Monday, December 31, 2007

2008: The Year of Living Green

Also, to go along with our previous post and promoting "Green Living", here is an article I ran across on Pier 1's Website. Check it out for 20 great suggestions on how you can "Go Green" for 2008.

Happy New Year!!

http://www.pier1.com/TopMenu/GetInspired/Gogreen/tabid/252/Default.aspx

Can We Save The Earth? Maybe Not, But We Certainly Can Try.

How we build homes not only impacts our homeowners it also affects all the others who are ignoring the opportunity we just can't pass up. (See Heating and Air Conditioning section below.)

So what exactly can a builder do to make this earth a better place? Green building practices. This is simply our way of looking out for the future and keeping your money in your pocket book.

Below is a list of green building practices we have implemented here at the Retreat: (This list is evolving, as we find better practices and ways of building this list will be updated).


OSB (Oriented Strand Board)
Rainey Homes uses OSB in our Roof sheeting, Sub Floors, and wall sheathing.

Benefit: Oriented Strand Board (OSB) is an engineered wood product that doesn’t demand large trees for its manufacturing. OSB is made from fast-growing, small-diameter trees that can be harvested from plantations, avoiding the need for cutting old-growth trees.

Energy Efficient Windows
We install windows that feature Low-E. “(Low-E) coatings are virtually invisible, metal or metallic oxide layers deposited on a window glass surface in an effort to reduce the
U-factor by suppressing radiated heat flow out the window through the glass. Heat is transferred in a dual paned window by thermal radiation from a warm pane of glass to a cool pane.”***

Benefit: In the summer, Low-E glass reflects the sun's heat and reduces solar heat gain. In the winter, Low-E glass reflects the heat back into the home, reducing heat loss. Ultimately this saves the homebuyer money on heating and air conditioning costs while saving precious natural resources.

Fiber-Cement Siding
On the exterior of our homes we use Fiber Cement siding. This siding is termite proof, water-resistant and warranted to last 25 years. This material is considered a "green" product because it has no damaging affects on the environment, and its manufacture is extremely resource efficient — recycling cut-offs back into the process.

Benefit: This means that your HOA fees will be lower because the maintenance, upkeep and replacement are less. The siding has incredible dimensional stability through a wide range of temperature change and it is also fire resistant!

(Cemplank has been independently tested to have a "0" flame spread index and a "0" smoke development number (please note that any finishing product may burn or cause smoke).)

Insulation
In our Villas, we use a BIBS installation (blow in blankets) to fill the wall cavities that provide an R-23 value. Unlike traditional cellulose
blow in insulation, this product will not settle. The Blow-In-Blanket process can guarantee R-values of 23 in exterior walls and two-by-six cavities because it is blown in to a density of two pounds per cubic inch. Fiberglass batt insulation also provides R-values of 19 in two-by-six cavities, but it is difficult to fit in crevices, around doors, fixtures and outlets, so unwanted voids occur and that is where energy is lost. A blown-in installation guarantees a custom fit because the fiberglass seeks out and fills every void.

Benefit: Increasing the amount of R-Value insulation is a cost-effective way to save energy and help reduce heating and cooling bills, which account for at least half of energy use in the home. “The industry estimates energy savings of 30 to 50 percent with a BIBS installation.”*

Covered Entry at Front Door
All of our home plans at the Retreat feature covered entries at the front entrance.

Benefit: Covered entries at our front exterior door help to prevent water intrusion, reducing maintenance and enhancing durability.

Heating and Air Conditioning Systems
At Rainey Homes we equip your home with energy-star rated, energy efficient, natural gas furnace with an efficiency rating of 90% AFUE. The AFUE number represents how efficiently a furnace converts fuel to energy. The higher the AFUE percentage, the more energy-efficient or fuel-efficient the furnace. Just as frame of reference the U.S. government’s established minimum AFUE rating for a furnace is 78 percent. As you can see we far supercede this. We also use insulated duct systems and seal our duct work with mastic to maintain energy efficiency while it’s being delivered through the home.

Benefit: By selecting more efficient, correctly sized heating, cooling and water-heating equipment the homeowner saves money. The Lennox website states “Choosing an ENERGY STAR qualified product not only makes sense economically—it also makes sense from an environmental standpoint. According to the EPA2, if just one in ten households installed ENERGY STAR heating and cooling products, the change would keep more than 17 billion pounds of pollution out of the air.”

