Technical Services

Not all owners need our traditional services. We provide these technical services to help you solve specific issues, support your purchase/sale of property and navigate the regulation imposed on properties.

We can also combine these technical services with traditional design services to create a home that blends your requirements for function, aesthetics and performance.

Performance Verification

We discuss performance with home owners as we start a project so we can collectively determine what level of performance the project should achieve. That applies to all projects, from small renovation projects to new home construction. We provide the following services to forecast and verify performance.

Leaks in the exterior of your home (called the “building envelope” or “building enclosure”) allow air and humidity to flow in/out of your home. That means you don’t have control over the interior environment of your home so your investments in heating, cooling, filtration and ventilation are diminished by the air leaks.

We have to find the leaks to seal them so we put the house under pressure to create more air flow - this makes the leaks more obvious. We can set a goal of leakage relative to the size of the house and work toward that goal. Even if you’re not meeting building or energy code requirements, this is a good exercise to gain control of your indoor environment and reduce the pathways for pests to enter your house.

Leaky heating/cooling systems are also a pathway for humidity and air from unwanted sources to enter your home. Drawing air from unwanted sources can be particularly important issue when the ducts for your heating/cooling system are in a crawl space or attic that contains dust, mildew/mold, pests, radon, etc.

Leaks in a heating/cooling system mean you’re paying to heat/cool the air though you’re not enjoying the benefit because the conditioned air leaks out before it’s delivered into the rooms of your home. That can waste a huge amount of energy. It can also lead to significant health and comfort issues.

Finding leaks in a heating/cooling system is similar to finding leaks in a home. We put the heating/cooling system under pressure to make the leaks more obvious so the leaks can be found and sealed. This is a relatively simple task that can have a significant impact on your health, comfort and energy bills.

The model building and energy codes require a certain level of performance for homes. The home and heating/cooling system must achieve a certain level of air sealing. The codes prescribe a verification process for duct and envelope tightness (DET) verification. If your project is subject to these code requirements, we can verify the tightness to show compliance with the building and energy codes.

There are many software options for constructing an energy model of a home. They’re used for forecasting energy use, demonstrating energy code compliance and diagnosing comfort/efficiency issues. The REScheck tool from the U.S. Department of Energy is probably the most common tool and is often an accepted method for demonstrating energy code compliance to building officials.

The house model for a HERS rating is typically more sophisticated than a REScheck model though some building officials only want a REScheck model. We have experience meeting that requirement and can use other tools that model specific issues if that’s the best method for solving your problem.

A Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index score is a rating of a home’s energy efficiency that’s certified by a HERS Rater who is accredited by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET). It’s a nationally recognized tool that’s been used since 2006 to rate millions of American homes.

The HERS Index is tied to the 2006 energy code so a home that complies with that code would score 100. The U.S. Department of Energy has determined the average resale home scores 130 on the HERS Index.

The index is like a golf score - lower is better. A home that scores zero is a home that produces as much energy as it consumes using on-site renewable energy sources like solar panels. Current building/energy codes require a score that’s lower than 100 though it varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

There are two types of ratings available to you:

A projected rating is a HERS Index score generated from a set of plans. It’s a score for a project that’s not yet been constructed. Creating a projected rating can be an effective way to figure out the best way to achieve the level of performance you desire.

A confirmed rating is a HERS Index score for an existing home. It’s entered into the RESNET database.

The HERS Index score for a home can be used to promote its health, comfort and efficiency. It can be used to demonstrate energy code compliance in many jurisdictions. The score can be entered into many MLS systems to help buyers understand your home is more valuable than other homes that don’t have a rating. It can also be used to communicate value to an appraiser.

Generating projected or confirmed ratings for your home requires us to construct a model of your home. We can use that model to compare various construction methods to determine which is projected to be most effective. It’s a way of finding efficiency that should result in better health and comfort for the occupants of the home. It also communicates the expected level of performance to the project team.

