Staying Cool with a Metal Roof

Are you intrigued with the idea of replacing your existing roof with a standing-seam metal roof? It should last a lot  longer than the shingle alternatives, and it would be compatible with photovoltaic panels should you decide to add them in the future.

You may also like metal roofing — for its durability, recyclability, and ease of removal if the need arises. But can a metal roof save energy? Will that light-colored asphalt roofing material perform similarly, with or without ventilation?

Indeed there is. A products directory maintained by the Cool Roof Rating Council lists solar reflectivity and thermal emissivity values for hundreds of brands of roofing. The difference in energy performance is due to more than just the color of the roofing. The paint that the metal companies apply to the metal has added chemicals that are designed to reflect infrared wavelengths. Most metal companies will list these ratings under each color. There exists a "cool roof" tax credit and a website for approved metal roofs. Read more...

More Good News About Our Real Estate Market

According to the Traverse City Record Eagle in today's edition, "Existing home sales continued to surge in the 5-county area, and sale prices also are starting to rebound.

April home sales totaled 206 across Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Benzie, Antrim and Kalkaska counties, according to data from the Traverse Area Association of Realtors. That's a 14 percent increase from March totals and up 31 percent from April 2011.

The value of those transactions totaled more than $38.3 million, with nearly $21 million of that from Grand Traverse County. Leelanau totaled just over $5.2 million, while Benzie and Antrim were near $4.5 million in total sales."

Critical Dunes Act

Lawmakers Introduce Major Improvements to Critical Dunes Act

Senate Majority Floor Leader Arlan Meekhof (R-Olive Township) and Representative Jon Bumstead (R-Newaygo) have introduced legislation, Senate Bill 1130 and House Bill 5647 respectively, aimed at applying a less subjective approach to critical dune regulation. REALTORS®, builders, and property owners living and working within the critical dunes can attest to the fact that the application of the Critical Dunes Act has been inconsistent and frustrating for many years.

The changes proposed by Senator Meekhof and Representative Bumstead, supported by both the MAR and the Michigan Association of Home Builders, are the product of lengthy negotiation and agreement with the Department of Environmental Quality.  Heretofore, the private property within the critical dunes area has been subject to significant red tape, inconsistent treatment, and often outright prohibition in terms of development and the exercise of private property rights. Efforts as simple as permitting driveway access to an owner’s property have been stifled due to a lack of clarity on how the law should be applied. Read More...

Saving Our Birds

Please support Saving Birds Thru Habitat established to help stem the decline of our migratory songbird populations. Saving Birds Thru Habitat teaches people of all ages how to protect, enhance and restore habitat for North American birds. Their Habitat Discovery Center grounds offer lessons on how to do just that. The SBTH center is adjacent to a 44-acre private conservation effort, Charter Sanctuary, which has hosted more than sixty nesting species. A hundred additional species use the property for foraging during migration. Saving Birds Thru Habitat has the exclusive use of this sanctuary for field trips.

Are Deep Energy Retrofits Worth The Cost

 How much does it cost to perform a deep-energy retrofit at a 100-year-old single-family home? Thanks to a recent study in Utica, New York, we now know the answer: about $100,000. Read more ...

What Is LEED?

The move towards LEED and green building practices has been driven greatly by the tremendous benefits which are a direct result of implementing a green approach. Green buildings use key resources more efficiently when compared to conventional buildings which are simply built to code. LEED creates healthier work and living environments, contributes to higher productivity and improved employee health and comfort. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. Since its inception in 1998, LEED has grown to encompass over 14,000 projects in 50 US States and 30 countries.
LEED has grown into a comprehensive system of six interrelated standards covering all aspects of the development and construction process. LEED was created to accomplish the following:

• Define "green building" by establishing a common standard of measurement
• Recognize environmental leadership in the building industry
• Raise consumer awareness of green building benefits
• Promote integrated, whole-building design practices
• Stimulate green competition
• Transform the building market

The LEED rating system addresses six major areas:

• Sustainable sites
• Indoor environmental quality
• Water efficiency
• Materials and resources
• Energy and atmosphere
• Innovation and design process

There are different LEED versions having varied scoring systems based on a set of required "prerequisites" and a variety of "credits" in the six major categories listed above. In LEED v2.2 for new construction and major renovations for commercial buildings there are 69 possible points and buildings can qualify for four levels of certification:

• Certified - 26-32 points
• Silver - 33-38 points
• Gold - 39-51 points
• Platinum - 52-69 points

LEED certification is obtained after submitting an application documenting compliance with the requirements of the rating system as well as paying registration and certification fees. Certification is granted solely by the Green Building Council responsible for issuing the LEED system used on the project.

Here are some interesting links to explore


http://www.worldchanging.com/local/denver/archives/007100.html

http://www.greenprintdenver.org/green/LEED.php

http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/channelView.do?pageTypeId=8169&channelId=-16863

http://www.learn.colostate.edu/certificates/noncredit/green-building.dot

http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=1302

Contact us to find or list LEED certified properties for you.