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Traditionally construction has shied from Pre Fab building. But those of you who follow Royal Homes already know that the possibilities of building design with Royal Homes is infinite – driven by your lot and your budget.
The building industry is beginning to take a closer look at the power of custom Pre Fab homes. There are good reasons to choose to Pre Fab:
1. The building time is shorter. The factory has many advantages over building on site. Building times are shorter because the factory isn’t held hostage to the whims of the weather. Two weeks of relentless rain does not slow the building process – because it is completely indoors. This spring is a great example – just when we thought spring was here, we were pelted with another layer of snow. That does not impact factory building.
2. The build is off site. One of the biggest challenges of on-site construction is to live in a construction site for multiple months – or years, in some cases. We all know how frustrating it is to work around construction. With Pre Fab, that time is drastically reduced. The building is built off site – and delivered in nearly completed units. There is no elongated disruption of services.
3. The build is greener. For companies concerned about their environmental impact, factory built is the way to go. Standardized processes make the build ultra efficient, eliminate needless waste. It just makes sense.
Today modular factories thrive on the challenge to build unique buildings, maximizing efficiencies, modern technology and design.
Keep watching – you’ll be seeing more and more custom Pre Fab homes.
I was pretty surprised when my brother-in-law chose bamboo – it seemed oddly exotic for Canada. But bamboo is becoming a great choice for flooring. Physically, it’s a lot like traditional hardwoods. Naturally, it is the same hardness as white oak – but it takes a fraction of the time to grow. Today bamboo is often encouraged because it’s considered eco-friendly.
The environmental impact is lower when you choose bamboo for several reasons.
First of all, bamboo grows incredibly fast. Some bamboo can grow to 70 feet in less than 2 months. Bamboo reaches maturity in 3-5 years. Traditional hard woods take from 20 – 120 years.
Secondly, bamboo is unique root rhizome system. In fact, the plant can be harvested without disturbing the root system. Bamboo shoots up from the roots system and does not need to be replanted.
Thirdly, bamboo is a tough plant. Naturally resistant to drought, floods, and pests, the plant is incredibly hardy.
Finally, because of the unique root system, bamboo aids in reduction of erosion.
When I was a young boy I lived in an ancient farm house – in fact, my great grandfather built the original home. Deep stone walls gave each window well a broad wooden sill. While there were many updates during the years, my parents hesitated to replace the windows. They were unique sizes and hard to replace. They also added a lot of charm to the old farm house. The cost of replacing them was a little formidable. So we lived with the charm – and the draft. My mother loved candles – but one really windy night the candles in the window actually blew out from the draft!!
Leaking windows and doors is the number one reason your heating bill is high. That’s why Royal Homes takes such care to make sure the building envelope is sealed. Because we build in-doors, it’s much easier to ensure a perfect seal. We don’t fight against the wind, sleet or rain. We are able to seal your home inside our factory. We have special tools to make sure the entire building envelope is sealed.
When you choose deep windows with old fashioned sills, you will know that your Royal Home is draft free – the candles will burn efficiently. With R50 in the ceiling and R22 in the walls, your home will be toasty warm… So let the wind blow!
 Mark your calendars – The National Home Show, March 15-24, 2013 at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto.
Come and visit us at the largest North American Home and Garden Show, Booth #3102.
Our team will be there to answer your questions, so introduce yourself, and tell us your new home plans.
The National Home Show is the perfect place to begin your journey to building your custom home. What better place to find new ideas, and innovative and interesting technologies to make your home uniquely yours.
Every Royal Homes is custom designed to meet your wants and needs. Are you looking for the “ultimate dressing room”, or a dream laundry room? Or a gourmet kitchen with generous spaces for guests to help prepare the meal at an oversize island, entertaining, doing the homework at your computer work centre, watching the big screen television or just hanging out together. Or perhaps researching the many things Royal does for “building green”.
Whatever your interest, the Royal Homes Design Specialists will help you design your unique home.
For more information on the National Home Show go to http://www.nationalhomeshow.com
When Russell and Jane Starr chose Royal Homes, they were confident that Royal could deliver a green home. They had a dream of a cottage built on their family’s island. And they hoped that the home would be built in a way that it would make a very low impact to the island’s natural environment.
It was their choice.
And Royal Homes, a unique custom home builder, honoured their choice.
Even though royal-e already has significant advantages, the Starrs wanted to push the edges on technology, using new innovations to reduce the environmental impact of their home on the island they loved.
You can read the full story here… click here
 As you may have guessed, I am inching into my middle life. When I was a boy, there were no blue boxes, compost was the pail I brought out to the pigs and we saved a lot of water because we had to pump every cup we used – there were no dripping taps. We didn’t think of any of these things as “green”. In fact, when the shiny new chrome taps were installed, turning the taps and getting hot water was a novelty. No – I’m not a senior, but I did grow up far from suburbia. My parents worked hard and home conveniences weren’t the first thing they thought of.