Insulation is one of the most important passive systems in a home. It has to be installed properly for it to perform as expected. Improper installation is a common problem in homes so a installation grading system is used to review the install before it’s covered with other work and cannot be installed properly.

The grading is an important part of insuring performance. It’s important to let the contractor and insulation subcontractor(s) know grading will take place so they do the best work they can during their initial install.

We can document and grade the insulation installation before additional work is done. We can also work with the contractor and insulation subcontractor to resolve any issues that are identified.

Water efficiency rating is the next frontier for rating systems. The HERSH2O rating system was in development for years through a partnership with RESNET, the U.S. EPA and other interested parties. The rating system was launched in 2020.

It’s now possible to rate the water efficiency of a home. Like many other rating systems, one of the key benefits is using the rating system during design to determine the most effective design possible. So, a rating not only communicates value, it can also help you enjoy the benefits of an efficient system.

Green building certifications are voluntary building programs that focus on resource efficiency in various parts of the property, from site design to building components. There are many popular programs like the the National Green Building Standard, the EarthCraft program by the Southface Energy Institute and the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes program.

While green building programs can be helpful, they are often checklists that can cause tunnel vision during the design of a project. It’s important to determine the performance targets before working toward a green building program certification.

We can help you identify a performance target and certification program that makes sense for your project. In some cases, this means using the HERS Rating tools described earlier in this page to test the projected results of various checklist items in the green building programs.

In addition to whole-home green building program certifications, there are also certifications for building components. The two most common are the WaterSense program and the Indoor airPLUS program. Both are programs of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

A WaterSense certification is earned by using water-efficient products and design. The Indoor airPLUS certification is earned by using products and construction techniques to achieve a healthy indoor environment.

Both programs have fewer requirements than whole-home certifications and they address important areas so they may be a better fit for you than a whole-home certification. We can help you determine which is best and how to achieve the certification you desire.

In some cases, it’s helpful to monitor conditions in a space to determine how to solve performance issues such as temperature, humidity and air quality issues. We can use tools like data loggers to record information over a period of time to diagnose issues or simply to insure performance.

HVAC Design

HVAC is an acronym for heating, ventilation and air conditioning. The HVAC system in your home has the greatest impact on your health, your comfort and the efficiency of the house. Unfortunately, many HVAC systems are not properly designed or installed. We offer both design and testing services to help you enjoy the most healthy, comfortable and efficient home possible.

The model building code for residential projects (adopted in most states) requires designers of heating/cooling systems to use manuals from the Air Conditioning Contractors of America Association, Inc. (ACCA). ACCA produces a series of manuals with each describing a part of the system design process.

ACCA Manual J is the load calculation.

ACCA Manual S is the equipment selection.

ACCA Manual D is the duct size calculation.

Like most HVAC designers, we use software for our HVAC system designs. As with any design software, the solution is only as accurate as the input. It’s easy to find HVAC companies still using rules of thumb to guess the size of equipment and ducts even though they risk repeated service calls to correct the problems they’ve built into the system they sold and installed.

The difference we offer is taking the time to collect information and develop an accurate model that yields a design we use as the foundation for working with a HVAC subcontractor. We’re used to collecting that information for HERS ratings and building evaluations. While some are suspect of third-party HVAC designers, successful companies appreciate the opportunity to get the work properly priced and installed.

We like doing the HVAC design because it’s caused us to better understand how the HVAC system works with the other components of your home. There’s often a chance to reduce the purchase, operation and maintenance costs of your HVAC system by making a one-time investment in your passive systems like air sealing and insulation. We can provide guidance on those issues to help you avoid unnecessary and ongoing costs.

The design of a central heating/cooling system results in a layout for the duct work. It’s important to respect the duct work by planning for it in advance so it’s incorporated in the design of other building systems like the structure and sewer lines of a home.

In the process of evaluating existing homes, even following recent HVAC installations, we find ducts that are squashed into spaces and around pipes because there was a lack of coordination between the systems. This can result in comfort, humidity and indoor air quality issues. We work to integrate the systems so the installation is relatively simple and the systems all perform as intended.

