Builders Circle Project Blog
Builders’ Circle Blog: How Green is Greene?
Greene County has been “green” for years. My Grandmother decades ago told me things like, “take care of the land and it will take care of you. Waste not, want not.” And of course, “Turn off the light when you ain’t using it.” Yes, she said “ain’t” and she also had no “i-de” she was…
Read MoreBuilders’ Circle Blog: The Sound of Green is Free
You have to love words that don’t go together, words like “sound”, “green” and “free”. Placed in a sentence as in this title, they don’t appear to make sense. The confusion is that you first have to know what the sound of green is to understand why it is free. If you are thinking “green”…
Read MoreBuilders’ Circle Blog: Can You Hear Me Now?
Remember those old “tin can” phones connected with a string that we all played with as kids? “Can you hear me now” was always the question and the answer was seldom related to that question. Communication was mostly noise, and we all pretended that we understood. It’s a lot like “green” conversations that we hear…
Read MoreBuilders’ Circle Blog: 30.78 Acres of Trees
It is not too often that I get to brag about the building industry that I work in, but bragging proof came in the mail yesterday. ENERGY STAR notified me that I had rated 38 houses that were certified as ENERGY STAR Qualified in 2011. I knew this, but they added some information I did…
Read MoreBuilders’ Circle Blog: HVAC – the Vast Unknown
We all love to untangle a mystery, and building “green” can be a mystery. But things are changing. In the last ten years Building Science and applications in the field have come together so that the buying public knows many of the right questions to ask. They know about Blower Door tests, HERS ratings, R-values,…
Read MoreBuilders Circle Blog: Thirty-Nine and Still Counting!
Jack Bennie, the famous comic from years ago, always claimed to be 39 years old. Year after year he remained 39. I like the idea of not aging, but some things need to grow in number. We just received the official certification for the HBA-led Habitat for Humanity house in Builders’ Circle Subdivision from the…
Read MoreBuilders Circle Blog: Football, Golf and HERS Ratings
The HERS energy rating on a house is more like golf than football. Football is loud, rough, and high score wins. Golf is quiet, skillful, and low score wins, with the typical championship golf courses having par values of 72. The official HERS rating for the HBA’s Habitat house is in…and the final ENERGY STAR…
Read MoreBuilders’ Circle Blog: It Is Official—Springfield Is Number One!
How does it feel to be number one? Springfield is number one, according to WIKI. I found out accidentally when, with no special reason in mind, I Googled the question, “What city has the most varied weather?” That’s right, Springfield, Missouri is listed as having the most varied weather in this country. I really was…
Read MoreBuilders’ Circle Blog: If You Don’t Know Where You Are…
How do you know you are going in the right direction if you don’t know where you are? Haven’t we all, on occasion, made a wrong turn in some large, unfamiliar city? We did not think we were lost, but we never got to where we wanted to be. That never happens to me now,…
Read MoreBuilders’ Circle Blog: How Low Can You Go?
Low is not always something we like to think about. To lower your driving speed when you are late for a doctor’s appointment, to get there just in time so he can tell you to lower your cholesterol and lower your weight, tends to give us a low, negative feeling. The doctor’s advice continues to…
Read MoreBuilders’ Circle Blog: Green Comes in Many Colors
I don’t know whose idea it was or why Mom thought it was cool, but she did. This idea could be classed in the same league as “bell bottoms”, and likewise, never improved with time. Oh yes, it was green, but not the “green” we refer to today. This green was only skin deep, and…
Read MoreBuilders’ Circle Blog: Better Than Superman’s X-Ray Vision!
Superman can see through walls and know what a bad guy is doing, but he would miss what my infrared camera can see. Superman is no help on this job. Know this, there are lots of bad guys in your walls, and you cannot detect their thief-like tendencies. These so-called “bad guys”, however, are just…
Read MoreBuilders’ Circle Blog: Don’t duck in the attic!
Yes, I have the title right. I meant “duck” (as to move, to avoid). I know the title doesn’t seem to make sense because we do want to duck in the attic, don’t we? If you have ever hit your head in the attic, it was an accident, you were not thinking or paying attention,…
Read MoreMerry Christmas! Families Cut Ribbon on Green-Built HBA/Habitat Homes
Habitat for Humanity of Springfield hosted a very special “Hammering for the Holidays” dedication ceremony on December 22 to celebrate the completion of three Green Certified, Energy Star rated homes. Two of these homes (sponsored by BancorpSouth with financing provided by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas) have been purchased by the Barnett and…
Read MoreBuilders’ Circle Blog: Is that Santa Up on the Roof?
No Santa, no red suit, no “Ho, Ho Ho”…in fact there is almost no sound at all on this roof. The color up there is a yellowish brown and is the gift that keeps on giving year-round. What’s “up on the roof top”, you ask? It is open cell spray foam, found on the under-side…
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