If you're not yet giving much thought to how much energy your new house is going to use, and how much it's going to waste, then it's time you started.

It should be one of your top priorities if for no other reason than your own pocketbook.

Energy used for heating and cooling homes is going to continue to get more expensive and as we've seen recently, world politics can quickly and dramatically affect your access to cheap energy.

Saving energy isnt just about saving money. It's also an important part of good design.

A Little History

This isn't the first energy crunch we've had. In the 1970's, when I was a college student studying Environmental Design, world events conspired to create an American energy crisis. It was an interesting time to study architecture, because the buildings we designed were required to respond to the environment by using natural energy sources as much as possible.

The homes we created used technology and inventive design to give them form. We designed solar homes, earth-sheltered homes, thermal-mass homes, and other types in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. They collected heat from the sun and the ground and held it inside as long as possible. They blocked excessive solar radiation with deep overhangs and shading devices, and they were very carefully oriented to the angle of the sun and prevailing winds.

Sure they looked a little weird (some were downright ugly) but we designed homes that stayed warm in the winter and cool in the summer and used almost no energy at all.

But then in the 1980's energy got cheap again, and everybody forgot about low-energy homes.

Zzzzzzz.

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Energy Efficiency Designs

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Friends like Megan and James Levesque have played a big part in helping first-time homeowner Joey Cresta complete renovations.Joey Cresta photo

Friends have the uncanny ability to pick you up right at the moment when you most feel like staying down.

I've recently been discouraged by the slow rate of progress we're making on our home renovations. Our 1930 New Englander has proven to be a challenging first-ever renovation for this novice homeowner. Particularly, I'm upset that the process of installing our cabinets and countertops has taken so long.

Our cabinets have been in at least two weeks, but just a few days ago, we ordered our countertops. It will be a couple of weeks, at the very least, before they arrive. Even worse, our walls aren't square, and I dread that the countertops as we've measured them won't work out. I'm even bracing for the installation to be much more of a process than one might expect. That's been the way everything has gone thus far.

That was our situation on one recent weekend. It was mid-morning, and I was sitting around, not expecting to do much work around the house. At that point, I was feeling like things were pretty hopeless and why bother exerting effort when the cabinets are going to continue sitting there, taunting me in their half-finished state.

My friend James Levesque had different plans. He has been a work horse on this project. He works for a construction company and has a knack for everything from hanging and taping drywall to installing doors and windows. Our home would be nothing without him.

As such, I often feel guilty about asking him to help. Weekends are precious for everyone and he's done so much for us already. So has his wife, Megan. So, on this particular morning, I hadn't even thought about bothering him. I figured it would be a good opportunity to take a weekend off and unwind after so much hard work.

Then I got a text from James, totally out of the blue.

"Morning, big cat, what's on the agenda today? Meg's workin' so I'm free if you need any help," he wrote.

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Friends with construction skills: priceless

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Anderson Windows and Doors The manufacturer has partnered with Honeywell on VeriLock, a system that allows security alarms to alert homeowners if their windows or doors are unlocked. Once only available on its Eagle brand, the technology is now being expanded to the companys new E Series. http://www.andersenwindows.com.

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BOK Modern The manufacturer's laser-cut metal system Panels can be used for balcony railings, stair panels, wall screens, fences, green screens, gates, and more. Products are made from aluminum or cold rolled steel and given a three-coat powder finish. http://www.bokmodern.com.

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Boral Roofing The companys new Class 4 hail-rated Storm Series roofingcan withstand sequential 2-inch ice ball impacts at speeds up to 104 feet per second. Its the only U.S.-made concrete roof product with such a rating, the company says. http://www.boralroof.com.

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10 New and Cool Products from PCBC 2012

Southampton Village residents will have to wait at least two more weeks to find out if a new cellphone tower will be allowed to be installed in the historic First Presbyterian Church of Southampton clock tower on the corner of South Main Street and Meeting House Lane in the village.