Americans commonly use air-source heat pumps to heat and cool our homes. These heat pumps have an outside unit that exhausts heat from your home in the summer and gathers heat for your home in the winter. These units are relatively efficient though the air temperature often works against the heat pump - it’s hot outside when your heat pump is trying to exhaust heat from your home in the summer and it’s cold outside when your heat pump is trying to gather heat for your home in the winter.

Geothermal systems are ground-source heat pumps that exchange heat with the ground rather than air. The ground temperature stays consistent through the year at about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s a much better temperature for exhausting and gathering heat so a geothermal system may be much more efficient than the typical air-source heat pump you find in most homes.

Geothermal systems can also be much quieter than air-source heat pumps because geothermal systems don’t have an outdoor compressor with a fan in it - there’s no noisy box outside your home. In addition to the quiet operation, this can be a big benefit for projects on small parcels like townhouses.

Minisplits are an alternative to central heating/cooling systems. Central heating/cooling systems return air from the spaces in a the home through a central air handler to condition it before redistributing the air through the home.

Minisplits are a heating/cooling system where the heating and cooling elements are in the space they’re conditioning. They can be very efficient and allow you to control the temperature of spaces independent of other spaces.

Minisplits can also serve very small spaces - something large central air systems struggle to do well. This makes them ideal for spaces that are often uncomfortable like the bonus room over a garage or a finished basement space.

We use minisplits, both ducted and ductless, in our work regularly. Sometimes we use them as a compliment to a central heating/cooling system since the cost is about the same as a zoned system.

It’s possible to use filtration to help clean the air in your home. Air filters cause a pressure drop in a heating/cooling system - the system has to work harder to move air through the filter than it would if there was no filter.

The heating/cooling system should be designed with the pressure drop of the filter in mind. This is especially true if you want an air filter that has a high efficiency - a filter that removes more particles and pollutants than typical filters.

We can guide you to the level of filtration that’s appropriate based on your needs and design a system to include that level of filtration so the filter won’t cause problems in the heating/cooling system. We can also help you evaluation retrofitting a system to include a more efficient filter.

Many people are surprised to learn there’s no ventilation component in their heating/cooling system that brings in fresh air. Filtration is helpful in removing some pollutants and irritants from indoor air though it should be paired with ventilation.

Ventilation is exhausting polluted indoor air and replacing it with fresh air from outside the home. The fresh air may be filtered and dehumidified as it’s brought into the home. The ventilation system should be designed to compliment the heating/cooling system so ventilation doesn’t cause comfort issues.

There are four different means of ventilation allowed by the model building codes and two ways of finding the ventilation rates. We’ll help you find the ventilation solution that’s best for your home.

Make-up air replaces air that is exhausted by building components. For example, the model building code requires make-up air for exhaust hoods that can exhaust more than four hundred cubic feet of air per minute. Exhaust hoods with this sort of capacity are common in homes that use gas cooktops.

Make-up air is one of the least understood components of home building so we’ve taken an interest in helping the project team address this tricky issue. This issue is more acute in high-performance homes that have very little air leakage - there’s no place for the replacement air to leak in so we need a planned solution to provide a path for that air flow.

Heating, cooling and ventilation systems should be pressure tested to be sure they’re not leaking through the equipment cabinets or ductwork. Air leakage in these systems can waste a tremendous amount of energy (for which you’re paying) and cause comfort issues because the conditioned/fresh air is not reaching its intended point of delivery.

The ACCA Manual D calculations described earlier result in an expected air flow at each supply grill. That makes it possible to test the performance of the system by measuring air flow at each supply. We can use that information to address comfort issues, which may be usually paired with health and efficiency issues.

Letting a contractor and the HVAC subcontractor know we’ll be testing the installed encourages them to get the job done right the first time. We’re happy to work with them in the planning stage to help anticipate and avoid issues so the install is as efficient as possible.

