Goldsborough Design Build

It's anybody's guess whether Congress will finally pass the $6 billion so-called "Cash for Caulkers" legislation, but we came across a handy article about how homeowners may benefit if the measure makes it over the finish line. Houston Neal, director of marketing for Software Advice, tracks the tax credit amounts under the House-passed Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 (H.R. 5019) for each of 13 eligible retrofits, including air sealing, attic insulation, and duct replacement, to show what's covered. The bill, backed by the Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Home Builders, and a variety of other groups, awaits action in the Senate.

Goldsborough Design Build has completed a one-day training course on lead-safe renovation practices and is now certified to carry out new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules, which take effect April 22.

The so-called Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RPP) rules have received some attention in the mainstream media, but more so in the remodeling trade press, where renovations of homes built before 1978—the class of homes the rules apply to—is more common.

Here is how EPA describes what’s new:

“Under the rule, beginning in April 2010, contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.”

Here is a pamphlet with more information; we’ll be handing this out to you if your home comes under the new rule, as well as documenting our compliance using various EPA forms.

Goldsborough Design Build is well-positioned to absorb the added requirements on our jobsites because they boil down to dust containment and cleanliness and to working smartly and safely—practices we already take as a matter of course on each project. While we may have to take a few added steps to contain lead paint, we know it’s important to homeowners, especially to those with small children.

Listen to an NPR program about the new rules here.

And contact Goldsborough Design Build any time with questions about how we keep your renovations clean and safe.

The government’s successful Energy Star labeling program—which homeowners trust to identify the most efficient appliances, electronics, and other products on the market—came under scrutiny late last year by a government watchdog office that questioned the way energy savings were calculated as well as the performance of some of the branded products compared with their non-Energy Star–branded counterparts.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Inspector General conducted the independent evaluation of Energy Star products to determine whether the energy efficient performance claims complied with the program’s required specifications. (The report was covered in a Feb. 22 article in The Washington Post.)

The good news is that testers found that “almost all of the Energy Star products in our test sample met, and in most cases exceeded, the program’s performance standards,” the inspectors wrote in the Nov. 30, 2009, report. “However, selected non-Energy Star products performed comparably to, and in some cases better than, Energy Star products.”

The report recommended that EPA, which operates the Energy Star labeling program, enhance its testing program to be sure these products are, in fact, the more energy efficient and cost-effective choice for buyers.

EPA officials told The Washington Post that it took steps in 2009 to improve the program—including removing some products from the list.  In January, for instance, “21 LG Electronics refrigerator models, including some under the Sears Kenmore brand, were removed from the ENERGY STAR Qualifying Product List,” the EPA said. “The ENERGY STAR label is to be removed from these refrigerator models because they failed to meet ENERGY STAR Program requirements.”

These efforts, officials said, will continue this year as the energy efficient rebate programs created by the Recovery Act ramp up.

Learn more about products for your home—contact Goldsborough Design Build today.

As the white blanket of snow that once covered the D.C. region turns to gray, crusty slush, it’s hard to believe that spring is right around the corner. We’re here to tell you it is—it must be—so put away the shovel and revive your ideas for a new screened porch that’s ready for the thaw and can fend off the bugs that will soon interrupt your barbeques and garden parties.

Why plan now for screening in spaces that are covered with the white stuff or are muddy and soaking wet? Let us count the ways:

1. Get a jump. By starting now on plans for a screened porch, you get a jump on what’s likely to be a busy spring season for permit offices in the region. After sitting inside commiserating about the Snow-pocalypse, we won’t be surprised to get an influx of requests for residents eager to get screened porches started—sooner, the better.

2. Decide now. Even relatively straightforward screened porches still need clear plans—

• Will skylights be installed on the porch roof?
• What type of decking and rails will you use?
• Is the porch ceiling going to be painted or will you need to choose wood to be stained?
• Will the space need sconce lighting or overhead fans or perhaps even an TV set?

These and other considerations take time to work out, but planning for your new outside living spaces can be fun and exciting because the options are almost limitless.

3. Don’t wait—you may regret it. After our homeowners have their new screened porch, most can’t believe they lived without one for so long. Our customers treat their new outdoor living areas as extensions of the house—for entertaining, working, eating dinner, and just relaxing. It’s where many families spend seven months of the year.

