Archive | Home Design Journal

Front Door Styles & Craftsmanship

My favorite brand of standard residential exterior doors is Thermatru for their durability, insulation, and weatherstripping. Andersen also has an extensive line of pretty good doors. You may also have your architect design a wonderfully creative front entry door and line up a good craftsman. http://www.thermatru.com/ http://www.andersenwindows.com/ http://www.trustile.com/ http://www.affinitydoors.com/

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Wood Clapboards & Shingles of Fiber Cement

A wood alternative siding such as fiber cement siding is able to match the traditional look of wood, with substantially lower maintenance expenses. It is extremely durable, dimensionally stable, and resistant to everyday “dings”. As is the case for natural wood, fiber cement must be primed and painted or stained. However, the material’s superior paint […]

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High Density Batt Insulation

The CertainTeed company seems to be the USA company with the highest density, highest R-value batt insulation for exterior walls. Their 5.5 inch fiberglass batt yields an R-value of 21. That is 2 points higher than most other batt insulation. This still is not enough to rate your wall with LEED, but it helps. Certainteed […]

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Stone Veneer : Endurance, Natural Beauty

There are a staggering number of textures of stone veneer available to an architect for the application to a wall of a home. In every region of the world, these textures reflect the types of stone available in that region, as well as the aesthetic sensibilities of the local population. Add to that a number […]

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Denim Wall Insulation

Denim Insulation is, yes, made of recycled blue jeans. It is put through a process to make it flame retardant, fungus resistant, and mostly water resistant, and to bond together the fabric shreds into a batt. Denim has the same insulation value as fiberglass, without the itchiness and danger of the the fibers in your […]

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