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| Building Your Custome Dream Home |
— Putting Interior Trim in Place
Interior trim begins with your doors. Lengths of trim wood are applied to the outside edges of the door openings and base molding pieces are applied to the walls where they meet the floor. Crown moldings cover the walls where they meet the ceiling. Once the doors trims are finished, other trim needs such as stair rails and fireplace mantels are installed.
— Painting and Staining
We are now approaching the final steps to the completion of your new home. It is now time for the painting and staining processes. Any trim pieces that were installed unfinished can be painted or stained and any untextured walls can be painted or wallpapered. Be sure to prepare all of the areas that you plan to paint or stain. Sometimes the drywallers leave compound joint on the walls and it should be filed down before you paint or stain.
— Finish Work
The end is almost in sight! It is now time to bring in your beautiful kitchen and bath cabinets and maybe that granite countertop you’ve always wanted. The tiles, the carpet, the blinds and curtains, the appliances, the furniture and all the other aesthetic touches are now finding a place within your new walls. This is also the time when the subcontractors come back to install the heat registers, light fixtures and water fixtures.
— Cleanup and Landscape
The final steps include your driveway and/or sidewalk being installed, the landscape being created and the process of clean-up beginning. Try saving a few bucks and tackling the clean-up on your own. This process can be made easy if you call your garbage company and have them drop off one of those oversized trash receptacles to throw away any remaining debris that you find.
Green Building Tips
People everywhere are beginning to understand the importance of recycling. Some are consistent about separating brown and green glassware, saving the cans, bagging the newspapers and rinsing out empty milk cartons before carelessly disposing of their collection. Many even choose appliances and products for their homes that are environmentally friendly.
However, most people don’t realize that the opportunity to live in an earth-friendly home begins before the day the builder even breaks ground. It’s becoming increasingly popular for builders to minimize and recycle job-site waste during the building process. Furthermore, builders are trying to use building products made partially or completely from recycled materials. Whether you call it environmentally friendly, green or ecological, the interest to build new homes with Mother Earth in mind is growing. Choosing the right building materials can make your home more environmentally friendly and economical to maintain.
If you are in the market for having a new house built, you can easily limit the toll your building project takes on the environment with a few conscious thoughts. Start by carefully selecting your building materials. Products made partially or completely from recycled products are now available and they can be used on the foundation, the framing, the rafters and much more. Below are some examples of products that are now recycled and used in the home.
It’s important to pay close attention to the price of some of these products. Sometimes the cost of these materials can be significantly higher than their non-environmentally friendly counterparts. Do your research beforehand and choose the right building materials without adding to the cost of construction.
Interior trim begins with your doors. Lengths of trim wood are applied to the outside edges of the door openings and base molding pieces are applied to the walls where they meet the floor. Crown moldings cover the walls where they meet the ceiling. Once the doors trims are finished, other trim needs such as stair rails and fireplace mantels are installed.
— Painting and Staining
We are now approaching the final steps to the completion of your new home. It is now time for the painting and staining processes. Any trim pieces that were installed unfinished can be painted or stained and any untextured walls can be painted or wallpapered. Be sure to prepare all of the areas that you plan to paint or stain. Sometimes the drywallers leave compound joint on the walls and it should be filed down before you paint or stain.
— Finish Work
The end is almost in sight! It is now time to bring in your beautiful kitchen and bath cabinets and maybe that granite countertop you’ve always wanted. The tiles, the carpet, the blinds and curtains, the appliances, the furniture and all the other aesthetic touches are now finding a place within your new walls. This is also the time when the subcontractors come back to install the heat registers, light fixtures and water fixtures.
— Cleanup and Landscape
The final steps include your driveway and/or sidewalk being installed, the landscape being created and the process of clean-up beginning. Try saving a few bucks and tackling the clean-up on your own. This process can be made easy if you call your garbage company and have them drop off one of those oversized trash receptacles to throw away any remaining debris that you find.
Green Building Tips
People everywhere are beginning to understand the importance of recycling. Some are consistent about separating brown and green glassware, saving the cans, bagging the newspapers and rinsing out empty milk cartons before carelessly disposing of their collection. Many even choose appliances and products for their homes that are environmentally friendly.
However, most people don’t realize that the opportunity to live in an earth-friendly home begins before the day the builder even breaks ground. It’s becoming increasingly popular for builders to minimize and recycle job-site waste during the building process. Furthermore, builders are trying to use building products made partially or completely from recycled materials. Whether you call it environmentally friendly, green or ecological, the interest to build new homes with Mother Earth in mind is growing. Choosing the right building materials can make your home more environmentally friendly and economical to maintain.
If you are in the market for having a new house built, you can easily limit the toll your building project takes on the environment with a few conscious thoughts. Start by carefully selecting your building materials. Products made partially or completely from recycled products are now available and they can be used on the foundation, the framing, the rafters and much more. Below are some examples of products that are now recycled and used in the home.
- Ceramic tile is being made from old light bulbs.
- Carpeting is being made from recycled soda bottles.
- Interior wallboard is being made from newspaper and gypsum.
- Recycled concrete is used for drywall.
- Newspaper is being used to make insulation.
- Reclaimed cotton is being used for insulation.
- Sheep’s wool is being used for carpet.
- Decking materials can include recycled milk cartons.
- Low-density concrete can be recycled and used for insulation.
- Paint is being made from old paint.
- Shake shingles are being made from aluminum cans and nails from melted-down cars.
- Fly ash from burned coal can be used to make concrete.
- Bricks can be made of tightly compacted earth, clay and straw.
- Linoleum is a natural flooring covering material made up of linseed oil, resins and wood flour.
- Steel is 100 percent recyclable and an extremely durable building material.
It’s important to pay close attention to the price of some of these products. Sometimes the cost of these materials can be significantly higher than their non-environmentally friendly counterparts. Do your research beforehand and choose the right building materials without adding to the cost of construction.
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With three military installations in San Antonio, you’ll ...