Health + Comfort

We spend a significant portion of our lives in our homes. Even if you work outside your home, you’re probably spending better than a third of your life in your home. If you have asthma and/or allergies, we’d like to help you address the risk factors.

A combination of air sealing, exhaust, filtration, ventilation, dehumidification and behavior changes may help you reduce the irritants that cause or trigger asthma and/or allergies. The goal is to have less disruption in your life, less need for medication and better rest for you and your family.

Addressing the risk factors for environmental sensitivities to chemicals and compounds is more complex than addressing those for asthma and allergies though the tool kit is similar. It generally takes more study to figure out what risk factors for environmental sensitivity need to be addressed because the chemicals or compounds may not be airborne.

If you know the risk factors for your sensitivities, we can assist you in evaluating your home and developing a plan to address them. If you’re just identifying an issue, we’re happy to support you in concert with your medical professional and an environmental hygienist to figure out the best solution(s) for reducing your risk factors at home.

Are you buying off-the-shelf products like desiccant packs to address dampness, mildew or mold in your house?

Have you purchased a (portable) dehumidifier?

Are you washing clothing, towels and/or sheets more often in the summer months to get rid of mildew odors?

Off-the-shelf and portable products typically can’t address the humidity issues in an entire home. Additional washing to address mildew is only treating the symptoms of a humidity issue. We’d like to guide you to an exchange: the cost, labor and time required by your current routine for a permanent solution at the proper scale.

Humidity issues typically result from leaky building enclosures, over-sized air conditioning (cooling) systems and occupant behaviors that weren’t addressed in the design of the home. We use a combination of pressure testing, review of the building systems and review of occupant behaviors to develop a solution for humidity issues so your house can respond to your routines throughout the year… without you giving it a second thought.

Comfort issues are typically caused by two things: 1) lack of insulation, and/or 2) improperly design, installed or maintained heating/cooling systems.

The thermal boundary for your home should be continuous. Your house should have the appropriate amount of insulation in contact with the air barrier on six sides though it’s common to find sections where insulation wasn’t installed, wasn’t properly installed or there’s not enough so hot/cold spots develop.

We see similar issues with heating/cooling systems. They’re not flowing the proper amount of air to each space in your house so hot/cold spots develop.

Addressing these issues requires balancing the building enclosure with the building systems to find the best solution(s) for you. We do that through energy modeling, HVAC design and performance testing.

Water Efficiency

Potable (drinkable) water is among our most precious resources though we don’t often act like it until we’re in a period of drought that draws attention to the potential for water shortages. Water efficiency in homes is about more than making the best use of a precious resource. It’s about reducing your water, sewer and energy bills in a way that saves you time in your daily routines.

There are three common ways to heat water. We can help you choose a water heater based on your needs with attention to energy rates. We can also help determine if you need more than one water heater and where the water heater(s) should be located.

Large homes pose a significant challenge when it comes to water heating and distribution because they often have an occupant load that fluctuates yet all of the occupants want hot water - sometime they want hot water at fixtures throughout the house at the same time. We can help owners of large homes meet their water heating needs with efficient methods that are also scalable so you can meet the needs of your occupants whether you have few or many.

The distribution of both cold and hot water should be considered in the design of a home. We typically assist in the selection of fixtures and consult on the type and layout of the cold and hot water lines to try and anticipate the various needs in each space with plumbing fixtures.

It’s easier to plan for water supply lines than sewer lines. Water supply lines are under pressure and can be routed in many different ways while still providing water to the fixture. Sewer lines are gravity fed and need to follow specific rules to function well.

It’s important to layout the supply lines for the most efficient system and the sewer lines so they work within the other building systems like the structure of the home. You might be surprised how many times we’ve started evaluation on an existing home and found what appears to be a beam that’s been cut with a chain saw to make way for a sewer line. We work to weave the building systems into the structure to protect your investment in the performance of both.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, water heating is the third highest consumer of home energy behind heating and cooling. Opening your hot water tap and waiting for the cold water flowing from it to warm up is a good example of wasted energy (and water) in your home.

