Windows are bigger than ever today. They play an increasingly important role in helping our customers maximize the value of their home by welcoming light, opening vistas, and creating interesting, inviting spaces. There are myriad options, from decorative to functional. Some of the energy efficient models may even qualify for energy rebates. Many of our customers build or re-buld their homes around views of Cape Cod Bay, Vineyard or Nantucket Sound, marshes and bogs. Here are some great ideas for using windows to create truly special spaces.

Factors to Consider when Choosing Windows

Here are some fresh and cost-effective design trends to consider for your Cape Cod home. Kitchen Entertaining with a View, Multi-Generational Living, and Green Elements are all getting a lot of attention. This is good information with a return to simplicity.

Eight Design Trends, Fresh and Simple  

Many customers are including home generators in their construction specifications. Events like Super Storm Sandy have heightened awareness of the benefits of being ready for natural disasters. Cape Cod is not immune to hurricanes and other big storms. Here's what you need to know about home generators:

Generator is a Smart Investment for Cape Cod Homes

Bob Sheldon is a local Realtor who does a great job of analyzing the market in Eastham. The consensus is that markets are improving, and Bob’s quantitative work reflects that too. Numbers don’t lie: the Real Estate market is rebounding. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines, wondering about buying, selling, or building, prices and values are on the climb again.

Eastham 2012 Year-End Real Estate Report

In some areas the housing recovery is accelerating, adding upward pressure to home prices. With interest rates at historic lows, and real estate inventory starting to move, it may be time to get off the sidelines and find your dream home.

Could you get priced out of the Real Estate market?

We are constantly receiving inquiries about land on Cape Cod, where to buy, what's buildable, etc. In repsonse we've just published an informative guide that will help many people better understand the oppoprtunities and caveats of buying land on beautiful Cape Cod.

It's a great time to buy. Let REEF help you build your Cape Cod home.

Our Customers owned a cottage in a beautiful location. The southern exposure over Bass River was and is a million-dollar view. We designed a home to take advantage of the location, and maximize the enjoyment of the surrounding natural beauty. The views in this video were never available from the original cottage. This beautiful home, now in mid-stage construction, will be a great place for summer fun or year-round living.  REEF: 508-394-3090 every day

                                               REEF's BLUEPRINT BASICS

     Learning a new language can be a real challenge.  Learning to read and understand blueprints for your home construction project is a language unto itself, so for this article I have assembled some resources to make the process of understanding blueprints a bit easier.

An excerpt below, from HousePlansandMore.com, offers a very good primer for blueprint reading.

• Cover Sheet – is an artist's rendering of what your home will look like upon completion.
• Foundation plan – identifies the layout of the foundation (crawl space, slab, pier or basement) that you have chosen based on your home design and location.
• Floor Plans – shows the sizes and locations of all rooms, windows and doors, as well as plumbing, electrical, and other built in features.
• Elevations – Drawings of interior walls and the elements they include such as fireplaces or cabinets, as well as drawings of exterior walls with details of materials and dimensions.
• Cross-sections – drawings of the home for a particular section sliced from roof to foundation. These renderings allow you to see important structural elements from additional points of view.
• Details – Detail drawings break down certain components of your new home into step-by-step instructions. A few that may be included are framing plans, roof plans, electrical and plumbing schematics, stairways, and decks.

 In addition, many plans will contain structural drawings, specifically for the engineer, framers, and building inspectors to communicate effectively and efficiently.

Another very useful blueprint reading summary by England Design Company is available by clicking here.

Once you familiarize yourself with the language of blueprint reading, you will find the process of designing your new home a lot more enjoyable, and in the process you will have learned a new language.

TREEHOUSES

     Few buildings have the ability to inspire awe and imagination like a treehouse.  Anyone who has ever climbed a tree knows there is a unique feeling that comes with being elevated.

     Treehouses have long been hideouts and getaways for children, but over the last quarter-century, there has been a shift towards making treehouses accessible across a much broader poplulation. 

     Today's treehouses are built using specially engineered bolts and hangers to ensure safety and minimize tree damage.  Even with the new engineering the feeling hasn't changed.

     So for the kid in all of us, I have put together a gallery of some of my favorite treehouses. For a more in depth view into the world of treehouse design and construction visit Tree top builders   Enjoy!

above picture from http://www.emformarvelous.com

above picture from http://www.emformarvelous.com

What is Cogeneration?

I have a friend in central New Hampshire who heats her house all winter long with a wood stove.  What makes this notable is that her wood stove is also set up to meet her hot water demands.

This type of cogeneration is not that unusual, however, the practicality of this type of system is limited.

A more conventional and scalable cogeneration system, takes advantage of natural gas or propane as the fuel source.  As the fuel burns electricity is generated.  The waste heat produced from combustion is captured and used for water heating, space heating, pool and spa heating, and absorption chilling.

This type of combined heat and power system, or (CHP) has major potential commercial and residential applicability.

Currnet manufacturers of cogeneration systems include some well known companies, such as Honda http://world.honda.com/cogenerator/ and Cummins http://www.cumminspower.com/en/solutions/cogeneration/  As with any home energy system, a careful cost-benefit analysis must part of the analysis to determine the right way to meet your homes energy demands.

The home energy options that once were considered to be peripheral are now becoming more mainstream. This can be traced directly to these system's capacity for increased energy efficiency, their reduced environmental impact, and thier long term investment sensibility.