During a public hearing at a Board of Architectural Review and Historic Preservation meeting on Wednesday, representatives of MetroPCS, trustees of the church, and concerned citizens shared their opinions about the possibility of introducing the cell tower into the 169-year-old church.

ARB members said they did not have enough information to make a decision on the application and ultimately adjourned the public hearing to July 11 in order to review newly submitted material.

The application, which was submitted in May and was the second application by MetroPCS to install an array in the church tower, proposes four antennas to be installed 59 feet above ground level, inside of the tower where the clock faces are. Some of the existing wood siding around the clock faces on the exterior of the building would need to be replaced by fiberglass reinforced polymer (FRP), which would look like the existing wood but would allow cellular waves to be easily transmitted through it. An additional antenna would be mounted to the inside face of a turret at the very top of the tower. The clock mechanism would not be affected.

The existing, historic siding would be removed, wrapped and placed in crates in the churchs basement storage area.

According to Keith Brown of Brown & Altman LLP., which represents MetroPCS, the area of disturbance would be less than 1 percent of the church exterior and there would be no change in appearance at all.

A representative from Stealth Concealment Solutions, which would provide and install the FRP material, produced a sample of the new siding and said that while it would look exactly like the existing wood siding, it would weather differently and perhaps show a slight difference in color over time. He said passersby could not likely tell the difference with their naked eye.

Nonetheless, representatives of the church said the building would continue to be regularly painted and maintained as it has since it was built.

According to church trustee Gerald Adams, the upkeep and maintenance of the church has depended on church membership for financial support. He said that in the 1950s, the churchs membership was approximately 900 people, and now in 2012, it stands at about 400.

The church building is the same, but the membership is less than half of what it was, he said. The fact is, an older church requires more maintenance and more funds with less members contributing.

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No Decision Made On Presbyterian Church Cell Tower Application

SEQUOIA NATIONAL FOREST The historic Buck Rock Lookout will undergo a major renovation this summer, the Sequoia National Forest announced.

Originally constructed in 1923, the lookout has not seen any significant enhancements since the 1970s. Located in the Giant Sequoia National Monument, Buck Rock is staffed annually for wildfire detection and is open to the public during the fire season.

Renovation of Buck Rock will include the rehabilitation of the interior and exterior siding, installation of new cabinets, refurbishing the window frames and trim, weather-proofing the cab, replacing the catwalk fencing, upgrading the electrical system, and replacing a section of the 1942-era stairway.

Wherever possible, the original materials used in the construction of Buck Rock will be refurbished and utilized in the renovation; otherwise, in-kind period appropriate materials will be used to reflect the 1920s era.

Located in the Big Meadows area in the cooler elevation of 8,500 feet, Buck Rock Lookout is a popular destination for people from all over the world. Perched 300 feet above the ground on a granite dome, visitors have grand views of the High Sierra featuring the Great Western Divide, Kings Canyon and surrounding beauty. Eagles, falcons and other birds of prey are often spotted soaring the skies around the lookout. After many years of being shuttered, Buck Rock reopened in 2000.

According to the Buck Rock Foundation website, access to the top is via a series of stair flights (consisting of 172 steps) suspended from the side of the rock.

The current lookout building was constructed in 1923 and is historically significant as a representation of the earliest 4-A style live-in cabs of which there are only three in existence in the world today.

Prior to the current building, an open platform was situated on the top of the rock, which a patrol unit would climb onto to scan for smokes using only binoculars, a compass, and a map. Spotting a smoke, he would quickly descend, hop on his horse and chase down the fire. In 1914, a telephone was installed and a phone line between Pinehurst and Buck Rock was carried by mules and restrung at the beginning of each season.

Originally, only long slim tree trunks with boards nailed across for steps led to the top. A series of ladders for climbing to the lookout came next, and finally in 1942, a stairway built by Frank Fowler and crew was added to ease the climb. By the 1980s, electricity replaced gas and wood as a source of energy, and today the lookout enjoys many of the modern conveniences of most homes.