Most of us pay for that treated, drinkable water going down the drain without being used TWICE. We pay for it once on our water bill and that water consumption is used to calculate the sewer bill so we pay for it again. Waiting for hot water isn’t convenient and it doesn’t make much sense to pay twice for water you’ve not used once.

There are a few methods of water recirculation though only one works well for the typical home owner. We can design an appropriate water recirculation solution into your distribution system so you stop wasting time waiting for hot water and stop wasting money paying twice for water you never use.

Stop buying bottled water. It’s expensive, has a relatively high carbon footprint, wastes the containers in which it’s distributed and rarely tastes better or is better for you than locally filtered water.

Bottled water is often “spring” water or water filtered through reverse osmosis. There are a number of reverse osmosis filters available for residential use and they result in a water that’s equivalent to bottled water. When you use an RO filter, you have enough water available for chores like cooking pasta that you wouldn’t do with bottled water because of the expense.

We can help you find the right solution for your home whether you need a whole-home sediment filter to protect your plumbing system or just a filtration system for water used for drinking/cooking.

Drain water heat recovery systems are just beginning to make their way into the model building codes though there seem to be few people familiar with them - even among professionals. They capture heat from water going down your drain and use it to heat water that’s going into your water heater. A shower is a good example of a water use in the home that sends a lot of hot water down the drain.

Your water heater is connected to the cold water supply for your home. Using a DWHR system to raise the temperature of the water coming into your water heater means you don’t have to buy as much energy to heat the water to the set point of the water heater. We can help you determine whether a DWHR system is right for you and where it can be installed.

There are a number of variables to consider in the design of a septic system. On properties that don’t have access to municipal sewer systems, we have to keep track of the septic system requirements relative to the size of the home and the amount of land available for the septic system field.

Don’t worry if you don’t have access to a municipal sewer system. There are areas in developed cities like Atlanta that don’t have access to municipal sewer systems because the hills in those areas cut them off from the sewer systems. We can help you with the septic system design no matter where your property is located.

Ejectors are used to raise sewage from the level of a home up to the municipal sewer system or a septic system - where the lowest floor with plumbing fixtures sits lower than the elevation of the sewer line or septic system. That often happens when utilities are located along a road and a home is located downhill from that road - a common situation.

An ejector may make it possible for you to install a bath or plumbing in a space that you haven’t previously. While ejectors require some maintenance, they can help unlock the potential value in a lot that has challenging sewer conditions.

A well can be a water source for a property that does not have access to a municipal water system. It’s also common to use a well on a property that has access to municipal water when the well water is used for irrigation.

Wells require certain clearance from other elements on the building site so we have to keep track of the proximity of elements to the well site. This can be tricky because you may have to drill more than one well to find a site that provide the desired flow. That means the well site may have priority over other conditions like the location of buildings.

We can help you devise a site diagram and work with the well driller to find a productive location for your well. We can also coordinate your water well with wells for other building components like a geothermal system for heating/cooling your home.

Rainwater harvesting is the collection of rain from your property. That most commonly means collecting rain from the roof of your home and storing it for future use rather than directing it away from your house.

Rainwater systems can collect significant amounts of water though they need some consideration for connections, maintenance, overflow and access to the water that’s collected. For example, you may need some very large tanks to collect all of the rainfall on your roof over the course of a year. You may also want a pump so you can move that water through a hose.

We can help you forecast the amount of water available, choose the amount to be collected and design a collection system that works with your other site elements. This can also be a great way to address wet spots, flooding and erosion in your yard since you can also use a rainwater harvesting system to retain the bulk of heavy rain events that might otherwise swamp your yard.

We don’t design irrigation systems though we can coordinate them with other elements within our scope of work. For example, we can coordinate the connection of your irrigation system with a rainwater harvesting system so you’re not using metered water for irrigation.

