Software processes virtual custom homes into reality

Miranda Homes has recently changed their engineering software to Revit Architecture 2011. This advanced program allows for the home builder and buyer to explore a wider range of customization for their home. The engineers at Miranda are excited about what this software has to offer.

"From inception our goal was to incorporate software that would give us the ability to allow our customers to visualize, in 3-D, their dream home in detail and then turn that into deliverables," said president Rob Boydstun, "Revit, coupled with the Struc Soft program, customization from Miranda's engineers, and other component manufacturers improve our process to construct the home as ordered and on schedule."

Revit has updated its software to enhance the needs of efficient builders like Miranda. New features include estimates on total energy and carbon emissions annually, monthly and even hourly, estimates on water usage throughout the house, and calculations of heating and cooling loads based on occupancy. All of these features collectively work to simplify the process of designing a house.

Revit also supplies a panoramic 3-D view of the home allowing each room to be seen as it will look structurally in detail. Think of it as an in-depth version of "The Sims" architectural video game series, except you can actually have it built.

To ensure that the buyer has a greater chance of getting the exact product they want with their home, Revit provides the "family" feature. This takes the parameters and dimensions of a product – say, a bathtub – and fits it into the architectural drawings allowing the designer to see what that product will look like in the home when it is built.

The buyer can choose from thousands of household items such as bathtubs, windows, cabinets and appliances from many businesses, such as Andersen Windows, who have pre-made product files ready to be downloaded.


"Because there's so many architects and structural engineers using it there's a large library of components already available," says Hanson (right), "The point of having the geometry already created is a big head start."

These products can be grouped together so that the engineer can simply pick the product and drop it into place in seconds, instead of repetitively putting in dimensions each time, which will save hours over the overall building process.

With requests growing for Miranda custom homes, the Revit Architecture 2011 software is leading the way in providing the home buyer with a more enjoyable and stress-free experience as they begin to construct their dream home.

Colby Residence - Video of Ribbon Cutting

How to Go "Green" and Comply with Building Code

Scott Caufield, the Building Codes Administrator for Clackamas Couny has recently had a new book published. Miranda Homes is honored to have one of our homes featured on the cover and several places throughout the book.

The book is written for anyone wanting to build a green home but many of the principals described in the book can be applied to all types of construction.

From the Preface:

Whether you are considering green construction from the perspective of a home-owner, a builder, a design professional, or a code official, this text will provide valuable information to assist you in that quest.

Scott begins by explaining the code and the role of the code official. It is written to be understood by readers who have little or no experience with building codes. He also describes alternative means and methods (AMM) and how they can be applied to residential construction.

The second section of the book goes into identifying key areas where green decisions can be made in a chapter-by-chapter analysis of the code. The organization of chapters is laid out in much the same way as the International Residential Code (IRC) making it easy to follow.

Miranda Homes appears in the book several times with photographs highlighting our foundation and floor joist system, steel frame construction, spray foam insulation, water distribution manifold and rainwater harvesting system.

For your own copy of Going Green with the International Building Code click -HERE- or go to www.delmarlearning.com and keyword search "Going Green."

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Critiquing E-Certification Programs

by Lisa Pickert

If you’ve been reading any of my blogs, you’ll know that I am a proud promoter of environmental (E) certification programs for residential home building. I promote them because I believe in their usefulness for promoting improvements in the building industry. I also promote them because the building code, upon which building and the public rely, is a political process and as such, is slower to change. On the flip side, I don’t promote these programs because I believe that they are the perfect solution to all that can be considered “green” (healthy, sustainable, low environmental impact) in building.

In this spirit, I offer a new critique of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (L.E.E.D.) program developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The nonprofit organization, Environmental and Human Health Inc (EHHI), challenged the L.E.E.D. system, arguing that it doesn’t do enough to ensure human health, specifically in terms of providing and prioritizing excellent indoor air quality. You can read the report at www.ehhi.org/reports/leed. Naturally, the US Green Building Council was quick to respond with a defense of their programs. For those interested, the response in its entirety can be found at www.buildinggreen.com.

So where do I stand on the debate? I simply applaud the discussion and encourage all of us to read and understand the debate. I believe that risks to human health are everywhere and despite the plethora of regulations out there, ultimately, one’s individual actions and choices play a significant role in determining one’s exposure.