Goldsborough Design Build has crafted numerous screened porches—some that extend out from new kitchen and living spaces and some that simply build over an uncovered deck (see the pictures of a few of our projects here; more are in our photo gallery).

But as the snow melts, let your imagination run wild; and talk to Goldsborough Design Build about putting your plans in motion.

Think of it as therapy for the winter-weary soul.

Back in January, Jamb Sessions previewed the array of tax credits and rebate programs getting into high gear this year for homeowners who make energy efficient improvements to their home or replace outdated appliances.

Now media outlets have picked up the story about the tax credit programs made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Product sellers, likewise, are ramping up advertising to link their products to the programs.

A New York Times business section article published Feb. 13 about the tax benefits raises another  interesting angle—the potential for some individuals to use the tax breaks to offset the 2009 alternative minimum tax (consult your tax advisor for complete details):

“While perhaps appreciating these loftier goals [of greener homes], many taxpayers are also likely to find the potential reduction of their tax bill very appealing.

“Not only do these tax breaks offer bigger savings when compared with those of previous years, but some people can use them to offset the alternative minimum tax [A.M.T.] for 2009. Still, the 2010 rules for the A.M.T. are not yet clear, and it may still be hard to calculate when, or if, an energy-efficient purchase is paying for itself.”

But the more immediate benefits are the tax credits for improvements that make your home more energy efficient.

Pella Windows is just one of many companies running magazine ads and posting Web pages advertising  the tax credit programs made available through ARRA—hoping, of course, that you’ll be enticed to purchase their qualifying products.

Among other programs, a U.S. Department of Energy tax credit of 30 percent—or up to $1,500—is available through the end of this year for switching out aging windows and doors and other parts of your home to make it more energy efficient. But the purchase of additional products—biomass stoves; heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems; insulation; roofs (metal and asphalt); and water heaters (non-solar)—might also qualify under the tax credit program.

(See all the details we’ve compiled on ARRA tax credits and appliance rebate programs—with regular updated links to federal contacts as well as to applicable contact information for Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia—here.)

Many other companies besides Pella sell windows and doors that will qualify. Andersen Windows and Doors, for instance, is advertising its EcoExcel window product line tied to the availability of the tax credits, and offers a website with details on the benefits.  Marvin Windows and Doors is another company touting tax credits.

The New York Times article provides a good general overview of the various programs—as does this new website—but use the Jamb Sessions link above to access far more detailed information if you live in the D.C. region.

As always, contact Goldsborough Design Build to install your energy efficient products as part of your home remodeling plans.

If you’re in the Washington, D.C., region, you’ve been walloped by inches upon inches of snow. Of course, you know you’ve got to shovel the drive and clear the walkways, but what else should you do to protect your property from the ravages of the white stuff?

• Gas meters – Clear the snow away from your gas meter (it can freeze and then you’ll be without gas for heat).
• Exhaust pipes – Keep all the PVC discharge pipes for gas appliances (water heaters and furnaces) clear from snow.
• Heat pump outdoor units – The snow should be cleared around all four sides, leaving about a foot of space from the snow piles. This is to allow the units to continue to draw air and the overall system to function.
• Falling gutters – Some homeowners are reporting that the tremendous volumes of snow are wreaking havoc on gutters. Unless you have a snow rake to dislodge the snow, there is not much you can do in the midst of a storm to prevent ice damming and gutter stoppages. When the snow stops falling, safely remove any broken materials and wait for the snow to clear and a repair to take place.
• Treating pathways – If you use salt to melt ice on concrete or flagstone, wash it away as soon as is reasonably possibly. Salt erodes mortar joints and can dislodge your pavers. Try to treat walks with non-salt materials, like sand or other noncorrosive products.
• Heat loss – If you’ve lost heat, drain your water down so your pipes don’t freeze and protect yourself from carbon monoxide. Report the outages to the power company (don't assume they know every outage) and find a place to keep warm until power is restored.

Do you need to get up on your roof to get rid of snow? No, it's not necessary and it's dangerous. Roof systems for residential homes are designed with snow loads in mind, even for older structures. Keep your feet on the ground; eventually the snow will melt.

Here are a few more resources from regional government agencies on dealing with the snow:

• DC Department of Transportation Snow and Ice Control
• MD Snow Emergency Plan and Maryland Emergency Alerts
• VA Department of Emergency Management.

Contact Goldsborough Design Build if you need help in the aftermath of the storm and stay safe!

