Water Conservation: Another Trend to Watch

Residential water use accounts for more than half of the publicly supplied water in the United States. As a result, the EPA has finalized the voluntary WaterSense specification for new homes in December of 2009, which reduces water use by about 20 percent compared to a conventional new home. This is achieved by installing specially designed shower heads, toilets, faucets, and even landscape irrigation practices, which are all made to conserve water.

Managing water is a growing concern in our daily lives. Communities across the country are starting to face challenges regarding water supply and water infrastructure. Many of the states that have projected population growth increases also have higher per capita water use.

Houses built with the new homes specifications include WaterSense labeled toilets and bathroom faucets and ENERGY STAR labeled appliances and other water-efficient features indoors, as well as water-efficient landscaping outdoors. WaterSense labeled homes are built to use 20 percent less water than conventional new homes.

KKC Fine Homes is active in this movement, and we provide our clients with every opportunity to choose wisely when it comes to Water Sense.

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Another Green Trend: The Eco-District Community

An Eco-District is defined as: “an integrated and resilient district or neighborhood that is resource efficient; captures, manages, and reuses a majority of energy, water, and waste on site; is home to a range of transportation options; provides a rich diversity of habitat and open space; and enhances community engagement and wellbeing”.

Portland is already on the bandwagon with this one, encouraging the creation of greener communities where residents have access to most services and supplies within walking or biking distance. These areas would also incorporate green spaces and green certified buildings. The creation of walkable, low impact communities in the suburban setting is rapidly gaining steam.

Many of us in the beach cities already live within walking distance of stores and merchants. Riding a bike to the local market is common. We have the benefit of smaller communities, and the idea of an eco-district is certainly within the realm of possibility. This green building trend seems to fit right in with our beach lifestyle. KKC Fine Homes is constantly working to find ways in which we can serve our community, and this is another trend we support.

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Green Building Trends Are Taking Over

We have talked quite a bit about Green living and building in concurrence with this trend. Earth Advantage Institute has released “Top Green Building Trends” and we are very excited to bring these ideas to you.

Energy conservation has been a concern of homeowners for many reasons in the past, and now, more than ever, we are hearing how our clients are conscious of this. There are a lot of ways to save energy, but one of the more recent concepts is called a “smart grid”. This device uses custom and web-based display panels to show real-time home energy use, and even real-time energy use by individual appliances.

We will continue to discuss these exciting new trends in the coming months. Topics will include such things as reclaimed flooring, water conservation, and eco-district communities.

Our beach is precious to us, and everything that we can do to help conserve our beautiful community is a step towards preserving and honoring that. KKC Fine Homes uses only the best designers and architects in order to provide our clients with options which serve the community, as well as their individual needs.

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KKC Partners With Reuse Network

Workers remove items from 112 Manhattan Avenue

As we discussed in the previous segment, Reuse Network and KKC Fine Homes has partnered to deconstruct the 112 Manhattan Avenue property in an eco-conscious way. The process of deconstruction is commonly misunderstood, and most people don’t realize how easy it is to donate their homes in this way.

You might assume that this process is much more time-consuming than the standard demolition. In fact, it is only slightly longer. Most jobs take approximately 3 weeks to complete. Reuse Network works directly with your contractor in order to make the duration of the job as short as possible for you.

You might also be under the misconception that your house couldn’t possibly be worth donating. In fact, almost all houses have something to donate. At the same time, you can feel good about keeping reusable materials out of landfills, and into the hands of someone who can make good use of them.

KKC Fine Homes is very pleased with the deconstruction process, now completed. Every step we take is mindful of preserving our beautiful beach community, as well as serving our clients as efficiently as possible.

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Reuse Network and KKC Give Back to the Community

Workers disassemble 112 Manhattan Avenue

As part of the building process, demolition is necessary. However, KKC Fine Homes has discovered a way in which this generally wasteful process can actually benefit the community, as well as save the environment, at no additional cost. The company is called Reuse Network, and they are a non-profit organization, specializing in deconstruction. Deconstruction is the careful dismantling and reclaiming of a structure’s reusable, finished materials and rough lumber.