Today, the word green is bantered about quite a lot. Leger Marketing did a little research and they discovered that Canadians, while pretty interested in green, were not as interested if it cost them. Only 37% of those surveyed said they would actually pay more for a green product.
But I want to share some really interesting facts that make factory built homes – Pre-Fabs – green, just because of the efficiencies built into the system.
The biggest advantage of Royal Homes “inside-out” building process is the efficiencies in the factory. Royal Homes has some big advantages. First of all, we can purchase high quality, environmentally friendly material. Secondly, we use each material wisely, using highly technical jigs which eliminate waste. Thirdly, we build each home completely custom. Each heating system, all the plumbing and materials are custom to your choices. We are not limited in any way.
The advantages of a custom built, pre-fab home are growing and are very important in the current economy.
I know that there is a trend towards massive homes. You’ve seen them. But I know that many families are looking for a great home that uses space effectively and efficiently.
I have to say that I was pretty impressed when I walked through the Lynden, Royal Homes newest model at the Wingham Design Centre.
In a modest 1414 sq. ft. plan, this three bedroom home gives you so many options. With a gorgeous gallery kitchen opening into the living space, your family can hang out, celebrate, relax and entertain. My wife was blown away by the entire wall of cupboards in the kitchen. This added feature helps you organize your space.
The luxurious walk in closet and ensuite in the Master Suite is a great illustration of the luxury of this home. The full family bath is central to the additional bedrooms, making the space perfect for young families. For empty nesters, this home has a lot of potential. Transforming the front bedroom into a study or office and the remaining bedroom to a guest room is convenient and efficient.
Take a look – it’s inspiring! Remember that the models are there to wet your appetite. Each home Royal Homes builds is unique – custom designed for your family! If you are struggling to adapt one of our plans, just spend an hour with one of Royal’s design consultants. They will start with your family’s unique needs and give you great suggestions to customize your home.
I get excited about the Home Show season – and the London Lifestyle Home Show is a great place to discover innovative solutions for everything in your home. Royal Homes will be at the show – so I encourage you to stop by and see what’s new!
Making wise choices is important – especially in an economy that is still struggling. Your home is one of your biggest investments. I still remember when I built my first home – it was tough to make all of those decisions. But now I have built my third home with Royal Homes. My design consultant at Royal gives me confidence in making each decision.
I also know that Royal Homes is a leader in the home building industry. I can count on them to help guide me through the myriad of choices!
For more information on the London Lifestyle Home Show click here.
As you know, I’m a big fan of the uniqueness of custom designed homes. After all, it’s my home, my family and I want it to work for my unique living style.
They are truly custom home builders. There is no nonsense about every house on the street looking exactly the same. There are no arguments over the exact dimensions, features and products you want to use. When you choose Royal Homes to build your home, they help you build the home that is uniquely yours within your time frame and budget.
 When you visit our web site, you can see the broad range of home designs. We like to start there, giving you a foundation of great designs that you can work from. Many people choose a favourite home design and then make adjustments to suit their living style. Others bring in photos or ideas they have collected over the years. As they go through their wish list with the design team, they can see their dream home come to life!
I encourage you to browse through the web site – discover the tradition of fine craftsmanship and unique design that makes Royal Homes one of the leading modular builders in Ontario.
For many years, the building industry has understood the time advantage to factory construction. It just makes sense. The factory has an established process, the team is hired full time, the sub trades are on site, and the elements of building are stocked and available. The centralized process allows specialty products to be ordered efficiently and with cost savings.
But for decades, factory construction has been thought of as cookie cutter. Royal Homes dispels that idea.
First of all, every home we build is unique. Our custom homes range from cozy homes designed for simple living to magnificent family homes designed for convenience and pleasure. Each home is built in the factory. Each home is constructed in our carefully monitored environment that ensures quality. Second, the only limit to what kind of home Royal Homes can build is your own imagination. Some complex builds present intriguing challenges for the Royal Homes team, but these challenges are solved quickly and efficiently.
Finally, factory built homes takes less time and has less environmental impact. The Sturgeon Foundation — a not-for-profit seniors housing organization in Alberta — worked with a local factory to manufacture a 4-storey, 48-suite facility. They chose prefab because of the potential time saving. They were shocked that the project was fully completed in just 7.5 months. A comparable project using standard construction methods would have taken 14.3 months.
AS they built, they wondered about the efficiency of prefab building from CO2 perspective. So they hired the University of Alberta to compare carbon dioxide emissions between factory and on-site construction. The study concluded that factory construction results in time savings of 55.0% and a 43.0% reduction in CO2 emissions in comparison with on-site construction.
Their study revealed that conventional construction would have created 98.9 tonnes of CO2 emissions while factory construction resulted in 56.3 tones of CO2. The study is pretty impressive!
Posted in Energy Efficiency, Environmental Responsibility, Home Building, Prefab, Uncategorized, green, modular
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Tagged energy efficiency, environmental responsibility, green, Home Building, modular, Prefab
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