Winter Is Just Around The Corner

Halloween costumes and turning the clocks back are sure signs that winter weather will soon be upon us. That means that energy use--and costs-- for heating will be greater. This can be an opportune time to increase the energy-efficiency of the home.

Now is the time to check weatherstripping and replace if it has gotten brittle over time. Furnace filters should be changed to maximize efficiency. Inadequate attic insulation is a major source of heat loss as are single pane windows.

Solving these problems is a service I provide that can increase your comfort level and save you money as well.

www.tomtrentbuilders.com

Greening Your Home Has Benefits

I recently completed training to become a Certified Green Building Professional. This was through a program of Build It Green, California's foremost organization in the field. Their website is http://www.builditgreen.org/. One of the trainers has been active in the green building movement since its inception 15 years ago.

Buildings are the largest source of CO2 emissions, far surpassing tranportation and industry. 70% of the homes in California were built before 1978, when the need for energy conservation became so apparent that the Energy Code was adopted (Title 24). And the majority built since then are not energy-efficient by today's standards. The quality of indoor air, where we spend most of our time, is 2-4 times worse than outdoors.

These facts lead to the compelling need to take action to make our existing--as well as new-- buildings cost less to operate and be healthier places in which to spend time. Green building is not just about solar and alternative energy, it is also about saving money and improving overall health. There are a wide variety of steps--from small to medium to large--that I can suggest for your specific situation to improve your quality of life and protect our environment. Here are but a few examples:

95% of the energy used by incandescent light bulbs generates heat, not light. Compact fluorescent bulbs now come in warmer color shades and save money every month.

Weatherstripping and sealing to prevent heat loss through uncontrolled air infiltration is another low-cost way to reduce energy costs.

When replacing carpet or other flooring, shop for products that contain less harmful components than the old standard ones. Offgassing from underlayment and floor coverings is a major source of bad indoor air quality, and it continues for years. There are viable alternatives out there.

When replacing your water heater, appliances, or HVAC system, get advice on how to improve the energy efficiency and performance of these big ticket items. The labels can be confusing and/or deceiving.

If you decide to add to or remodel your home, I can work with you to improve your building's energy performance as well as your family's health by implementing some Green Building approaches. The benefits you will experience will continue long after the project is complete.

www.tomtrentbuilders.com

Acknowledgements March 2008

Acknowledgements

Creating my website was an organic process that evolved over more than a year and involved several key people besides myself.

It all began when my friends, Homer and Christine Canelis asked me to help them develop a landscaped area for their ridgetop home in the coastal hills of Sonoma County. Christine had a vision for a welcoming entrance, so she and I spent some time looking at several older homes around our community that featured trellises and arbors. Most of these were modestly built, lacking grace and character. Then she found a picture in a magazine which suggested the arched shape with substantial sized members, and we had a concept. Homer had an older dry Redwood log he and his father had pulled out of Austin Creek years before, and some old-growth Redwood salvaged from a water tank. The pictures on the Artisan Woodwork page chronicle the process of creating this unique piece.

My friend, Andrea Record—sculptor, musician, writer, and photographer—offered to take pictures of this and another of my recent projects. It was she who planted the seed that I should develop a website when she saw my work. She has an unusual and beautiful website for her business, Studio Nouveau and convinced me that I needed to move into the 21^st Century myself. After letting the idea lie dormant for a number of months, I started the process by working on a portfolio of pictures of the special jobs I had done over nearly 30 years of building. When it came time to actually design the website, Andrea offered to let me use the antique sepia background that she had created herself for her website.

My sister, Billy Trent, loaned me her digital camera and spent countless hours processing and downloading several hundred pictures onto CD’s, setting me up with an on-line photo service, and encouraging me to make our family’s business tradition part of my presentation on the Web. I ended up devoting a special page to that aspect. For it was my father and grandfather who taught me the meaning of work and service in business.

I had looked into the “create it yourself free” website services offered by various internet companies and was not satisfied with those. I knew I would need professional help to create something customized and special to get my message out there. Then lightning struck when I met Buffie Harris, who operates Design Orbit. We immediately hit it off and after our first get-together, I knew I had found the perfect person to create the website. She listened to me as carefully as I do with my clients, to get an intuitive feel for what I wanted. Her work consistently exceeded my expectations.

My clients (with whom I often become friends) whose homes and testimonials appear here have my heartfelt thanks for allowing me to come back and take pictures years later.

To say “thank you” to all these people who were instrumental in helping me is hardly adequate. Without any one of them, this website would have never come to fruition in the way that it has.

Click here to return to my website