Construction
Factory-built components including trusses and pre-hung doors allow more efficient use of raw materials, making the most out of every piece of lumber. These products eliminate the need to cut wood at the jobsite, further reducing waste.

Benefit: This saves precious resources and improves the quality of the home by having the construction of these materials done in a controlled environment not out in the field where weather and labor can have a negative impact.

Appliances
The appliances we use in our homes are all energy star rated.

Benefit: By using energy star rated appliances the future homeowner saves money and uses fewer natural resources. Energy-Star rated appliances save an average of 30% over standard models.

Decks
At Rainey Homes we use Trex decking materials. Trex composite materials are made from post-consumer and/or post-industrial reclaimed plastic and scrap wood, which would otherwise end up in landfills. The reclaimed plastic comes primarily from grocery bags and stretch film, and the scrap wood is from woodworking manufacturers.

Benefit: The use of recycled material and grocery bags saves natural resources. It also saves the homeowner time and money in the future because it is practically maintenance free.

Plumbing
Rainey Homes utilizes the use of low –flow model toilets and plastic piping. The energy efficient, clean nature of plastic pipe and fittings manufacturing also conserves resources. In fact, the manufacture of plastic pressure piping used in the building, construction, and transportation industries required 56,497 trillion fewer BTUs than iron and congregate/ aggregate alternatives.**
Because plastic pipe and fittings are dramatically lower in weight than metal piping, they save energy in transportation, a significant cost factor in today’s construction planning.

Benefit: Saves water and energy, ultimately lowering our consumption of natural resources.
As you are looking for your next new home, a second or vacation home ask your self one question… Can I save the earth? Well you may not be able to but you certainly can try.


For more information about the products we use, please check out the following websites:

www.trex.com
www.lennox.com
www.jennair.com
www.cemplank.com
www.amscowindows.com
www.osbguide.com

*http://hvac.bobvila.com/Article/858.html
** Based on a 1991 study by Franklin and Associates.
*** http://www.amscowindows.com/w101glassoptions.asp
2 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2005

Saturday, December 29, 2007

"New Construction is King"

Below is an encouraging excerpt from an article written yesterday (12/28/07) in the local paper, The Park Record:


Insiders say Park City is an attractive place to move or to buy a vacation property. It is one of America's top ski destinations, the city is easy to get to from Salt Lake City and its international airport, and houses and condominiums are less expensive than they are in other mountain resorts, the city's real estate industry boasts.

The combination has brought lots of buyers, with the median price on real estate transactions sitting at just less than $1 million through the first three quarters of 2007, up about one-third from the same period the year before, according to the Park City Board of Realtors.

"New construction is definitely king. It's selling better than previously-lived-in houses," Matt Green, the president of the Park City Board of Realtors, said in October.

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Happy New Year!

Just a short note to let everyone know we are now open 7 days a week! Mon-Sat 11am to 5:30pm and Sundays 12pm to 4pm. We are always available before and after hours by appt. We are getting excited about the progress of our two models! Again our projected date for our grand opening is Mid March...we should be posting more pictures soon...stay tuned. Again, we offer 6 different floor plans, 1700sq. ft. to over 3000 sq. ft. All our homes are new construction duplex style villas just 5 minutes east of Park City! Check out our website for more info at

http://www.theretreatatjordanelle.com/.


Wednesday, December 19, 2007

3 Big Hoorays!!!

Well our biggest news of the day (ok, it was actually yesterday's big news) is that we've broken ground! At this very moment, we are digging the model home next door which is projected to be finished in March.
We are also very excited to have Cortney, the best superintendent EVER, now up here full time with us. It makes for a slightly cramped sales center, but it's nice having another person here instead of just the two of us, as well as now feeling much safer here after dark!
The third exciting thing to report is that we have street signs! Now we can actually give accurate directions to all of you. Hopefully there will be plenty more exciting things to report in the near future!

Friday, December 14, 2007

Crazy Elk and Those Darn Kids!

This article was taken from the Park Record this week. It's nice to keep a eye on the crime going on in town. This weeks Police Blotter was lengthy but thankfully had a few interesting things. Short of a few car break-in's and those crazy elk, things are still relatively quiet around here. I have taken excerpts from the article I found to be the most entertaining...ENJOY!

