A different bird

For the past year or so I've been reading the 'Modular Home Builder' blog. The blog is written by Gary Fleisher, aka Mod Coach. His blog has been a great source of information for what's happening in our industry, but it's also made me realize something. We're a different bird.

Lets start with some basics. Modular Manufacturers come in all shapes and sizes. There are only 6 major manufacturers in New England (we're one of them). There are a whole bunch in Pennsylvania. Some companies (like us) are relatively small (50 - 100 houses a year). Some are big (500 houses a year). Some are family owned and operated (like us). Some are owned by Warren Buffet.

Below is a list of why we're "strange".


1) Builder / Dealer Networks:

Them: Most modular manufacturers sell only through their builder networks (ie, won't sell directly to customers). You call the manufacturer, they ask you where you're building, they give you the name and number of their builder / dealer in your area, end of the conversation with the folks that are building your house.

Huntington Homes: We have a couple of (fantastic) builders that we refer folks too. However, most of our sales are direct to customer. While we recognize the importance of the local builder, we also recognize that the customer relationship is more important. There is nobody that knows what we do better then "we". Why wouldn't you talk to us direct?

2) Sales Staff.

Them: See here for a recent post by ModCoach re: Sales Truths Facing Factory Management
What on earth is he talking about? Sales Reports? Recruitment? YTD Percent of Close to Quote ratio? Outside Sales Training? Prospecting Database? Territories? Sales Contests?

Huntington Homes: Last time I checked we were building houses. Customer wants one. Talks to builder. Builder builds one. . . . . Our Process is SIMPLE. You talk to Duane, Jason, Adam, or Larry. We build you a house.

3) Turnkey Projects

Them: They are owned by an investment group and run by hired guns. They couldn't possibly be bothered with all the miscellaneous details needed to build you a house. . . . they run a factory.

Huntington Homes: If you're located near us, we'll General Contract your project (site improvements, foundation, modules, onsite contracting, heating, plumbing, etc). . . . . As far as I know, we're the ONLY major manufacturer that does this.

4. Dealing with a down market

Them: Most of the other manufacturers are 1) shutting their doors, 2) being bought by bigger companies, or 3) changing their product lines (going commercial, or going "green").

Huntington Homes. Down markets are nothing new. This one is bad, but we've been here before. Rather then throw out 33 years of experience, we're focusing on what we do best. Build well built homes for normal people.

While the others are chasing multi-family and commercial structures, our experience tells us to continue focusing on our core / long-term residential customers. . . . . we'd rather "plant" 10 high quality residential seeds then 200 low cost / high volume apartment units. These "seeds" are a long term strategy.

Mark my words friends. 10 years from know you'll still be able to call and talk to Jason, Adam, or Larry and we'll build you a house. . . It's that simple.

Lighting Retrofit

We've decided that it's time to do something nice for ourselves. So we're going to replace our shop lights.



We currently have 109 400w Metal Halide high bay lights lighting our shop. Running 9hrs a day these fixtures consume roughly 98,000 kWh of electricity a year.


With help from Efficiency Vermont (Vermont's Energy Efficiency Utility) we're going to replace these old fixtures with new T5 Fluorescent High Bay Fixtures.

It's estimated that these new fixtures will save 58,000 kWh / year.

It's also estimated that over the lifetime of the fixtures we will reduce our Carbon Dioxide Emissions by 460 tons.

While the economics of the retrofit certainly stand on their own, incentives from Efficiency Vermont make this a "no-brainer".

Project 9336: Richmond, VT

So it's been a while since we've posted. Here's an update on the Richmond, VT house.





First, the house sold. And the new owners are loving it. So much that we got an invite to their Holiday Party.

Testing is complete on the house, and we received a SILVER rating from the NAHBGreen National Green Building Program.

Here are the Stats for your Energy Dorks.

- Blower Door: 540cfm at 50pa for 26,880 ft^3 of interior space
- 1.2 ACH (50pa). This is 83% Better then IECC.
- HERS Index Rating: 56

We are pleased with these results. The HERS Rating was achieved mostly by the building envelope alone (ie the mechanical / heating system was a typical hydronic boiler and lighting was mostly standard incandescent). No doubt the score would have been lower had we looked at some alternative systems.

The building envelope was basically our standard air sealing details coupled with a (small) upgrade to dense pack cellulose walls and loose fill cellulose (R50) attic. I have no doubt that if builders pay attention to the module-to-module air sealing details most of our construction should test out with a similar HERS Rating.

Project 9336: Richmond VT

This house is under construction and will be ready for occupancy late March.

