream house that’s a split level home? That may require a stemwall or retaining wall; we have structural engineers in-house who can handle that, and help you design your own dream home, and then pass the home design on to your architect. We also have a number of excellent landscapers that we work with regularly. They can use landscape architect software to give you a veritable Garden of Eden on your property, yet make it something easy to maintain with a good sprinkler system and a little tending by you.
These days, many people want unique dream home plans, especially given the concerns about Global Warming. So, if you want to design your own dream home to include solar home designs, green home plans, biofuels, and the latest in energy efficient home designs, we’ve got you covered there as well. We can design an eco-home that
Everyone has ideas about the sorts of rooms they’ll have in their dream home. Whether it’s a home gym, home theater, library, your own private office, rec room or workshop, we can work with you to create the perfect layout for you. Do you want a master suite with walk-in closets and separate bathrooms? We have the knowledge and expertise to create that. Also, it doesn’t take an architect to create house plans; we can handle all aspects of the layout, and then take care of the permitting for construction.
Tags: beach home, dream home plans, eco-friendly, energy efficient, green home, luxury home, ranch home, Victorian
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