Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How much does a home built with your system cost? -
A. We have worked very hard to engineer the strongest, most energy efficient home possible, yet stay cost competitive with conventional wood framing. In rare instances, a home of great complexity will increase the cost of a Green Home Framing home.
Q. How does this energy-efficiency affect the home’s resale value? –
A. The October 1998 issue of the Appraisal Journal reported that the market value of a home increases $20 for every $1 decrease in Annual Utility Cost. According to the study, research findings indicate that “the selling price of homes increased by $20.73 for every $1 decrease in annual fuel bills…The implication for home buyers is that they can profit by investing in energy efficient homes even if they do not know how long they might stay in their homes”. What this means is that, all other things being equal, if home “A” costs $1,000 less to heat and cool annually than home “B”, home “A” will command a selling price $20,000 higher than home “B”.
Q. Is a home built with your system too air tight? -
A.
While the EPS in our system is non-toxic, and gives off no harmful gases or odors, the air tightness of our homes, which greatly helps the energy efficiency, also means you have less air changes. We recommend that for maximum efficiency, a heat recovery ventilator be included with the HVAC system. Of course, the low heating and cooling loads of our homes means that you can downsize the HVAC system by about half; which saves you money on the unit itself, plus you enjoy residual savings on monthly heating and cooling expenses.
Q. Are we limited in our choices of exterior finishes? -
A. Any finish that can be applied to wood-framed houses can also be applied to our homes. Stone, brick, aluminum, wood lap siding and concrete composites can all be applied directly to our panels without requiring the use of extra exterior sheathing.
Q. How are interior walls finished? –
A. Drywall is screwed to the EPS.
Remember: This is simply a super-strong, energy-efficient framing package. Once ‘finished’ by you or your contractor, it will look like any other conventionally framed home.
Q. Do we need a vapor barrier on the outside? –
A. No. The EPS panels are virtually impervious to moisture. EPS insulation doesn’t absorb appreciable moisture, even under extreme conditions of prolonged cold, damp winters.
Q. What provides the structural strength of the house? –
A. Structural support is provided by industry standard steel studs embedded in the rigid EPS planks and connected to steel angles at the corners of the panels. Additional support is provided by the large inside and outside steel corner brackets, header plates over windows and doors, and extra steel joints placed at interior wall interfaces.
Q. What are the advantages of building with the Green Home Framing panelized system? –
A. Homes built with our system are erected quickly, are many times stronger, offer unprecedented heating and cooling cost savings and design flexibility, and provide a healthier indoor environment than wood-frame construction, all at an affordable price.
Q. How is the roof finished? -
A. Once the roof panels are installed and the joints sealed, ½” plywood or OSB is fastened to the tubular steel members, and roofing is applied as in conventional construction. As an alternative, steel roofing can be applied directly to our roof panels without decking and sheathing.
Q. Are we limited to specific home plans? -
A. No. The homebuyers submit their custom plans to our panel designer who draws specific plans for each individual panel. Cathedral and vaulted ceilings, hip roofs, octagonal bump-outs, and virtually any other architectural feature that can be built with wood can also be incorporated into our panel system.
Q. How are windows and doors installed? -
A. Our wall panels come with the window and door openings cut out of the panel and wrapped with heavy-gauge galvanized steel.
Q. What about fire safety? –
A. Our panels are made with steel and EPS. EPS has an ignition point 150 degrees higher than wood products, with less than 10% of the toxicity, and contains only 2 to 4% combustibles by volume (about 1/12 of most wood products, so there’s much less fuel content in the event of a fire). The only potentially toxic by-products of EPS combustion are carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, and concentrations are far less than those given off by equal volumes of wood products, giving you and your family a better chance for survival in a fire.
Q. Does Green Home Framing meet building code requirements? –
A. Our framing package meets all nationally recognized building code requirements. We have yet to run into any complications from coding offices and officials.
Q. How is wiring installed in the panels? –
A. A 2” x 2” wiring chase is installed along the entire inside perimeter of the wall at the factory, so wiring is simple. Vertical runs and cut-outs for electrical boxes can be easily cut onsite with the use of a commercially available “hot knife”. Electrical boxes are screwed to the steel framing members.
Q. How about plumbing and HVAC installation? –
A. Plumbing and HVAC installation are virtually the same as in conventional construction.
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