On new construction projects, we can also work with you to site the home on the property so that it makes way for green spaces and/or a garden. This allows you to use irrigation efficiently in one spot rather than living in a sea of grass that needs to be watered so it doesn’t go dormant.

Renewable Energy

Generating renewable energy on your property is more cost-effective now that it’s ever been. Prices for solar panels continue to drop and advances in generation from wind and water energy continue each day. The availability of affordable energy storage solutions is making renewable energy sources a contender against energy from power companies. This is especially important as power companies have struggled to meet demand in some areas so they’ve had to resort to rolling “brown outs” to avoid overloading their systems with demand.

Solar energy is collected through photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate electricity. It’s also possible to use solar energy to preheat or heat water for your home.

PV panels are becoming a popular amenity and they’re the most common solution for the construction of net-zero homes - homes that produce as much energy as they consume. Those houses are designed to maximize conservation to make the house as efficient as possible and make up the remaining energy use with renewable energy from sources like solar energy.

We can help design an efficient home through a projected HERS rating and forecast the amount of renewable energy required. There are some details to consider like structure, layout of the electrical system and other issues that need to be incorporated into the design so all the building components work together.

Wind power is a less common means of generating electricity on a small scale though it can be an excellent solution for certain properties. The evolution in windmills to a tall, slender shape that catches the wind instead of having long blades means they can be located in more locations and aren’t as noticeable.

Wind power is the most difficult to forecast though we can assist you in developing an expectation for the amount of electricity to be produced and how it can be used to meet the loads of your home. Select sites may be able to produce a significant amount of power from wind.

Generating power from the flow of water (hydroelectric power) is the least common of renewable energy sources for homes. The market for small-scale hydroelectric power generation (micro hydro) is limited so there haven’t been as many products developed for the market as have been developed to harness solar and wind power.

Still, there are some micro hydro solutions so if you have a constant flow of water available, micro hydro is allowed and it won’t disrupt the wildlife in the water, it may be a good solution for you. We can help you analyze each of these considerations.

It’s also possible to build a water battery if you don’t have flowing water available on your site. These are even less common though they may be a good solution for using solar and water power to store energy using a simple series of components that you can maintain. They may be appropriate in very rural areas or off-grid properties.

Energy storage unleashes renewable energy sources like solar power. There are a number of ways to store energy though the more complex are best left to utility companies because of their cost, expertise required for operation and ongoing maintenance.

The most common energy storage solution for homes is a battery or battery bank. There are different battery types avilable to store energy from your renewable sources so you don’t have to worry if the energy sources are not always producing energy.

Rather than drawing power directly from energy sources like solar power, the energy source charges the battery and you use power from the battery. We need to size the energy course (like the PV array) and the battery so they work together to meet your needs without you running out of power.

That’s more tricky than it sounds though those systems have evolved to offer consumer tools you can use to monitor your use and compare it to the amount of energy you have available. You’ll get used to the daily and seasonal routines so you’ll know how to best manage your resources.

Transaction Support

Our transaction support services are intended to help you better understand the potential/value of a property. If you’re a buyer, you may protect yourself by writing a satisfactory site analysis, variance, rezoning, subdivision, evaluation and/or rating as a condition in your purchase agreement.

An absolute necessity before you buy or build, site analysis is intended to determine the potential of a property by diagramming the rules and regulations governing the development or further development of a property. Site analysis often reveals crucial details that are not apparent from a site visit: zoning requirements, easements, etc.

A variance is a requested deviation from a zoning ordinance, building code or other regulation. Sometimes our site analysis will reveal the need for a variance when we discover a corner of a building over a setback or some other issue that must be legally corrected before additional work can be done.

In some cases, municipalities have adopted average setbacks or other tools that frequently require a variance to establish the rules for your project. In other cases, our proposed work will necessitate a variance so one issue doesn’t prevent an entire project. In any event, we can assist you in development, submittal, presentation and review/hearing of your variance request.

