1. What is your mission statement?
We seek to build the highest-quality, most comfortable shelter available—a home that increases
physical and mental well-being. When you build better, you feel better.

2. How long have you been building homes in the area?
We have been building in the area for 30 years.

3. How do I contact somebody with a concern?
We are available by phone, email, or text 24/7; unless we are asleep, we will respond within 30
minutes. It might be let me find out, or I will get back to you, but we understand communication
anxiety and will not leave you hanging.

4. How familiar are you with the soil conditions where I am building?
We have a deep understanding of the geological formations and the resulting strata in the
Washington County area. We are well-versed in the best remediation solutions from basalt to
expansive clay.

5. Do you offer in-house design services?
We specialize in custom design in-house.

6. Do you build to code or other guidelines?
Current codes are minimum standards and insufficient for a truly comfortable home. Our
assemblies are proprietary and designed through decades of building science research.
Building Science Corporation and the Department of Energy are great resources for
performance guidelines.

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• https://basc.pnnl.gov/

• https://buildingscienceinstitute.org/

 

You will supplied an NAHB Residential Construction Performance Guidelines to observe and
remedy any defects as your home is constructed. We are actively designing new and better assemblies and offer wall and roof systems that exceed those on the market. We are passionate Building Scientists seeking the highest building standards to ensure comfort and sustainability.

 

7. Do you understand the basic principles of Building Science?
Yes, we are extremely versed in the methods of energy transfer: radiant, conduction, and
convection, and liquid and vapor moisture control. All of our assemblies address all energy and
liquid transfer modes. Understanding these principles is key to a truly comfortable,
low-maintenance, high-performance home.

8. What do you use for slab subgrade?
We use 4” of free-drawing gravel. Structural fill enhances the sponge effect of concrete.

9. Do you use a vapor barrier under your slabs?
We use a ten-millimeter fully taped and sealed vapor barrier with termite shields at pipe
penetrations. This protects against moisture and insect penetration. The under slab is always
100% humid, and vapor sealing is mandatory.

10. Do you insulate your slab?
We insulate the face of the slab edge 16” with 2” EPS foam. This is the only way to have a
complete building envelope. The surface area of the slab edge contributes to energy transfer,
and this surface must be protected. We do not insulate the slab as climate zone 3 performs
better with an uninsulated slab. (useless you have radiant floor heat)

11. Do you reinforce your slab?
Yes, we prefer fiber reinforcement over rebar. Rebar can introduce additional cracking.

12. Do you isolate your flooring from the slab?
Yes, we use a six-mil liquid membrane over the entire surface, not just the existing cracks.

13. Do you use optimized or advanced framing?
Yes, we are experienced in structural engineering and design in advanced framing with
expertise not available from other builders. Advance framing can increase insulation volume by
30%.
We utilize staggered 2x4 on 12” centers with a 2x6 plate to reduce thermal bridging.

14. Do you understand thermal bridging and have a design to mitigate on walls and
roofs?

Yes, we have proprietary structural designs for all assemblies to reduce thermal bridging as
much as possible. The entire envelope, including the walls, roof, and slab edge, is wrapped in a
continuous blanket of insulation and air-sealed to .6 ACH.

15. How important is air sealing to you? What ACH are you trying to achieve?
Air sealing is imperative to high-performance buildings. We seal our house to .6 ACH, which is
passive house standard.

16. Do you use exterior insulation on your wall assemblies?
We use a 1” fully sealed Poly ISO exterior wall assembly. Poly Iso provides an R-8. 1” EPS.
Common stucco backing is R-4. With advanced framing, we achieved a Delta 25 on our wall
assemblies. Exterior insulation performs better than cavity insulation because it eliminates thermal bridging.

17. What is your strategy to reduce radiant transfer on wall assemblies?
We simply use shade. Our designs consider home orientation and include summer shading
overhangs.

18. Do you have a reflective roof assembly?
Yes, this is one of the most effective ways to reduce energy transfer in climate zone 3.
Reflective assemblies require proper ventilation. We install a 1.5” air space on a 1.5” Poly Iso
foil-faced board fully sealed with passive venting, which achieved a Delta 30 on our roof
assemblies.

19. Does your roofing membrane break down under ponding?
No, we do not use TPO. We use a self-healing ice and water layer covered with 10 mil 100%
solids silicone. The silicone is covered with white filter fabric, and the whole assembly is
protected with 3⁄4” white gravel. We call This proprietary roof assembly a reflective vented protected double-membrane
assembly.