This house will have certifications from both ENERGY STAR and the NAHB National GREEN Building Program.

Features Include:

- Private 3.89 acres with southern exposure and nice views west.
- Property is 1 mile to Richmond Village.
- 3 bedrooms / 2 ½ baths. 2240 sf with 646 sf unfinished bonus over garage
- 26’ x 28’ attached garage
- Big Mudroom with Vermont Slate floors and built-in bench seat
- Open Living / Kitchen / Dining Rooms with wood floors
- Hardwood Stairs
- Exposed Hemlock Beams in the first floor ceiling
- Upgraded Kitchen Cabinets with Granite tops
- Kitchen Island with Brown Maple countertop.
- Tile floors at Bathrooms
- Custom Tile shower in Master Bath
- Marble vanity tops.
- CVG Hemlock Clapboard with MiraTEC exterior trim
- 30 year Architectural Shingles

Energy Features include:

- 95% Efficient Boiler
- Fantech AEV Air Exchange System
- Panasonic Bath Fans
- Dense Pack Cellulose wall insulation
- Cellulose Roof Insulation: R39 at slopes and R50 at attic
- Andersen 400 Series Windows (ENERGY STAR)

For more information call Huntington Homes at 802.479.3625

Project #9328 - Sheffield Federated Church

In July 2008 the Sheffield Federated Church in Sheffield, VT was lost to a fire. The fire started by a lighting strike to the bell tower. The parishioners had tried (unsuccessfully) to rebuild the church in its same location in the Village of Sheffield. However due to some lot restrictions were unable to bring the new building up to code.

See here for the Local News story about the fire.


In June of 2009 the Church contacted us about rebuilding the Church on a piece of land outside of the Village. Through the months of July and August we worked with the Church on design of the building, and started actual construction in September.

See here for a Video interview with Pastor Tim Pittman regarding the construction of the new Church. As explained by Pastor Pittman, Huntington Homes was able to supply the modules for the project at roughly the same cost as materials ONLY for site built construction.

This was truly a community effort. It was a satisfying project for us.

Project #9336 - Richmond, VT

Last week we started construction of this 2240 sf, 3 bed, 2 1/2 bath house for Richmond, VT. We will be seeking certification for the house under the NAHB National Green Building Standard.

Features of this house include:

• Custom built-ins
• Tile Showers
• Hardwood and Tile floors
  
• Green Label Plus Certified carpets
• Granite / Butcher Block countertops
• Exposed Hemlock beams
• Air Exchange Ventilation System
• CVG Hemlock Clapboard w/ MiraTEC trim
• High Efficiency Heating System

This house is for sale. It's located on private 4 acres with nice southern and western views. Please contact us for more information.

Drywall Recycling

In early 2005 we started recycling all of our drywall scraps. At first we sent scraps directly to the GP Gypsum plant in Portsmouth, NH. However GP had limited processing capacity which made scheduling deliveries difficult. In June of 2007 we found a recycling facility in Cambridge, MA that processes the drywall scraps for its gypsum content. This facility strips the paper and then pulverizes the gypsum back to a powder. It's then sent back to the Drywall Manufacturers to be recycled back into new Drywall.

We just looked through our records and found that since June of 2007 (since delivering to the Cambridge, MA facility) we've sent 205 pallets of scrap drywall back for recycling. At about 2600 lbs per pallet, that's 533,000 lbs of recycled drywall.

Our records don't show quantities shipped from 2005 to 2007 directly to the GP Gypsum plant, but it's safe to assume that over the life of our recycling efforts, we've recycled over 1,000,000 lbs of drywall.

Project #9295 - Barre Town, VT

This house was built in the Summer of '09 in Barre Town, VT. It's a variant of the Buck Hill Cape. Huntington Homes, Inc. acted as the General Contractor on this project. Walls and Rafters are Dense Pack Cellulose. Heating system is fired by a Prestige Triangle Tube: Condensing High Efficiency Boiler. The boiler is 95% AFUE and ENERGY STAR rated. We did not perform a blower door test on this house, but I'm willing to bet that it's very tight. Heating bills should be minimal for the Owners.

Ultra Low VOC Adhesives

We've made the switch. After testing various products, we've changed all of our deck and drywall adhesives to an Ultra Low VOC product. We've chosen OSI GreenSeries from Henkel. It has a VOC content of 3 g/L. (as a comparison, the USGBC LEED for Homes Rating System allows VOC content up to 50 g/L for these types of adhesives.) The OSI GreenSeries is considered an Ultra Low VOC product.

