Amaris Custom Homes is pleased to announce the +1 Program for 2012. For every home built with Amaris Custom Homes in 2012, Amaris Custom Homes has committed to build plus one home in Haiti through it’s partnership with World Wide Village (http://www.worldwidevillage.org). World Wide Village is a Haiti non-profit organization that serves under privileged Haiti in many ways, including sustainable agriculture, healthcare, nutrition, education and housing. “World Wide Village has developed an economic model for building permanent housing that is sustainable and renewable far into the future. The homes are strong in the face of storms, built from locally sourced materials, fast to built and offer safety and security.” Customers purchasing from Amaris Custom Homes pay no extra cost as this financial commitment is part of the companies commitment to good stewardship. “We are very excited about the +1 project” says Ray Pruban, Chief Manager of Amaris Custom Homes. “The work World Wide Village is doing aligns very well with our philosophy and we are pleased to be part of the work they are doing.”
Archive for the ‘Amaris News’ Category
Amaris Custom Homes Announces the +1 Program
Monday, January 23rd, 2012Join Us On 107.1FM Radio
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011Cool News.
It’s not everyday we get invited to be on the Radio, so this is truly worthy of posting on the blog. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, Amaris Custom Homes has been invited to talk “green” at the new Red Hot Real Estate Show on 107.1 FM, Sunday at 2:00-3:00PM. This Sunday, please show your support by turning your dial to 107.1FM, listen in and call in too!
Amaris Partners with EPA’s WaterSense Program
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010Today, Amaris Company received approval from the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to become a WaterSense® Partner. By partnering with the EPA’s WaterSense® Program, Amaris is strengthening its commitment to green building in the Twin Cities market.
Amaris Company Approved as EPA Lead Certified Firm
Friday, October 29th, 2010Today, Amaris Company received notice that it has been approved by the EPA as a Lead Certified Firm. I wish I could say we had to jump through extra hoops or have some special expertise to become an EPA Lead Certified Firm, but the truth is all we had to do was send in our application and $300.00. Makes a person wonder what the federal government is really after. Still, we have now gone through the Lead Certified Renovator classes and we are now fully in compliance with yet another federal regulation.
What does this all mean for you? Properties built before 1978 where more the six square feet of wall is going to be affected, requires a lead test before a contractor (plumber, electrician, carpenter, HVAC contractor, etc) may conduct work. If the lead is found, certain lead safe practices must be followed. The bad news is this adds cost for the contractor which will of course will be passed on to consumers.
I am told local municipalities will start to enforce these rules in the first quarter 2011 and will affect all law abiding contractors pulling permits. Of course, those flying under the radar will not be affected causing an even a bigger discrepancy between those of us following rules and those contractors that chose not too.
Maybe I should go over to the dark side…
Cost Effective Wall System Beats Passive House by 300%
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010It was our honor to deliver yet another new custom green built home with healthy living built in to one of our customers yesterday. The home was our best effort yet in terms of air leakage standards. We are quietly going about building amazingly energy efficient homes. The air leakage rate was .08 CFM as compared to .25 CFM for the Passive House in Hudson Wisconsin that has been getting some attention locally and even nationally. Unlike some in the green building business, we had no press conferences, no press releases, no open houses, no hoopla. We didn’t need to import special windows from Europe or add 18″ of insulation in the walls and build a house that looks kind of weird. Amaris builds amazing energy efficient homes that look like every other house in the neighborhood with healthy living built in…no hoopla added.
By the way, it all cost less than $300,000 too! Before you build, you need to know what we know. Don’t build without talking to us first.
Solar Rewards Account Approved
Sunday, October 24th, 2010This week Amaris Company’s Solar Rewards installer account was approved by Excel Energy. Amaris Company is now able to fill out our customer’s application and track progress for them. In addition, all Excel Energy customers are able to select Amaris as their installer on the Excel Energy Web Site. The ability to integrate photo-voltaic solar panels in the new construction process is just one of many direct purchasing relationships Amaris holds that allows us to offer unprecedented value to our customers. If you are interested in a solar solution, we are also offering solar systems separate of our new construction and remodeling activities.
EPA Lead-Based Paint Renovation, Repair & Painting Program (RPP)
Friday, August 27th, 2010Amaris Company is pleased to announce that Raymond Pruban and Tony Froelich have both successfully completed the Federal EPA requirements to become EPA Lead Certified Renovators’s. Also, Amaris Company is in the process of becoming an EPA Lead-Safe Certified Firm and shall meet all requirements with regards to the new EPA Lead Regulation 40 CFR Part 745.
This new RPP EPA regulation requires that all homes built prior to 1978 and child occupied facilities must be lead based painted tested prior to any renovation, repair or painting. Any work areas found to contain lead based paint must be properly managed with lead safe work practices followed. This new regulation affects contractors, sub-contractors (including painters, carpenters, plumbers, HVAC contractors, electricians, etc), property managers and anyone who disturb lead based paint.
Workers who disturb greater than 6 square feet of interior of paint per room inside, or activities that disturbs greater than 20 square feet on the exterior must follow EPA procedures. This work also includes window replacement, and projects involving demolition. Generally this work includes, but is not limited to, remodeling, repair and maintenance, electrical, plumbing, painting, carpentry, and window replacement.
To learn more, download the EPA’s lead pamphlet http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/lead/pubs/renovaterightbrochure.pdf
New Green Projects Underway
Saturday, July 31st, 2010The building season is in full swing and Amaris Company is continuing it’s vision to become America’s #1 Green Builder. Each new project we learn new techniques, discover better building products, understand what doesn’t work and what does and continue to refine our building practices, separating ourselves further and further from the competition.
Amaris Company recently started its’ first rehab project that will be certified under the MN Green Star Program. The MN Green Star program paperwork is fairly daunting. To assemble our twenty-six page project specification, it took no less than 100+ hours to sort through the more than 1,000 page specification and hundreds of lines in the program check-list. Builders hate paperwork and the MN Green Star program has plenty of it.
Amaris Company is also beginning another new construction LEED for Homes project in the Waters Edge subdivision, located in Hugo, MN. It will be our third such project certified under the LEED for Homes program and our tenth home built to the LEED for Homes standards.
