As the holiday season approaches SWA Architects would like to extend our heartfelt well-wishes to all of our friends and clients. We always make sure to never forget that it is because of good friends and clients like you that we can provide the services that we do.

We would like to wish all a happy and safe holiday season, and may the New Year be filled with joyfulness and success. We look forward to continuing to work with you and provide you with best service possible in the coming year and many years to come.

Start Making Plans for Spring

With winter in full force and preparation for the holiday season consuming our time, the thought of building a new home or upgrading your current house is most likely the furthest thing from your mind. It may be hard to envision the construction of your dream home when you look out the window to blowing snow and ice covered ground, but this is actually the best time to be getting those thoughts together.

Beginning the design process with SWA Architects now will have you well on your way to your kitchen remodel, master bedroom suite, or new home when the ground begins to thaw. When done right, the design process should not be rushed. Use the winter months to design your project and you'll be ready with your building permit in hand when the spring arrives. If you are spending the winter in a cold drafty home, contact SWA Architects and envision the possibility of a living in a warm, comfortable and energy efficient home designed to your needs and specifications. Let us help you with your dreams.

Reinvention 2010

I recently returned from New Orleans after attending the Reinvention Symposium presented by Hanley Wood and Residential Architect. This is my fourth Reinvention conference and as always, I came back with new ideas to help redefine our residential design practice and how we can improve services to our clients.

Being held in New Orleans, it was interesting to see the transformation that is taking place in communities destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. I had personally seen the devastation in the Lower 9th Ward while on a visit during Easter weekend in 2006. At the time, my son had returned to New Orleans after having escaped the flood by wading through waist deep water with a friend and a bicycle. What I saw at the time was total devastation, with homes swept away from their foundations, the result of flood water that had rushed through the broken levee.

Have you thought about an Energy Audit?

An energy audit is an often overlooked tool to help evaluate the energy performance of your home. An energy professional can uncover a vast number of thermal inefficiencies by performing a blower door test in conjunction with a thermal image camera. These tests can identify problem areas with your insulation, windows, and air infiltration through gaps in the exterior of your home. Likely culprits include the attic access panel, recessed lights and electrical outlets. If you have ductwork in the attic, a duct leakage test can be used to identify costly air leakage in your ductwork. Once the problems have been identified, it's time to fix the deficiencies with do it yourself projects or the help of a handy man.

If you plan to upgrade your home with an addition or renovation, an energy audit is a must. SWA Architects suggest an energy audit as part of the design process. By identifying the building deficiencies early in the process, we can recommend and specify the necessary improvements and have it incorporated into the work as part of the construction. It may also be the perfect time to upgrade to energy efficient LED lighting at the same time.

SWA Architects are specialists in energy efficient construction and have a multitude of suggestions to help improve your home. Give us a call.

Stay Warm and Save Money

Furnaces around the Midwest are already getting a workout as winter is just beginning. Yes, it is that time of year when getting your heating bill can feel like make you shiver just as much as the wind chill does. It is also the time of year when we at SWA Architects would like to remind you of things that can keep your home warmer during the winter months without adding to your heating bill.

We would like to remind everyone to visit our web site and blog. Come and view our postings on architecture, the construction industry and related issues.  You can also follow us on twitter where we periodically post links to our latest Blog articles and other interesting information.

Joint twitter and follow us today.