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April 30, 2007
Saving trees, saving money
One of the great things about blogs is that they provide a chance to vent pet peeves. So here's one of mine: developers and builders who bulldoze every tree on the lot(s) before starting construction. I grew up in an older neighborhood with lots of huge trees, and I've planted a lot of trees in the yards of various homes I've had as an adult. However, those saplings will take years before they're big enough to do much good.
Trees are part of green building. If the house is sited right on the lot, trees can help enormously in cooling it. Trees are also one of the most visible components of the environment that green building is supposed to protect. So why the clearcutting?
I got some answers when I talked to a couple of the writers who provided articles for our new Outdoors package. Turns out that from the builder's point of view, saving the trees is more expensive than getting rid of them. With the pressure on new-home prices these days, I can't blame builders for trying to save some money.
But what about looking at the big picture? A wooded lot is much more appealing to most homebuyers than one that has nothing but a house in the middle of it. The value of a mature tree in a yard seems to be hard to pin down, but I'd bet that it's worth a whole lot more than even 100 newly planted saplings.
Do you try to save trees when you build? Have you found any good ways to protect them during construction? Please share your tips with the rest of us. Thanks in advance.
Posted by Marjie O'Connor, HGTVPro.com Staff at 5:07 PM | Comments (11)
April 25, 2007
Disabling the safety isn't too safe
In reading the comments about nail gun accidents, I noticed one common element: Very often the safety on the nail gun has been disabled. I know safeties in general can be a pain, but not as much as a nail in the eye/heart/hand.
Fortunately some manufacturers are working to design safeties that are easier to use and work with. Here's hoping that trend results in fewer injuries!
Posted by Marjie O'Connor, HGTVPro.com Staff at 9:40 AM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2007
Pushing ahead with green building
Late last year, a new organization was born: the Best Practices Research Alliance. Spearheaded by IBACOS, the building-science think tank, the group also includes architects and builders that already were involved in top-quality residential construction. On its website (www.theresearchalliance.org), they point out that existing research shows that consumers want green homes, and they plan to find out the best ways to provide them.
This alliance represents a terrific team of researchers and people who actually do the building. I'm a big believer in involving the people in the trenches any time you're exploring new processes, so I'm looking forward to the advances this bunch will come up with. I'm willing to bet that they'll be the building standards of the future.
Are there any particular problems you'd like to see magically solved? What are your thoughts about "easy fixes" in green building? Or do you think there are any? Let me know.
Posted by Marjie O'Connor, HGTVPro.com Staff at 5:24 PM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2007
Watch where you point that nail gun!
I just read an interesting -- and scary -- newspaper article about the increasing number of injuries from nail guns. Not surprisingly, the increase is coming from the DIY segment; the number of injuries (about 40% of the reported total of 37,000 each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control). However, that means 60% of the accidents are happening to people who should know better.
Most nail-gun injuries are to hands and arms, but if you get "nailed" in the heart, it'll very probably kill you. Ditto with nails in the skull, no matter how hard-headed you might be.
The article recommends treating nail guns just as you would a loaded pistol: Never point it at anyone. Sounds like good advice to me!
Have you had a scare with a nail gun? Or maybe worse than a scare? Let me know.
Posted by Marjie O'Connor, HGTVPro.com Staff at 5:36 PM | Comments (45)
April 11, 2007
Is the glass half empty?
I'm an optimist ... and a contrarian at times. Like you, I'm not real happy about the turndown in housing. However, I keep reminding myself that this is a "correction" that gets the industry back to earth after years of flying high. So I was interested to read some comments made by a prominent economist in her quarterly newsletter.
Diane Swonk, chief economist and senior managing director of Mesirow Financial, relates the lament of a California real estate investor, who expects to make $100,000 to $150,000 -- about $50,000 less than the price would have been a year ago -- on a house he bought two years ago for just under $300,000. I don't know about you, but I'd be thrilled to get a 50% return on any investment in only two years. Everything is relative, I guess.
Swonk also notes that in some markets, builders are dropping the effective prices of homes 10%-15%, although a lot of that "discount" is in the form of free upgrades. The inventory of newly built houses is the highest it's been since Feb. 1991, so she expects housing starts to be about 20% lower this year than in 2006.
What's your best guess about business for the rest of this year? I always prefer to hear about what's actually happening in the trenches, so let me know what you think.
However, the custom-home market seems to be thriving. The rich are getting richer, thanks to the upswing in the stock market -- and they're building houses that reflect their wealth, according to Swonk. In fact, one-fifth of all new housing starts are for homes that will be worth at least $750,000.
Meanwhile, prospective homebuyers can get some good deals on less expensive new construction, as builders work to whittle down their inventory.
All in all, Swonk believes that the worst is over for home builders. I sure hope her prediction of a fourth-quarter upward tick in the market -- small though it may be -- is accurate.
Posted by Marjie O'Connor, HGTVPro.com Staff at 7:18 PM | Comments (0)