Our customers like using LR Designs because Lorra understands how best to configure your kitchen so it not only looks great, but is practical for you and your family. She can help you with measurements, style, materials, and finishes, and with choosing the quirky or crafty inserts that make your kitchen unique. Do you need a dog food drawer? A glass-fronted candy cabinet? Lorra's got them, and more.

But Lorra's services don't end there. She'll be at your home when the cabinets are delivered to inspect the order and be sure each cabinet is not only accounted for but is in pristine condition. She can also assist you with choosing paint colors, configuring seating around an island, and making sure lighting fixtures are hung to the correct specifications.

Here's how one of our customers describes working with Lorra:

“Lorra’s design was creative, thorough, and practical. We knew what space we had available for cabinets, and what basic cabinet sizes would fit. Lorra filled in all of the blanks with creative and practical design touches and accessories (such as glass doors on some wall cabinets; an angled shape to make the island more interesting; triangular cabinets that actually function in the island instead of “dead” space with a false door front; and silverware dividers, pan dividers, spice racks, and sliding shelves). She also made suggestions for appliances, sink location, and tile that proved to be very helpful.”

For these reasons and more, Lorra is first in our Supplier Spotlight, a regular Jamb Sessions feature to highlight the area vendors and suppliers who we know have what you need.

Remodeling Magazine offers this widget (below) to help you discern how much costs you'd recoup for making certain investments in your home. It compares national and regional averages for 33 popular remodeling projects, such as a decking replacement or roofing repair, and allows you to download project data on 80 U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C. We've found that these estimates have become more accurate over the years, but the figures don't tell the whole story. Your choice of materials, especially cabinets, countertops, and appliances, can double or triple the price of a kitchen remodel, for instance. And it's just hard to generalize about prices for a specific task because many remodeled items—an entry door replacement, for example—are part of a larger project that will enhance your home overall. Moreover, remodeling value is not always measured monetarily: your new kitchen might just make you and your family happy. That's worth a lot, but it's not going to be captured in the cost vs. value report. Contact Goldsborough Design Build today and let us give you the real scoop on your remodeling plans.

 

Homeowners who make energy efficient improvements to their home or replace outdated appliances may be able to take advantage of several tax credit and rebate programs open now or set to begin in early 2010.

Navigating through these American Recovery and Reinvestment Act programs—some of which are run by the states, by the U.S. Treasury Department (in the form of tax credits), or by the U.S. Energy Department (DOE)—isn’t easy.

Below is Jamb Sessions’ effort to untangle the string of initiatives—with details from Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia provided where possible—to help you maximize the benefit of recent or planned upgrades. (As always, contact your tax advisor for professional advice specific to your situation and click the links below for complete details on each program.)

Appliance Rebate Programs (federally funded but administered by the states)
Information link: http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/daily.cfm/hp_news_id=200.

State energy offices will administer a new $296 million federally funded energy efficient appliance rebate program. People who buy certain Energy Star–qualifying products—ranging from central air conditioners to dishwashers to water heaters—can get anywhere from $50 to $250 back, depending on the item, purchase price, and other state-specific details, according to U.S. DOE.

Here’s how much is available for the appliance rebate programs in our area, with brief descriptions of what each jurisdiction is saying about its plans for handing out the money (some figures are rounded; download the state-by-state allocation chart here):

• District of Columbia — $567,845 (D.C. Department of the Environment)

From a notice on DDOE’s website:

“Appliance rebates for ENERGY STAR refrigerators, washers, dishwashers and heat pumps are coming in April. If you’d like to be notified when our program begins, please give us your email address below. DDOE promises not to email you for any other reason.”

• Maryland — $5.41 million (Maryland Energy Administration)

From a fact sheet, here is what the MEA says about its appliance rebate program, which is set to roll out in winter/early spring 2010:

“Maryland has proposed a $300 rebate for ENERGY STAR electric heat pump water heaters, a new and very efficient piece of equipment. Stimulus funds will also provide at least $25 for super-efficient clothes washers and refrigerators. Most utilities currently (or will) offer a $50 rebate for ENERGY STAR clothes washers and refrigerators, bringing the total rebate to at least $75. These dollar amounts are subject to change, as our program has not yet been approved [by DOE]. BGE, Pepco, and Delmarva Power currently offer other appliance rebates as well; Allegheny and SMECO will offer rebates beginning in January 2010 … . Allegheny and SMECO programs are not retroactive.”