In some cases, you may need to change the density of development by changing the zoning classification or change the size of the property by subdividing it. Both actions change the potential of a property and its surrounding properties so municipalities consider both actions very carefully.

Subdivision may make it possible for you to live on a parcel you could not otherwise afford. You may be able to determine in which part you’d like to live and divide the remaining land into one or more parcels you sell. If you can sell enough subdivided land, you may be able to finance the entire development of the parcel you keep. We can assist you in developing a site plan and determining how to subdivide your parcel.

We can also assist you in preparing a rezoning package, moving it through the required municipal + public reviews and presenting it to the zoning board. In most cases, we can get a preliminary estimate of our chance of success by working with the zoning staff before you go to the time and expense of the entire process.

A building evaluation is not a home inspection. It’s an opportunity for us to visit a property, with you or on your behalf, to evaluate the existing conditions so we can discuss the property with you. Though we may record conditions that would be reported by a home inspector, we can also work with you to address issues like zoning, architectural style, renovation/addition strategies, energy upgrades and other issues not typically addressed by a home inspector. This evaluation can also be paired with a site analysis if you’d like a holistic view of the property. It can also follow a home inspection to help you determine how to address the issues raised in a home inspection report.

A home inspection is common practice before a property is sold. Whether you’re a buyer or seller, you’ll likely need to respond to the issues identified in the home inspector’s report.

Whether we’re supporting the buyer or seller, our response is to evaluate the issues raised by the report and offer solutions. Where possible, we’ll provide a range of options and help you understand the cost and results of each so you may come to an informed decision.

We’re keenly interested in helping you avoid the pitfall of addressing a symptom without addressing the problem(s). To that end, we may provide some additional testing and evaluation to help you find the best solution(s) available.

Your lender may require an appraisal. We can help you prepare a summary for the appraiser that includes items they may not notice (or understand) in the project documents. The summary may include information about building systems, durable design and building performance that contribute to the value of your project. We can also help you respond to any questions raised by the appraiser.

Contrary to popular belief, you may communicate with the appraiser assigned to your project and provide any information you choose. On projects where the design seeks to achieve a high level of home performance, it’s possible to qualify the appraiser – you may reject appraisers who don’t have the qualifications to appraise your project. This may be a critical step in earning the appraisal your project deserves. We can help you with that effort as well.

Jurisdictional Assistance

The residential building code provides guidance for the design of homes in an effort to insure minimum safety standards for occupants. The building code includes requirements for building components though it doesn’t include enough guidance to lead you to a the design of a house.

There’s room for interpretation in the development of a design and there’s even a performance path for a registered professional (like an architect or engineer) to take responsibility for a design that’s outside the prescriptive path in the building code.

The leeway built into the building code can lead to a jurisdiction questioning whether a design complies with the requirements of the building code. We can assist you in either showing compliance with the building code or developing an alternate solution if the current design isn’t compliant.

In some cases, demonstrating building code compliance may be a matter of guiding a permit technician or inspector to the building code language or documentation they want to sign off on the portion of the work they’re reviewing. In any event, it’s best to address these issues as early as possible in your project.

Energy code compliance is typically more challenging than building code compliance. Permit technicians and inspectors often receive more training on building code issues than they do on energy code issues and the energy code is more complex.

The building code doesn’t offer a wide variety of compliance paths. The model energy code many states adopt and amend offers four paths to compliance. The collection of documentation, inspections and testing can be more complicated as well.

We can help you respond to energy code compliance issues, no matter which compliance path you’re using. As with building code compliance, it’s best to address these issues as early as possible.

Applicants for a building permit typically encounter the permitting authority twice. Once when they apply for a permit and again during construction when building inspectors visit the site to review the work governed by the building permit. You may have building code compliance issues/challenges at either of those encounters.

The documentation required for a building permit varies by jurisdiction. Some permitting authorities have detailed checklists for materials that must be submitted. Some municipalities have code-plus requirements for obtaining a building permit.

