Category: California home builder

NOTE: This is a two-part series. Click here to read part 1. You can also download our complete Guide to High-Performance Home-building. Clarum Homes is leading the way in building high-performance custom homes that minimize the use of resources, greatly reduce harmful effects on the environment, and create healthier and more comfortable living spaces. We follow a set of best practices for high-performance insulation that you should consider – and speak about with your builder – when you’re ready to build a new custom home. Best Practices for Home Insulation Insulated Foundation It...


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Clarum Homes is thrilled to announce the completion of our Atherton Farmhouse! With a stunning main house, private guest abode, three car garage, and spacious pool, this 8,000 square foot farmhouse in Atherton, CA is the definition of luxurious sustainable living. We’re incredibly proud of this unique project, and invite you to come tour this state-of-the-art luxury home - so you see what all the excitement is about! Visit our Modern Farmhouse gallery to see more photos of this amazing dream home. The Clarum Difference At Clarum, we’re all about innovation – and this project...


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Building your very own custom home is an exciting experience - but it’s also a long journey, with many moving parts and different parties. One of the best ways to succeed in the construction phase of your new custom home is to ensure that you’re properly prepared with an accurate construction timeline and that you’re equipped with the best tools, custom home building team, and processes on your side. Transparency is Key The fact is, you’ll need to make a lot of important decisions throughout the construction of your new custom home, and every single one of them plays into the construction...


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Building a new custom home? Indoor air quality should be at the top of your mind. The average American spends 90% of their time indoors, and air contaminant levels inside the average new home are 2 to 5 times worse than the pollution levels outside. This may come as a surprise. You’re probably aware of the toxic contaminants like lead and asbestos that have made historical headlines and reshaped building codes. But did you know that new home construction presents its own list of contaminants and pollutants to worry about? The good news is that you can take steps to ensure that your...


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Note: This is the second in a two-part series on How to Develop a Timeline for Custom Home Building Construction. Click here to read Part I of this series, where we discuss the pre-construction timeline for your custom home building process. Establish an accurate construction timeline One of the first steps to building a new house is establishing a comprehensive and accurate timeline for completion. And if you’re planning a new custom home, you should think high-performance from the start. In this post, we give you an overview of what to expect during the construction phase, and why high-performance...


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Planning a custom home: budget, design, permit One of the first steps to building a new house is establishing a comprehensive and accurate timeline for completion. And if you’re planning a new custom home, you should think high-performance from the start. With all of the new green, sustainable technology available, you have an incredible array of options for building a new home that will greatly reduce your energy and water use. Plus, high-performance homes are healthier, smarter for the environment, and a great long-term investment. A number of factors before and during construction...


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Deciding to build a custom home in Silicon Valley is an involved process, and understanding the progression of a construction project is essential to both your mental well-being and the success of your project. You may be surprised at how much work has to happen before construction. Pre-construction components like budgeting, financing, property selection, topographical surveying, permitting, planning, and design will weigh into your budget and timeline for completion. In particular, the complexity and duration of the permitting process can surprise future home owners in Silicon Valley. Permitting...


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In part one of this post, we asked if radiant under-floor heat makes sense for a high-performance, passive home. (Read Part One here.) The Overheating Debate Executive editor of Environmental Building News, Alex Wilson’s opinion is clear: radiant floors don’t make sense for passive homes. Overheating is one of many concerns: In a home with a tight envelope and a very small heating load, even a small amount of heat can cause overheating, and the thermal mass in a radiant floor system increases the risk. This is particularly true in buildings with some level of passive solar gain – the radiant...


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Few other heating methods get people so excited as do radiant floors – and for good reason. The delight of going barefoot on a warm surface is hard to beat. Think of a warm hardwood deck on a chilly day... or a picnic on a sun-baked rock. Radiant floors bring the pleasure home, heating your floor directly, which then radiates warmth into the room for a thoroughly comfortable atmosphere. A fantastic idea. But in a passive house – one that’s super-insulated and highly efficient, such as the homes we build at Clarum – does the idea hold up to reality? Our Radiant Experiment Between...


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The choice of healthy construction materials became a major issue in the mid-twentieth century, as builders began using toxic, artificial products, while also sealing buildings as tightly as they could. Sealed buildings conserve energy, of course. However, they also trap harmful gases. When toxic materials are used in construction, indoor air quality can actually reach urban pollution levels. The culprit is VOCs, or volatile organic compounds. Products high in VOCs continue off-gassing long after they’re installed, damaging your long-term health and bearing a daily impact on your your...


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