• Virginia — $7.45 million (Virginia Division of Energy)

This is what VDE says on its website about its program:

“DOE is providing to all states and territories allocations of ARRA funds to set up new, or augment existing, energy and water efficient appliance rebate programs. The money is being divided up by state, according to population. Virginia is preparing an application for $7.45 million to supplement existing or new efficient appliance rebate programs managed by utilities and other suppliers of energy and water. The deadline for Virginia’s application to DOE is October 15, 2009. Check this page after October 15, 2009 for additional information.”

Barbara Simcoe, state energy program manager with VDE, told Jamb Sessions that “we hope to start [the rebates] in spring of 2010.” She said the state is still working with the federal government to determine the types of appliances that will be included in the program and how rebates will be processed. Simcoe said for some appliances, customers will likely apply for their rebate through utilities; applications for other rebates will probably have to go through the state. However, she said only those appliances or systems purchased on the day Virginia’s program starts will be covered by the rebates.

You can keep tabs on individual state programs—which the federal government is still in the process of approving—on this website, which is updated regularly. So far, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia are not listed as having official start dates for their rebate programs.

Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency
Information link: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=tax_credits.tx_index.

Federal Tax Credits for Consumer Energy Efficiency are different from the state appliance rebate program (see a comparison of the two programs here), but also apply to the purchase of energy efficient products or renewable energy systems.

Different credit programs apply, depending on the system installed:

A. Existing homes and principal residences. According to DOE, a 30 percent tax credit for the cost of the following appliances or systems, up to $1,500, is available through December 2010 (click the link above to access more details on each of the qualifying products):

• Biomass stoves
• Heating, ventilating and air conditioning
• Insulation
• Roofs (metal and asphalt)
• Water heaters (non-solar)
• Windows and doors.

B. Existing homes and new construction. Two programs that do not expire until December 2016 are designed to reward homeowners who install advanced energy efficient products and systems.

One program, which has no upper limit, provides a 30 percent tax credit for the cost of these items:

• Geothermal heat pumps
• Small residential wind turbines
• Solar energy systems (read about Maryland's solar energy program here).

Another program provides a tax credit of 30 percent of the cost, up to $500 per 0.5 kilowatt of power capacity, for the purchase of residential fuel cells and microturbines.

This frequently asked question document provides homeowners with information on claiming the credit, including how to fill out the IRS forms, such as Form 5695. The IRS counts the credit when the product is “placed in service”—installed and ready to use—so something purchased in 2009, but installed in 2010, would not go on 2009 tax returns. (Here is additional information on carrying credits over from year to year; consult the top-10 FAQs here.)

More Resources
Click on our Ideas Showcase to download a brief fact sheet that reviews these programs.

Here are links to other websites with more information:

• IRS — Energy Incentives for Individuals in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=206875,00.html

U.S. DOE — Rebates, Tax Credits, and Financing,  http://www.energysavers.gov/financial/index.cfm/mytopic=70020

• U.S. DOE — State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program,
  http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/daily.cfm/hp_news_id=200, and state energy office contacts,
  http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/state_energy_program/seo_contacts.cfm.

• U.S. DOE — ARRA Weatherization program, http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/weatherization/recovery_act_faqs.cfm.

Contact us to discuss your home-remodeling plans.

Whenever the word “caulk” turns up in the national news—which is almost never—our ears perk up. When we hear the phrase “cash for caulkers” bandied about, our interests are further piqued. After all, caulking—sealing cracks around trim, fixtures, windows, doors, and everywhere else—is a large part of any home-remodeling project.

Now that this routine task is being tied to national home energy efficiency goals, can you get cash for caulking—i.e., weatherizing—your home? The short answer is, not quite yet.

++(See Jamb Sessions' companion article on the many tax credit and rebate programs in effect right now.)++

According to a White House fact sheet, President Barack Obama recently called on Congress to “consider a new program to provide rebates for consumers who make energy efficiency retrofits. Such a program will harness the power of the private sector to help drive consumers to make cost-saving investments in their homes.”

This is Washington-speak for saying homeowners might be able to get cash for caulking if Congress decides to pass legislation—and fund—such a program … sometime in the future.

But on the heels of the successful “cash-for-clunkers” program—which paid people to turn in their gas-guzzling jalopies for more efficient automobiles and which was credited with spiking car sales—lawmakers may be eager to see if they can jumpstart job creation with a similar rebate program for homeowners. After all, the national unemployment rate is still at 10 percent, one number that doesn’t please lawmakers who must run for reelection in 2010.