We're still on the hunt for a Low or No VOC paint. We do offer Benjamin Moore Eco Spec Paints as an option, but we're not yet satisfied with the application and coverage to offer it as standard specification.

Modular Home Builder

MODULAR HOME BUILDER: HUNTINGTON HOMES BUILDS A TOUGH HOUSE

Project #8640 - Martha's Vineyard

The Obama family is vacationing on Martha's Vineyard this week. The island has been getting a lot of press. See the following link for a story on CNNMoney.com that featured a home we built a few years back.

CNNMoney.com - Martha's Vineyard: What Mansions Cost

Project #9280 - Fayston, VT

This house was set in late June, 2009. Huntington Homes provided weather-tight "naked" boxes (framing, mechanical rough-in, insulation, mechanical rough-in, windows, cabinets, roofing, etc). The Owner and the Owner's contractor have done all interior and exterior finish trim work.

I look forward to seeing the completed interior of this house. The Owner and his contractor are sticklers for details. This will be a beautiful home when completed.

For photos of other projects, visit the Photo Gallery at our website: www.HuntingtonHomesVT.com

Low Energy Duplex

This duplex is in the planning stages and is to be built in Winooski, VT. The project has been designed by Israel Smith Architects of Burlington, VT. The design addresses the need for affordable, energy efficient urban infill housing.

The building envelope for this house has been designed as super-insulated. Walls will be 6" Dense Pack Cellulose wrapped with 4" of polyiso rigid foam. Roof will be 12" Dense Pack Cellulose under 4" of polyiso foam. The roof has been designed to support a planted "green roof" and house four photovoltaic solar panel arrays.

The objective of this project is that it will serve as a prototype for other infill projects.

For additional information visit Israel Smith Architects website: www.israelsmitharchitects.com

Renderings by Lincoln Brown Illustration: www.lincolnbrownillustration.com

Project #9298 - Martha's Vineyard

Project #9298 - We set this house yesterday on Martha's Vineyard, MA. It's a single family house with an attached in-law suite. The Owner emailed us this morning with the following note:

..................

Larry,

Just a note to say thank you! Theresa and I both think the house is beautiful, we love it! Everyone that visited the house thought the same. As I am sure David has already shared with you, the house went together like a dream and fit like a glove…. The Huntington Crew were a great bunch, they did their job well, kudos to all.

I was quite surprised to find that the build quality of the far exceeded my expectations. Thank you so much for your hard work over the last couple of years in this process, you have been a great help to both of us. We’ll be in touch , take care –Paul, Theresa and Noah

..................

Project #9278 - Finished Interior

This house is almost done. We're down the the final adjustments and touch-ups. I met with the new Owners this morning. They are getting excited and are anxious to move in.

We also heard back from the ENERGY STAR folks. This house scored a 56 on the HERS Index rating. That means that this house should use 44% less energy then a code built home, and 34% less energy then a 5 Star ENERGY STAR rated home. We're happy with this score. Especially given that the core construction of this house (ie the building envelope) is basically our standard construction.

Project #9278 - Huntington, VT

Project #9278 is a spec house we built this winter in Huntington, VT. The house is under contract (before it went on the market), and we're just finishing the final details.

The house was built to the standards of the NAHB National Green Building Program. However due to an administrative error, we were unable to certify the house. Nonetheless, the house will be certified as ENERGY STAR and we're looking forward to a low HERS Index rating. The blower door test revealed air leakage at only 840 cfm for 3528 sf of interior space.

Project #9280 - Fayston, VT

An interesting project we're currently working on. It's a Greek Revival Reproduction for Fayston, VT. Stay tuned for more posts on this project. We're scheduled to set the modules in the next couple of weeks. I'll post pictures of the set.

Dense Pack Cellulose - Vented Rafters

We've started using a lot of Dense Pack Cellulose (DP Cellulose) insulation. While a great insulation product, it has presented us with some installation challenges. One being how to vent rafters. While the manufacturer of the cellulose tells us that we can use a hot roof system, good ole' builder stubbornness tells us that we should vent. One reason to vent is to allow the insulation to dry to the outside. The other is to keep the bottom of the roof sheathing dry.

With conventional fiberglass batt insulation you use a foam baffle product like Raft-R-Mate to keep the insulation off the bottom of the roof sheathing. However DP Cellulose would crush the foam vents. So we've started to double sheath our roofs. The pictures below show: 1) DP Cellulose installed, and 2) double sheathing with furring strip installed.

and it begins . . . . .