Teton Heritage Builders

Handcrafted Homes - Lifelong Relationships

Bozeman Builders Community Volunteer 2012

Teton Heritage Builders is gearing up for another community volunteer event this year.  Thanks to the hard work of the Bozeman Sunrise Rotary we are proud to be Bozeman builders that adopt a home to fix up in the 3rd Annual Bozeman Fix-Up Festival.

Being held on the last Saturday in September, the Fix-Up Festival is a chance for our employees to give back to the Bozeman community by donating their time and construction expertise to a deserving family.  THB sponsored a home and provides funds to purchase materials for a project every year.  In two weeks our team will rush in for one day to tackle projects like installing new windows, repairs to the roof, door upgrades, exterior painting, building decks, etc.  Last year we donated over 200 hours of volunteer time to our project and we are expecting to deliver the same numbers this year.

At the end of the day we will have helped a low-income family make their home safer, more accessible, and more energy efficient.  Everybody at Teton Heritage Builders loves to help improve Bozeman and Big Sky homes and the comfort of those that live inside of them.  We look forward to this event each and every year.

In addition to the volunteerism from our Big Sky office, our Jackson Hole branch has also been helping out in their community.  We will dedicate more on that at a later time.

 

If you would like to be involved please send us as email at info@tetonheritage.com

The 5 Factors of New Home Costs in the Rockies

 

Teton Heritage Builders has been building in the Rocky Mountains for more than 16 years. Between the 200 years of construction experience in our team we’ve gained a lot of knowledge about what drives the costs for building a new home and we want to share that information with you.

After a survey of our teammates we’ve narrowed down the greatest factors that influence new home costs in the Rockies to five main categories.  Overlooking just one of these factors can lead to a significant jump in building costs whether you are in Big Sky, Jackson Hole, Bozeman, or any other region in the Northern Rockies for that matter.

The five main factors that influence cost of new homes are: Site Access and Conditions, the Exterior Skin of the Home, Architectural Design, Mechanical and Electrical Systems, and the Finishes.  They may seem obvious now that they are out in the table, but each category has nuances that influence the costs of every other category.  Not fully identifying the details in any one of these categories will have a cascade effect on your budget that can come back to haunt you as the project moves forward.

Download our rundown of these five factors for free right here.  If you are considering building a new home in the Rocky Mountains we highly encourage you to talk with your real estate agent, architect and builder about every one of the five main factors that influence building costs in your region.

7 Critical Questions To Ask Your Builder

Custom Wine Cellar in Jackson Hole
Custom Wine Cellar in Jackson Hole

Selecting a builder for your home or commercial construction project is a very important task.  Investigating your options until you can put together the right team to build your project is an important part of the process.  We’ve met with countless people in Big Sky, Bozeman and Jackson Hole during their quest to find the right builder and have fielded lots of great questions.

Make sure you take time to ask a potential builder  questions to ensure it will be a good partnership.  The last thing you want to do is battle an incompatible or underhanded contractor for the duration of your project.  Write down a list of vital questions and get straight answers because when your pocketbook is on the line you need to be able to trust your builder.

The team at Teton Heritage Builders loves the discourse between client and builder and we encourage anybody who is building a home to ask some serious questions to prospective builders after they’ve been given their pitch.  Don’t discount what a builder puts out there during the sales process, but be sure they cover seven critical topics by the end of your meeting.  Download a list and explanation of questions you should be asking any prospective builder. 

 

Montana Custom Patio with a View

Teton Heritage Builders is nearing completion of a stellar project near Helena, MT.  The interior finishes are impeccable with only one room left which is scheduled for completion in just a few months.  As for the exterior, we’ve been working hard on the landscaping over the last month including this custom patio.

The photos above were taken directly off the rear entrance.  The stacked stone fireplace features a large cubby for split firewood on the left side.  To the right of the fireplace is a wood-fired oven and around the back of the oven is a large smoker.  One cool feature not readily apparent in the photos is the custom stone ice cooler.  Built directly into the masonry is a self-draining space for chilling beverages.  No more dumping out ice water the  morning after a grilling session.

Added into the patio system are a few large stone benches that alleviate seating issues when entertaining large parties.  This way all of the guests are comfortable when relaxing and looking out over the lake on those perfect Montana evenings.

Top 5 LEED Design Tips for Montana

Teton Heritage Builders built the first NAHBGreen certified home in the state of Montana.  It took some extra measures to ensure we achieved the criteria for the certification, but in the end we completed the home at no additional cost to our clients!  How’s that for service?  The end result is a highly energy efficient dream home in Bozeman, MT.  I caught up with our staff LEED AP, Ben Jones, on his top five tips for achieving LEED certification in Montana.  Here’s what he had to say:

1.  Insulation:  Super insulate your building envelope!  Insulation is perhaps the best investment you can make for your home in this cold climate.  Spray foam will decrease air infiltration to keep heating and cooling costs low.

2.   Sourcing Materials:  Don’t automatically think you can’t afford “green” materials.  The price gap between conventional and green products is getting slimmer and often with a bit of searching around you can find sustainably sourced materials for the same cost.

3.  Limit the Size:  Large homes incur bigger penalties when calculating points for LEED certification.  You will need to strike a balance between a grand house and an energy efficient home.

4.  Lighting:  Sit down with your architect and be sure to orient your home to maximize solar resources.  Take advantage of solar for natural lighting and passive solar for heating and cooling.  The Sun is critical for gaining LEED points as well as cutting down on utility costs.

5.  Performance Testing:  Be sure to perform a blower door test before you put up any drywall.  It is a great indicator of where you need to improve the insulation around windows, at roof/rafter connections, etc.  A house with low values of air changes per hour equates to more LEED points.

These are just a few key areas to target when designing and building a home in Montana.  With a keen eye towards the details you, too, can have a NAHBGreen home without breaking the bank.

Montana

76225 Gallatin Road
Gallatin Gateway, MT 59730
phone: 406-522-0808

Handcrafted Homes
Lifelong Relationships

email: info@tetonheritagebuilders.com

Wyoming

655 Deer Dr., Suite #3
Jackson Hole, WY 83001
phone: 307-733-8771