Legend has it that if you look at the rock from a certain angle, you can see the profile of an Indian warrior, thus the name Buck Rock. Native Americans referred to the rock as Finger Rock.

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Buck Rock Lookout to get needed face lift

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PETER PEREIRA/The Standard-Times Jeff Martin of Stevens Home Improvement, installs new vinyl siding at a home in Fairhaven recently.

An increase in energy audit requests by local homeowners is not translating into a corresponding boost in energy-related home improvement jobs, say local contractors, a fact many find frustrating.

It's not that business is not good, said Steven Alves, owner of Stevens Home Improvement in Fairhaven. The past year has brought back some of his pre-recession busy-ness, Alves said, and allowed him to once again say no to jobs that are located too far away.

But he's still finding that jobs using energy efficient equipment are an afterthought for many homeowners.

"In our company, we push energy efficiency a lot. We're always talking about upgrading attic insulation or getting windows triple pane instead of double pane," said Alves. "But overall there hasn't been a big push. It's just sort of been let me fix up the house, I'm going to be staying here; we're not selling.'"

For example, Alves said, last week his company was finishing up a vinyl siding job that will also boost insulation for a Sconticut Neck home. But the insulation piece of the job came only after Stevens raised energy issues and offered the homeowner specific suggestions.

"It's not the primary reason (for the call); it's secondary," noted Alves. "It only happened when we asked, 'Do you realize you can also get vinyl siding insulated?'"

Carol Fisher, a builder/designer and owner of Center Caf in New Bedford's South End agreed with Alves. Fisher designed her eco-friendly caf using energy efficient products and believes strongly in the benefits of doing that.

Even so, she said, "I think contractors are still finding it hard to get traction around energy upgrades."

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Green energy business is tepid, contractors say

City requests county adopt building code fees

by Dan Sanderson-Staff Writer

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 9:42 AM EDT

The door is not closed on requiring building permit fees for reroofing, residing and installing windows in an least the City of Grayling.

The Grayling City Council has requested the Crawford County Board of Commissioners to add fees for the home improvement projects into its building fee schedule.

The Crawford County Building and Zoning Department handles building code inspections for the City of Grayling.

In May 2009, the county board rejected a proposal to adopt the fees for reroofing, residing and installing windows because they believed it would place a hardship on homeowners and contractors.

In 2009, Joe Duran, director for the Crawford County Building and Zoning Department, recommended the Crawford County Board approve the new fees to protect the unknown public regarding the new building requirements.

Duran said the inspections covered by the fee would ensure the work was being done to manufacturer's specifications. The inspections would also protect the health, safety and welfare of county residents by cutting down mold and mildew contamination in homes and helping eliminate complaints that go to the Department of Consumer and Industry Affairs for shoddy work.

The fee request was prompted by a state law, which went into effect on June 1, 2009, which amended the Michigan Residential Code and incorporates International Residential Code specifications for family dwellings into state building requirements.

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City requests county adopt building code fees

ROCKPORT Pigeon Cove Ledges, a Rockport affordable housing community, is being targeted by its nonprofit owner for an estimated $500,000 to $600,000 renovation project aimed at helping the complex's elderly residents.

The renovations, to be celebrated by Congressman John Tierney and other officials at Pigeon Cove in ceremonies today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., will include an elevator installation for the two-floor, 30-unit complex as well as projects that improve safety and access for older residents, such as a wheelchair-accessible rear patio door and a new sprinkler system.

There will also be more cosmetic changes, such as repairs to the siding and trim and new paint on the exterior of the building, according to Andrew DeFranza, executive director of Harborlight Community Partners, the Beverly-based nonprofit that has managed the complex since last winter.

"We wanted to make the building as current and safe as possible, which is always important, but especially important when you have an elderly population in the building," DeFranza said.

Renovation plans hatched shortly after Harborlight took ownership of the property in December, preventing what had been affordable housing for 30 years from reverting back to market-rate housing as the terms of the buildings' 1980s lease had permitted.

