How do you know what the best set of systems are for the house?
davecookie
| Posted in Mechanicals on
Do you need to hire an engineer for possibly a lot of money? Do you rely on your subcontractors who may end of recommending what they make the most money on? Or do you join Green Building Adv. and try to figure it out yourself? I know every house, based on its climate, size, orientation and budget will be different…but when you take those things into consideration, what do you do?
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Replies
David,
You ask the question that I hear second most - the first is "how much is this going to cost"? Trying to figure it out yourself, meaning increasing your knowledge of the subject, is never a bad thing. Builders must have some idea of the overall objectives.
I would suggest that you start by reading https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/green-basics/integrated-design-overview and the associated links at the bottom of that article. The article states, "What about builders who don’t have any experience with integrated design? “Be infinitely curious about what makes houses work,” Chandler suggests, “and solicit feedback from your team.” The article further suggests that Energy Star and green building guidelines can become catalysts in the process, a place to start.
I certainly agree with this as it will give you some guidelines for the team you assemble. Quality tradesmen, suppliers, architects, engineers, and maybe codes officials will not be out to run your costs up, but you should be able to process the information they bring to the table.
Everyone who has ever designed or built a house has experienced some degree of failure in reaching the desired results. The benefit of assembling a quality team is that they have learned from failure and improved upon success - and you will receive the benefit of their collective experiences.
Hope this helps,
Grant