Archive for August, 2009
Having built Austin custom homes for over 20 years, Sterling Custom Homes has seen many financial cycles come and go. While this is a difficult time in our economy, there are some bright spots and opportunities for those who are willing to move forward.
All three major cost components to custom homebuilding – material costs, labor costs and lot costs – have all significantly come down over the last one to two years. We recently re-priced a home for a family we have been working with for 2 years. The original price in 2007 was $1,875,000. The new price, based on material and labor reductions, is $1,518,000. That’s a savings of over $350,000! Needless to say, we will be moving forward on that project soon! Read More→
Is a Tankless Water Heater Right for You?
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There has been much talk lately about tankless “on-demand” water heaters as opposed to the conventional tank water heaters most of us are used to. Here’s a brief discussion of the pros and cons of tankless water heater systems.
Tankless water heaters utilize high powered burners to quickly heat water as it is required throughout your home. This is unlike conventional water heaters, which constantly heat water in a tank and deliver that water to your sink or shower when needed. We can all see the obvious inefficiency associated with constantly heating water regardless of its usage.
Since our water heaters account for nearly 25% of our home energy expense, the tankless systems provide a significant monthly savings to homeowners. But there is a catch. First, tankless water heaters are far more expensive than conventional systems, some are more than twice as expensive. Read More→