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This month, RS Homes has proudly registered with EnerQuality as a prospective builder of ENERGY STAR® Qualified Homes. This means that, going forward, we will be offering our clients opportunities to reduce their operating costs and their environmental impact – through tighter building envelopes, efficient mechanical system design and reduced electricity consumption. Interested in building an ENERGY STAR® Qualified Home? Contact RS Homes today for a free consultation.

As you might expect, one of the first steps in planning your custom-built home is finding a suitable location. It’s an old saying among custom home builders in Toronto and real estate people, that the house on the hill so to speak is one of the more expensive homes in town. Of course that old adage applies because you’ll get a spectacular view nine times out of 10 but it also means you’re more than likely to skirt any drainage issues you might have if the home was built in the lower location.

Although you can build a custom home in Toronto on available land in an already developed subdivision, it’s important to keep in mind that the avenues for rainwater to seep into the ground have been diminished with the build up of the area. Of course municipal storm sewers are a good answer to this problem, but in some subdivisions planners have not been able to keep up with rapid developments in this area adequately.

Integration is essential to a successful renovation or new home build.

Into the Unknown

The process of renovating an existing home, or building a new custom home, can be complex and fraught with uncertainty, even for experienced homeowners. The challenges are often compounded if key stakeholders are dealt with individually, rather than as part of a unified team. RS Homes’ President Ramtin Sotoadeh (P.Eng.), speaks to this challenge: “We have home owners approaching us with designs, and even permit drawings, that have not been reviewed by a builder. Of course having a compelling architectural concept is important, but we see people spending a lot of money up front on design, without considering the impact on the overall cost, or ‘build-ability’. They are shocked when we highlight potential problems, provide a realistic sense of budget, and show them simpler and more elegant solutions.”

Providing homes with potable water (water suitable for drinking) requires significant infrastructure, energy and financial resources. As with energy consumption, water use can be curbed in part by installing efficient devices such as low flow fixtures, aerators and dual flush toilets.

That said, the complexity of water systems presents a key challenge to reducing consumption. For example, although we do not need to flush our toilets or water our lawns with potable water, conventional plumbing systems do just this. Truly innovative water systems will promote water conservation not only with efficient fixtures, but also by capturing and using rainwater and/or ‘greywater’ (water that has already been used in other processes such as dishwashing and laundry) for non-potable applications.

Pulsinelli is a multidisciplinary design firm specializing in retail, condominium, commercial, residential and hospitality projects. For British sports apparel company Umbro’s Mississauga showroom, the firm created a vintage-inspired space that pays tribute to the company’s history. The 860-square-foot space features a distressed wood floor and custom wood display fixtures with hot-rolled-steel details. Vintage furniture and vignettes, including an antique Singer sewing machine, hark back to the small workshop where Umbro’s first kit was sewn together in 1934. Mannequins are displayed on large mobile metal platforms along the sides of the store, providing a retro feel and conjuring images of hand-stitching, while soccer performance garments are featured on a display unit designed to look like a soccer field.