Miles McGray, South Bay representative for Reuse Network, states, “Part of our mission is to keep reusable materials out of the landfills.” McGray explains that, in partnering with companies such as Habitat For Humanity, all sides benefit. Working directly with the builders and contractors, Reuse brings in a team to collaborate and disassemble the structure in an efficient and environmentally-friendly way.

This week, we will be talking more about this company, and some common misconceptions the public might have about the process of deconstruction. We are excited that we have found yet another way to preserve our beautiful beach and still offer the same great service to our clients.

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Could Your Home Be Making You Sick?

One of the great ironies of the twentieth century is that the very technologies intended to enhance our well-being have often undermined our health. Chemical additives, mass produced synthetics, and composite construction materials all have the potential to make us sick. Breathing in toxic fumes every day can have devastating health effects.

The healthy home nurtures those who dwell inside and also protects the world beyond its walls. Designed with sensitivity for the environment, it is energy-efficient, economical, sustainable, and non-polluting.

You don’t need to set up housekeeping in a monolithic dome or an earth-sheltered dwelling to live in harmony with nature. Even the most traditional home can be adapted to incorporate the key principles of healthy design.

Living at the beach, every day that we watch a sunset, or enjoy the ocean, we see the importance of preserving this wonder of nature. KKC Fine Homes would like to help you build the healthy home of your dreams.

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Feng Shui and the home design

Feng shui (pronounced fung shway) is an intuitive art. This ancient art prescribes lengthy and complex rules that may strike modern homeowners as quirky. For example, your home should not be built at the end of a dead-end road. Round pillars are better than square. Ceilings should be high and well-lit.

Yet even the most baffling practices have a basis in common sense. For example, feng shui principles warn that a kitchen door should not face the stove. The reason is that a person working at the stove may instinctively want to glance back at the door. This creates a feeling of unease, which can lead to accidents.

Despite the numerous complicated rules, feng shui adapts to many architectural styles. Indeed, the clean, uncluttered appearance may be your only clue that a home or office building was designed according to feng shui principles.

The beach life adapts well to the simplistic feng shui philosophy. KKC Fine Homes, and the architects we work with, are ready to help you implement this into your home and create the “ch’i” or “positive energy” which you desire.

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Keeping Current: Construction Trends for 2010

Over the next few months, we will be discussing some of the current construction trends. We already introduced the “green living” trend, and discussed a few people and companies that are supporting this trend, which support this philosophy, as well.

Other trends we will cover will include topics such as the healthy home design, flexible floor plans, and adaptive reuse design, as well as other relevant building concepts for enhancing our beach lifestyle.

Next week we will discuss the Eastern philosophy and how it influences today’s homes. With the ever-increasing population diversity, all areas of our lives are affected, including our homes.

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Keeping it ‘Green’ at the Beach

We at KKC Fine Homes maintain an ongoing commitment to environmental awareness. We are constantly educating ourselves, attending seminars, and seeking out products that have green certifications, on products such as lumber, siding, paint, tile, drywall, and countertops. We use only formaldehyde-free lumber, and low to no volatile organic compounds. Any spec home we build comes equipped with energy star appliances and high efficiency mechanical systems.

We share our green knowledge with our clients, including the cost and benefit analysis in choosing solar power, water heating and energy efficiency. As a result, 3 out of 4 of our current clients will be choosing to use solar panels, radiant heat or tankless water heaters. These choices have the additional advantage of saving utility costs to the homeowner, as well.

Our goal is to merge customer satisfaction with environmental responsibility. We strive to provide as many choices as possible, without sacrificing performance or reliability. Preserving the beauty of the beach, where we live, work and play, is a top priority.

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Green Living At The Beach

This Manhattan Beach home is doing it’s part to help the environment. Kim Komick and David Watson collaborated on this contemporary property, built to many of the highest standards in ‘Green-Building’ ~ a home that is both beautiful and healthy for the environment. We’re excited to be a part of this growing movement. We’ll be talking more about environmentally friendly building in future blogs. We have a lot to say about this. For now, here’s a little something to whet your appetite.

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