We can assist you with building code compliance issues at permitting or following an inspection. We can also assist you with collection of documentation to apply for a building permit, even if the jurisdiction in which you’ll be building has requirements beyond the building code.

Just to be clear, we don’t apply for building permits on behalf of our clients or work to expedite building permits for others. Only two parties may apply for a building permit: the owner or a contractor. A building permit may be granted to either so long as they meet the conditions of the permit and applicable state law.

Some jurisdictions require code-plus certifications for projects. Decatur, GA’s code-plus ordinance for homes is an example. Decatur’s ordinance requires new homes to achieve certification in a green rating program.

Green rating programs for homes are typically point-based programs. Designing the project to include certain components or reach certain levels of performance may earn points toward a certain level of certification such as silver, gold and platinum.

While certification may help raise the price of a home, green building programs that award points may also result in tunnel vision where the design chases points to achieve a certain level. It’s more important to decide what strategies are needed to address the priorities of the project and then see what points are available.

If you’re subject to code-plus construction, we can assist you in figuring out what matters most for your project and how to achieve compliance so you may proceed with your work. We can also assist you in investigating rebates, reduced mortgage costs and other benefits that may result from code-plus construction.

If you live in a development with a home owner association (HOA), you may be subject to an architectural review board (ARB). Your HOA may have design guidelines for site design, landscaping and the appearance of houses within the development.

When an HOA has architectural design guidelines, it typically requires alterations, additions and new construction to be presented to the HOA’s architectural review board to show compliance with the HOA regulations. The ARB may be comprised of volunteers (residents in the development) who don’t have any design or construction experience.

We have experience working in a gated community within a gated community: two HOAs and two ARBs for the same site! We’re happy to help you prepare your ARB presentation, work with the ARB staff (if any), make the ARB presentation and navigate the discussion. We like to be present because we can immediately answer questions about design solutions, choice of materials and other options that would otherwise have to be tabled and taken up again at the next meeting (often two or four weeks away).

If your home is within a historic, landmark or other preservation district, you’re likely subject to design guidelines intended to protect the character of your neighborhood. These guidelines may govern specific items like windows and exterior materials.

Demonstrating compliance with those guidelines, even for maintenance, may require a submittal and presentation to the commission. We can assist you in the preparation of the submittal and make the presentation on your behalf in an effort to help you obtain approval to proceed with your work while protecting your neighborhood.

Supporting Work

These services are offered to owners working with another project team. In these roles, we serve as the owner’s advocate.

Some owners working on large-scale or complex single family homes hire an architect to serve as their personal advocate and representative to the project team they’ve hired to design and build the site work and building(s). The owner’s representative may coordinate tasks, handle correspondence and fulfill owner responsibilities on behalf of the owner. This may be particularly helpful for owners who don’t have the time to attend all of the meetings required to keep the project moving toward a successful completion while also monitoring the time and expense of the project.

Local owners executing international projects are often required to assemble a project team in the country in which the project site is located – licensing laws may not allow professionals from other countries to work in those jurisdictions. In those cases, we can serve as the owner’s representative by helping them build a project team in the country of the project site.

We’re familiar with the responsibilities in the various project phases so we can help you set expectations for the project team. We’re also familiar with modern building techniques so we can help you develop a design for a safe building that meets the challenges of the project site, even if the building codes that govern the site aren’t very advanced.

These services can be particularly helpful to owners who want to build a second home to which they’ll have easy access. For Atlanta owners, that’s most of the Caribbean and stable, welcoming Central American countries like Belize and Costa Rica.

Peer review is the process of having a professional review the documents of another professional in the same field. In the construction industry, the goal of our peer review is to help coordinate documents from the various project team members. This allows better communication through the documents which should result in a more accurate bid, fewer questions/coordination during bidding/construction and fewer change orders. All of these things are great for owners and they help the project team get the right work done the first time.

Thank you for learning about technical services!