Police Blotter
PR
Article Launched: 12/12/2007 11:14:35 AM MST

"At 2:38 a.m., a snowplow driver complained to the police that kids were building a ramp made from snow on the 800 block of Woodside Avenue. The ramp hampered snowplows, the police say, and officers warned several people.

On Friday, Dec. 7 at 9:54 p.m., a car reportedly suffered a broken windshield when a chunk of ice fell on it while a person was driving. The case occurred on the 700 block of Main Street, and police logs indicate the person was driving northbound, or downhill, on Main Street.

Officers were called to the 1800 block of Kearns Boulevard at 6 p.m., after kids reportedly were seen throwing snowballs at cars. When the police arrived, the kids ran toward Prospector.
A herd of about 30 elk was seen on S.R. 248 at 8:22 a.m. The animals left the road.

On Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 9:05 a.m., someone reported a car was stolen on the 2000 block of Park Avenue, but it was later found outside a local market.

On Monday, Dec. 3 at 2:56 p.m., teens reportedly were causing trouble on Daly Avenue. The police say several boys were filming themselves snowboarding. "

As you can see it was a really busy week here...if you like to read the full article just click on the link below!

http://www.parkrecord.com/city/ci_7701425




Monday, December 10, 2007

All three resorts are now open...

My what a difference a week makes. When we received no snow for Thanksgiving it was a bit alarming but now we are knee deep in snow! This Saturday was eventful with Park City, Deer Valley and the Canyons all open! Here at the Retreat we are only 10 short minutes to the gondola at Deer Valley! Check out the home pages of the resorts for DETAILS!

www.thecanyons.com

www.deervalleyresort.com

www.pcmr.com

And if downhill is not your thing then make sure you check out the nordic center at White Pine Touring...

http://www.whitepinetouring.com/cross-country-ski-area.jsp

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Great Article

We found a great article in REALTOR Magazine and thought it might be interesting to share with you...

http://www.realtor.org/rmomag.NSF/pages/economydec07?OpenDocument

Friday, November 30, 2007

A Couple Days Ago...

Here is a great viewpoint picture that I took of the Retreat earlier this week..

And this what I'm looking at out my window today..

An adventure I will get to have before I make my trip home tonight...

It has been snowing for the past 2 hours and doesn't seem to be slowing down. There are easily 2-3 inches on the steps out front...looks like I should get a head start at shoveling or I will have a big job tomorrow!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

More Progress!

So the latest news up here is that they are paving the road up to the single family lots above our sales center...which means we are close to having all of our roads completed. There will only be one more portion of road that will need to go in on the northwest end of the community and that will probably be next spring. Here are a few pictures:

Friday, October 26, 2007

Look at the Views!

Here are some pics I took today of our neighborhood's progress. It's really exciting to see things moving along.

Hey you can even see our sales center if you look close!
(click on the pictures and they will open up)


I loved this view of our neighborhood from across the stree, because you can see the Jordanelle Reservoir and even the ski slopes in the background!


Saturday, October 20, 2007

It's a Cold One!


I CaNt FiGuRe OuT wHy We DoN't HaVe LoTs Of TrAfFiC tOdAy...MaYbE cUz It'S bLoWiNg LiKe ThE NoRtH pOlE oUtSiDe!!!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Crazy Weather!

I just got done being amazed by the huge flakes of falling snow outside, and after 15 minutes of talking with an interested agent, just noticed that it's now SUNNY outside! I was so surprised that I had to mention it. I love the weather here...

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Home Finishes...

We thought it would be a good idea to post a few pictures of the finishes that will be throughout our Villas. This should give you a feel for the quality products that Rainey Homes uses, and an idea of what your Villa will include...Please let us know if you have any questions!

9 Custom Cabinet Choices

Slate Colors (Upgrade)

Wood Flooring (3 grades)

Moen Faucets

8 Rock Fireplace Surrounds

8 Granite Varieties
Tuftex High-end Carpet

Carpet Close-Up

Door Knobs

Tile Trims
Tile Colors

Welcome...

...To our Temporary-yet-Posh Sales Center!

We are located just north of the Jordanelle Reservoir and only 5 minutes from Park City. We're here Monday - Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and are just waiting for you to come by and let us tell you about our exciting community.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the place! By the way, we are hoping to have our official sales center ready sometime in January.

Great Room

Lounge

Den

Design Center

Master Bath

Our Neighborhood (Pre-Villas)