This means that cash for caulking could be in the offing sooner rather than later. According to senior administration officials, who briefed the public on these and other economic stimulus plans on Dec. 8 (Jamb Sessions got  a transcript of the briefing from the U.S. Department of Energy press office), the cash-for-caulkers idea: “has a win/win quality of both having the potential to save consumers money by lowering their energy bills and also put[ting] people back to work, particularly in the hard-hit construction sector.”

The senior officials, however, were mum on what the overall size of such a weatherization program would be, and said they were focusing on working with Congress to “design this in such a way that we can get the maximum impact in the short term and pull forward investments in the short term.” (Jamb Sessions is awaiting callbacks from the White House press office clarifying funding for this program.)

And that’s Washington-speak for … stay tuned. When we find out more about cash for caulkers, we’ll post the information.

Contact us anytime to talk about weatherization in the context of home remodeling.

We were perusing Remodeling Magazine’s website recently and came across this high-quality rant against recessed (or “can”) lights. In “Why Can Lights are No Good,” Michael Anschel, owner and principal of Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build in Minnesota, despises recessed lights for, among other things, being unflattering, hard to insulate, and maybe even unsafe.

Here at Goldsborough Design Build, however, our customers still opt to install recessed lights in almost every project—though not necessarily every room. And while we certainly offer plenty of alternatives—see the many different styles of lighting that our clients have selected—as long as recessed lights have a UL listing stamped on the side and are installed by a professional, they are a safe and practical option.

But today’s recessed lights are not your parents recessed lights, which resembled giant ugly eyeballs sticking out of the ceiling and trimmed in black for added unattractiveness.

“Recessed lights have improved to the point where everything from the heat they give off to their aesthetics to their ability to be insulated are much better,” says Tim Micek, Goldsborough Design Build’s Director of Construction.

Today, smaller five-inch insulted cans are more commonplace. In addition to being slimmer, they are now trimmed with white baffles that allow them to blend into a room. And modern recessed lights now can accept energy-efficient compact florescent light bulbs (although we don’t recommend putting them in fixtures with dimmer switches).

Recessed lighting is especially practical for basements and other places with low ceilings. They are also used as accent lighting over built-in bookshelves and even in screened-in porches. And contrary to Anschel’s contention that you need a ton of recessed lights to sufficiently illuminate a room, we don’t find that’s the case.

In kitchens, recessed lights won’t get in the way of cabinets that need to open and close; sometimes, there just isn’t adequate space for many surface-mounted fixtures—especially if you want to maximize the number of cabinets in your remodeled kitchen.

Recessed lights aren’t the best option for every room. Customers don’t usually ask to put them in bedrooms, but in almost every other room, even bathrooms, recessed lights are popular.

Contact us to discuss lighting options and other features for your upcoming remodel today.

The residential remodeling market could be turning the corner, but still remained weak during the third quarter of 2009. That’s according to new statistics from the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI), a quarterly survey of professional remodelers from coast to coast.

National current market conditions—a weighted average of three indices dealing with major additions and alterations; minor additions and alterations; and maintenance and repair—ticked up slightly to 39.8 in the third quarter, from 38.1 in the second quarter of 2009. Unfortunately for the remodeling industry, anything below 50 shows that more remodelers are saying things are getting worse, not better. However, the downward trend may be slowing, NAHB says.

“Remodelers are no longer reporting markets deteriorating to the same degree as earlier in the year, but credit and financing of remodeling jobs remains a huge hurdle to overcome in closing sales,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “Inaccurately low home appraisals also hurt remodelers, because they hamper both home equity loans and sales of existing homes that often stimulate remodeling.”

The RMI’s Future Expectations—an average of calls for bids, amount of work committed for the next three months, backlog of remodeling jobs, and appointments for proposals—also improved in the third quarter. Calls for bids increased to 46.5 from 38.8 in the second quarter, while appointments went up to 43.5 in the third quarter from 40.3 in the second. Amount of work and backlog of remodeling jobs increased to 27.5 and 37.2 in the third quarter, from 23.3 and 34.4, respectively, in the second.

So what does it all mean? If you’re a homeowner with a remodeling project ready to go, it’s still a buyer’s market, but it may not last long. Give our Design/Build Team a call today.

