Category: custom homes

Planning your home construction 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. There are two distinct phases to consider when establishing a homebuilding...


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Building a 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. Communication is key A recent survey found that new-home buyers want more proactive communications about their home construction – and it's no wonder. Building your custom home will require...


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A modern custom home represents a significant financial and time investment. More than that – you are putting your faith in someone to create your living space for years to come. Therefore, when choosing a custom home builder, it is crucial to understand their operation, level of experience, and history in the marketplace. To help you get started, here is a list of ten essential questions to include in your interviews with your potential home builder: 1) How long have you been building in Silicon Valley? Hiring a custom home builder is similar to hiring a team of long-term employees....


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At Clarum, we believe “home” is a place where you should feel at ease. Comfort and health are important factors in that equation, and to achieve them, you need ventilation and filtration systems that are up to the task. When a builder fails to plan for these systems properly, the results can include poor air quality, discomfort and ultimately, poor health as well. That’s why choosing the right filter is so important. To ensure that the air you breathe in your modern home is fresh, comfortable and healthy, it’s vital to select the right level of air filtration for your needs. Indoor...


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Home-building technology has come a long way over the last several decades. One of the biggest improvements introduced during this time is total envelope airtightness. It’s not a new idea; for as long as humans have been building homes, we’ve been trying to reduce drafts. But until recently we didn’t yet have the technology needed to make this a complete reality. Fortunately, some of the emerging technologies in airtight construction have helped to make modern homes warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Not only are these high performance homes more comfortable, they also...


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When it comes to modern home construction, you have an incredible array of options for bringing high-performance (and high efficiency) to your project – making your custom home healthier, smarter for the environment, and a great long term investment. One such option is related to your water heater. Did you know that (according to Energy Star) about 15% of the energy consumed in a modern home goes to heating water? It’s true! Most of that hot water (37%) gets used in the shower. Your clothes washing machine is the second-biggest guzzler (26%), followed by the dishwasher, bath and sink....


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Spend any time in the home-building world, and you’ll run into the term “R-value” sooner or later. Most people know that R-value has to do with home insulation. But what does it mean? And what does it take to translate “R-value” into things that really matter: comfort, energy efficiency, a smaller carbon footprint? At Clarum Homes, it’s important to think about R-value when choosing materials for your high-performance home – but that’s not all there is to it. What’s more important than R-value? To find out, read on! What Does "R-Value" Mean? The "R" in R-value is for resistance....


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When we talk about thermal mass in the modern building movement, we’re referring to heavy building materials whose slow pace of temperature change makes them capable of storing immense amounts of energy. These sustainable building materials can play a remarkable role in your modern home: regulating indoor temperature, lowering your heating/cooling bill and enhancing your comfort. At Clarum, we consider thermal mass a powerful passive strategy to achieve superior, eco-friendly comfort. What is Thermal Mass, Scientifically? Technically, “thermal mass” describes how much energy (in joules)...


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Over the last 20 years, Clarum has been a pioneer for eco-friendly home design in the green building movement. Through that time we’ve worked with multiple industry standards that define what it means to be green in the modern home: LEED, Passive-certified, Passive-inspired, CalGreen, GreenGuard. Today, we've compiled our favorite products and systems for the coming year into one list - keep reading to see our selection of top 10 green products for modern home construction! Green Products for Modern Home Construction 1. Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS) A best practice for insulation...


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Clarum is thrilled to announce the completion of our high-performance Menlo Park Modern Home! Smart innovation in home building High-efficiency framing. Super-insulation. Solar power. SIPS. All blended into modern beauty. (Go to our gallery to view the entire set of photos of this modern home.) This ultra-modern, two-story 2,800 square-foot home is located in a well-established Menlo Park neighborhood. And, it features all of the components of the Clarum Home passive design.  The four-bedroom, 3.5-bath home demonstrates all our standard high-performing components, including a heat-recovery...


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