"We told the residents that we were working on this transaction and were hoping to be putting in an elevator, and they broke into applause," DeFranza said.

Residents will be able to continue living in their apartments throughout the construction, which is set to finish in September, DeFranza said. He said the elevator will be built on the outside of the building, then workers will shape the building around it; sprinkler systems will be piped into the units one by -one.

Funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Rural Development, the town of Rockport's Community Preservation Fund, Rockport Housing Partnership, Amelia Peabody Charitable Fund, and North Shore United Way have all come together to make the project possible, DeFranza said.

Harborlight also applied for and received about $225,000 of additional funding from North Shore HOME Consortium, according to its director, Kevin Hurley.

"Harborlight has a good reputation. They're doing a variety of things large and small, and they've demonstrated their devotion to the community around them," Hurley said.

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Rockport housing complex getting $600k lift

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire -06/20/12)- Labrador Iron Mines Holdings Limited ("LIM" or the "Company") (LIM.TO) today reported its operating and audited financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012.

The Company is also pleased to report that it continues to successfully deliver results on a number of key initiatives for the start of the 2012 operating season, including three shipments and sales of iron ore totalling 515,000 tonnes.

Pre-Production Highlights

During the pre-production planning period from January 1 to March 31, 2012, LIM carried out a number of initiatives in support of a successful 2012 operating season:

John Kearney, LIM's Chairman and CEO, commented: "Our strategy during the off-production winter months was to carry out key objectives in order to build a strong foundation for the 2012 mining season. These objectives were designed to address both the operational and organizational requirements critical for the success of our business as we enter the first full season of mining operations in 2012."

Recent Highlights

Full-scale mining operations re-commenced at the James Mine on April 2, 2012 in its first full season of production. To date, the Company has executed key deliverables as follows:

"Given the strong start and progress made to date, we fully expect to achieve our two million tonne production target in 2012" commented Rod Cooper, LIM's President and COO. "With the groundwork at hand, we will continue to focus on optimizing and expanding our operations to achieve excellent results in 2012 and beyond."

Outlook: On Track in 2012

James Mine and Silver Yards

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Labrador Iron Mines Reports March 2012 Year-End Results and Provides Outlook for 2012 Mining Season

BLAIRSBURG - At its regular monthly meeting on June 14, the Northeast Hamilton school board appointed Randy Greenfield to serve the remainder of the director district 5 position vacated by Nate Palmer.

Greenfield will serve until the next regularly scheduled school board election in September 2013. According to board policy, former Vice President Kim Schaa will now serve as board president for the duration of Palmer's vacated term. Roxanne Anderson was elected board vice president.

In contractual business, the board approved contracts for Joan Gelder who will teach three kindergarten through eighth-grade art periods daily, John Seiser will serve as head boys basketball coach and Bret Schutt will serve as head girls basketball coach.

The board accepted the resignations of Kim Schimp as play co-director and co-assistant director, Mary Harreld as bus driver and Ashley Davis as play co-director and co-assistant director and co-prom sponsor.

Principal Patrick Hocking reported on the progress of partial day sharing with Webster City. An informational letter was sent home with 9-12 grade students concerning the student schedule and staff.

Hocking also reported that busses will leave NEH at 7:50 a.m. and students arriving after that time will have to be transported to Webster City by parents. Because of the bussing schedule, NEH will no longer schedule late starts for the beginning of the day, said Hocking. Instead, abbreviated days will include an early dismissal.

Hocking reported he will meet with Webster City personnel this week to discuss orientation and to establish snow day protocol.

The board approved the low bid from Sara Lee for bread and the low bid from Roberts Dairy for milk products.

United Coop was granted the firm low bid of $2.68 per gallon for gasohol and the firm low bid of $3.14 for diesel. Also bidding were Heartland, Star Energy and Doolittle Petroleum.

Star Energy was awarded the contract for the low bid of $1.00 per gallon for propane. Also bidding were Heartland and Innovative Ag Services.

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Greenfield appointed to NEH school board