Can we retrofit our way out of the recession? The White House—with help from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)—seems to think so. Vice President Joe Biden the other day joined with U.S. Department of Energy and other administration officials to release Recovery Through Retrofit, a report billed as a blueprint for green jobs.

The idea is to create a self-sustaining “retrofit industry,” seeded with ARRA money and tax credits and fueled by need: millions of inefficient homes.

After all, as administration officials point out, existing techniques and technologies in energy-efficiency retrofitting can cut home energy use by 40 percent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 160 million tons. These actions can slice $21 billion from homeowners’ energy bills each year.

Goldsborough Design Build—a Design/Build firm and not a retrofitter, per se—takes extra steps to ensure that all of our remodeled projects are as efficient as possible:

• When we cut ventilation holes into ceilings,  we foam around the openings before we put the insulation back to ensure that there is a quality air barrier.

• We pay our insulator to install an air-stopping package before drywall is installed. This is not required by local building code requirements, but is an important part of a quality air barrier.

• And many of our top-of-the-line windows, such as Pella Architect Series, are already manufactured to meet the Energy Star requirements for our region.

In addition to encouraging and funding energy retrofits—including giving consumers better information about energy efficiency and sounder ways to estimate the costs and benefits—ARRA includes a host of energy-related tax credits for qualifying home projects. In fact, some GDB clients have taken advantage of these ARRA credits for window and appliance upgrades.

“These new, expanded credits encourage homeowners to make improvements that will make their homes more energy efficient,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said in April. “People can improve their homes and save money over the long run.” (Consult your tax advisor for details.)

And more is being done to reduce the barriers to energy-related home improvements: The Energy Department recently announced $454 million in “Retrofit Ramp-Up” funds for innovative retrofit projects, including for neighborhood-scale green home and community projects. A separate program will provide federal dollars to support state-run pilot projects designed to help homeowners finance renewable energy systems and retrofits through their property tax bills.

If the government can use its leverage for retrofit projects that create jobs, improve the planet, and put pennies in your pocket, it might help turn this recession into a sustainable recovery.

So maybe remodeling can save the economy after all.

Contact us any time to discuss how GDB can help you boost your home’s energy efficiency.

 

Update 10/16/09: Winners are Team Germany, Team Illinois (pictured here), and Team California.

Starting today through Oct. 18, houses built by teams vying to win the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon will be open to the public on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Under the annual competition, 20 teams of college and university students compete to see which can build the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house, according to the event website.

Homeowners and the public that make it to the Mall can walk through the homes and see what solar technologies might be in store for the residential sector.

The three-week competition has three main phases: building the houses; moving to the "solar village" on the Mall; and competing, when teams are awarded points for their performance in several contests (measuring architecture, comfort, and market viability, etc.). And this year, a new net-metering contest will test the homes' ability to produce their own power.

The public can tour the homes from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

According to the standings today, Team California and Team Ontario are neck and neck; Team Virginia Tech from our area is in 10th place. The winner will be announced Oct. 16.

(Photo: The University of Illinois uses refurbished wood from an old barn for the siding of its house during the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2009 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Oct. 07, 2009; Credit: Stefano Paltera/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon)

Below, watch the welcome video:

Of course you’d expect me—president of a remodeling firm—to encourage you to remodel. But here’s what you may not hear from others: Because of the “Great Recession,” it’s a buyers’ market for homeowners with ready-to-go design/build ideas. By acting now, before the economy heats back up, you’re bound to get more bang for your remodeling buck.

Here’s why: The economic downturn created an environment of fierce competition among remodeling firms in the Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia and Maryland region. More companies are bidding for fewer jobs, an environment that tends to lower the overall cost of jobs as firms sharpen their pencils to keep their workers busy.  

But this situation won’t last. As more federal stimulus dollars flow out—our area stands to get an extensive amount of infrastructure dollars—and as the economy grows, competition among remodeling firms will recede and prices will start to normalize or even go up. (In fact, Washington, D.C., tied for first with Seattle in a recent Wall Street Journal survey of the cities likely to thrive after the downturn.)

A prudent investment in a home remodeling project will almost always increase your home’s value or pay for itself when the house sells, as this article points out. So why not take advantage of this recessionary period to get even more value out of your design/build budget?

At the end of the day, you’ll have a lot to show for it.

Contact me any time to discuss your project ideas.