20. How do you control vapor transference on your assemblies?
We use drainage wrap and weep screeds on walls. On roofs, we use a vented assembly.

21. Do you design your mechanical systems?
Yes, we provide a full manual J&D for all HVAC. This is the only way to ensure performance.
HVAC design is determined by the wall, roof, window performance, duct size, and room
volumes.

22. Do you use flex ducts?
Yes, properly installed Flex performs well. Improperly installed flex will degrade your system. Be
sure to get photographs of all duct assemblies. If money is no object we will use rigid.

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23. Are your ducts in a conditioned space?
Yes, we use a high-performance roof insulation system. This is a net and blow fiberglass fill
netted tight to the roof deck. This increases the roof's thermal mass and allows ample space for
the ducts to be fully encased by a conditioned envelope. Most builders blow insulation supported by the ceiling. This reduces the insulation's mass by the ducting volume, lowering the dew point and creating a condensation environment in your ducting. Ripe for bacteria and mold.

24. What type of cavity insulation do you use?
We use 150-lb. fiberglass fill insulation. If we are going for net zero, we can use wool or wood
fill.

25. What is the SEER rating of your AC condenser? Is it variable speed?
We use a 17 SEER 2-speed system.

26. Do you use zoning on your HVAC?
Yes, we prefer to zone space per occupancy, such as Living, bed, primary, and guest. We also
use Ecobbe smart thermostats and presence sensors to ensure the highest efficiency possible.

27. Do you have a fresh air system?
Yes, we have a constant filter air exchange. Removing stale wet air and replacing it with fresh
filtered air. This is especially important if any occupants have respiratory issues. It also reduces the
incidence of virus spread, such as the common cold, COVID, or Flu.

28. What level of filtration is your air exchange?
One advantage of a tight house is the ability to supply clean, filtered air. When there are high
pollen levels, smoke, and dust, a Whole-house ERV can reduce or eliminate these irritants. We
use a whole-house ERV for constant exchange, filtered to MERV13 every 3 hours.
Additionally, we use an iWave bipolar ION generator to charge microparticles, such as smoke
bacteria, viruses, odors, and VOCs, allowing them to be captured by the filter. These two
systems combined provide constant fresh, clean air to the entire home, removing odors, VOCs,
viruses, and bacteria.

29. What type of Water heater do you use? Do you have a recirculating pump?
We use Nuvien tankless water heaters with an internal recirculating pump. Recirculating lines
must be no more than 10 feet from a main line.

30. Do you use RO systems?
No, we use Springwell whole hose filters. Compared to an RO system, these filters are good for
1,000,000 gallons, leave in the micro minerals, and use very little water. We recommend an
inline UV filter if you want bacteria and virus removal. We can install an RO system if you prefer.

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31. Do you use a water softener?
No, we use a Springwell whole-house conditioner. Unlike Salt systems, conditioners treat hard
deposits so they do not stick to surfaces. They do not require daily flushing, have no slippery
feeling, and are safe to drink. Salt systems remove scale and require less surface cleaning than
conditioners. If you prefer, we can install salt systems.

32. Do you use a whole house leak detector?
Yes, we use Moen Flo at the water main. This smart detector notifies you of any leaks and shuts off
the main water supply.

33. Is your electrical panel smart?
We use Eco Flow Smart panels to monitor energy. Eco Flo units are solar, and battery
backup-ready. We are experienced electrical designers and can ensure your home and appliances are
powered properly.

34. What type of Lighting do you use?
We use a true Low-voltage 24V RGBW strip and can lighting with smart switching motion and
voice control. We are experienced lighting designers and give you a truly unique lighting system.

35. What are you using for AV/Data control?
We provide a Dmark for the data installer at the house entrance and a central box for
distribution. Each TV location has a media box with power and data. This eliminates any visible
wires for your flat screens and gives you storage space for access points for mesh wireless
systems.

31. Do you supply smart controls?
Yes, we provide and program a Homey Hub for our installations. Lighting, entry doors, garage
doors, cameras, blinds, sprinklers, water mechanical systems, and IP remote devices can all be
controlled from a phone, a voice, or manually.

32. Do you supply interior design?
We offer complete interior design services and renderings of the finishes.

33. Do you supply exterior Landscape design?
Yes, we offer complete landscape and pool designs and renderings of the finishes.

34. What is your warranty program?
We are here for the long haul. If any of our installations are not installed per the contract
documents or fail due to poor workmanship, we will replace them free of charge for the home's
life. All equipment failures will be warranted per the manufacturer.

If you would like a free estimate or home consultation, please contact us.