Going green is good economics! For your home, wallet and the earth. Homeowners are consistently asking about energy-efficient homes in creating a safe, healthy and sustainable environment for their family. As a custom homebuilder, RS HOMES is continually implementing green technology to stay in the forefront of best building practices. Here are several tips to…
Building a custom home can be an exciting and rewarding experience. At the same time, it is an complex and lengthy undertaking that can challenge even the most seasoned professionals. Here are four things you must do to prepare yourself for the journey: 1. Find a Builder You Can Trust: The single most important criteria when selecting…
RS Homes recently completed this 5000 square foot detached home on Edgevalley Drive in Etobicoke. We’re very proud of the design and craftsmanship that made the project possible. The exterior showcases a regal Indiana Limestone cladding, complete with precast concrete details, cedar shake shingles, and copper eaves, downspouts and awnings. The interior is finished with…
This month, RS Homes has proudly registered with EnerQuality as a prospective builder of ENERGY STAR® Qualified Homes. This means that, going forward, we will be offering our clients opportunities to reduce their operating costs and their environmental impact – through tighter building envelopes, efficient mechanical system design and reduced electricity consumption. Interested in building…
Providing homes with potable water (water suitable for drinking) requires significant infrastructure, energy and financial resources. As with energy consumption, water use can be curbed in part by installing efficient devices such as low-flow fixtures, aerators and dual-flush toilets. That said, the complexity of water systems presents a key challenge to reducing consumption. For example,…
Pulsinelli is a multidisciplinary design firm specializing in retail, condominium, commercial, residential and hospitality projects. For British sports apparel company Umbro’s Mississauga showroom, the firm created a vintage-inspired space that pays tribute to the company’s history. The 860-square-foot space features a distressed wood floor and custom wood display fixtures with hot-rolled-steel details. Vintage furniture and…
The environmental impact of our buildings follows in part from the energy we use within them. Conventional non-renewable energy sources such as coal-fired and nuclear power plants are a major source of pollution and green house gases emissions. Thus the more energy we consume from these sources, the more harm we do. And while renewable…
When designing a healthy home, the single most important consideration is indoor air quality (IAQ). Many factors influence the quality of the air in your home: the building envelope and penetrations, the type, quality, and maintenance of the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system, and the materials and finishes you select. A well-designed home…
When we talk about developing sustainable homes, we are referring to cost-effective strategies for ensuring human health and reducing our environmental impact. In designing a healthy home, important considerations include air quality, water quality, natural light, and thermal comfort. In terms of reducing the home’s environmental impact, we can look to our use of energy,…
With over 7 billion people on earth, humankind’s demand for energy, water, and resources is having a tremendous impact on our environment. We are literally reshaping the natural systems that we rely on for clean air, fresh water, and healthy food. Faced with this reality, the question of how to sustainably co-exist with each other…
Not all the things you want to look at for your custom home need to be about washers and dryers when it comes to Energy Star ratings. There’s more to it than just the appliances. Although there are design elements that need to be taken into account when you’re looking at where your new appliances…