There is plenty of room for improvement in the L.E.E.D. and other green building programs. These programs provide a starting point NOT an ending point. Likewise, at Miranda Homes, we constantly strive to evaluate and improve upon how we build. Our site crew learns from what they do, our engineers stay current with the latest research on building science and our sales staff constantly seek input and feedback from customers and Realtors on what people want in a green home. Together, this knowledge is constantly being incorporated into the next home we build, creating an ever improving product and the confidence to offer a 10 year warranty to our home buyers.

Earth Slabs and Conditioned Crawl Spaces

When you talk about building a house, the crawl space may not be the most discussed feature. Generally, building codes require the bare earth of a crawl space to be covered with a 6 mil thick poly sheeting which acts as a vapor barrier. The goal of the vapor barrier is to keep moisture from moving out of the ground and into the crawl space thus preventing mold, mildew and condensation. Additionally, the under floor of the house must meet insulation values laid out in the residential energy code.

You can enhance the crawl space area by pouring a 3-4" concrete "Earth Slab" under the entire house. The main purpose of the Earth Slab is to allow us to create a conditioned crawl space. It also acts as a radon barrier which, in some locations, can be a significant concern. And of course, it keeps out insects and rodents. Because the slab is not structural the rules for it are not very stringent. They don’t require any reinforcement or great attention to the surface finish. In some locations, a vapor barrier under the concrete is required by code. Regardless of code, it’s a good idea to lay a vapor barrier down before pouring the slab. The plastic sheeting will reduce any wicking of moisture through the concrete.

In our homes, the rat slab is one component of our conditioned crawl space, which in turn is just one component of our energy compliance package. The major concern when designing a crawlspace is to keep the area dry while also minimizing infiltration of outside (unconditioned) air into the house. This requires some type of ventilation and insulation. Typically, the approach is to vent the foundation by placing rectangular vent channels in the foundation as it is poured and insulating the underside of the floor joists for energy efficiency. This approach contributes to the "Stack Effect" (Read more about the stack effect by clicking HERE and HERE)

We take a different approach and stop the stack effect by eliminating the static vent channels and by sealing and insulating the foundation. (using ICF block - which allows us to eliminate the under floor insulation) Then we’re adding a crawlspace ventilation system that pulls in a small amount of conditioned air from the HVAC system. That air conditions the crawl space and is passively exhausted to the outside.

Stopping the stack effect is important because it allows us to control the fresh air that is introduced, and filter it before you breath it. It improves indoor air quality, and according to Mike O'Brien from the Portland Office of Planning and Sustainability, it will add 100 years to the life of a home.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

What is a "Well Built" Home?

By Lisa Pickert

So what does it mean to be a "well-built" home? Most builders claim it, but we have all heard the horror stories. Well, I believe in the quality of Miranda Homes or I wouldn’t be working here. I sought out Miranda Homes because of their core value to focus on building energy efficient homes that minimize their impact on the environment. So when visitors come to our open houses, my enthusiasm probably overwhelms them. Similarly, if you’ve spent time on our website, you know that we spend the majority of our internet space describing how our homes are built and why it's important to concern yourself with that.

I encourage you to seek out verification of our claims. Miranda's technology is based on sound, tested, building science, as well as field experience. One of the best and worst aspects of the residential building industry is that it generally relies on tried and true methods that date back to the early 20th century. In some ways, the argument can be made that this makes sense – to build (pardon the pun) on an existing body of knowledge and practices. The problem with this logic is that the residential building industry is kind of stuck in early 20th century methods and practices.

There are so many ideas, methods and materials coming out of current science on how to build that are a great reference tool. One of my favorite websites for information on the latest and greatest research on how to build homes well can be found at www.buildingscience.com. At this website, you can learn about unvented crawlspaces, unvented attics and other building technology that runs counter to the typical building industry today. Miranda Homes has developed our product on new science and real world testing versus just building the way it’s always been done.


Would you want a computer today that was built the way they were in the 1960s? Heck no, you wouldn’t even have room for it in your house! Instead, you want the latest technology incorporated into your new computer purchase. Similarly, Miranda Homes incorporates the latest scientific understanding of how to build structures that will last, be energy efficient, healthy to live in and save acres of trees along the way.

Less scientific, but nonetheless invaluable, there are more websites popping up every day that draw on contemporary research on home building. One example is the Sierra Club’s green home website, http://www.sierraclubgreenhome.com. There you will find excellent information on such items as the importance of air sealing your house. At Miranda Homes – the spray foam insulation that we use achieves extraordinary results in this area. Another item discussed on this website under the wood section is “Optimum Value Engineering” (OVE). At Miranda, we incorporate these concepts and much more by using steel instead of wood. Finally, on the Sierra Club Green Home website, they talk about the value of an energy audit. At Miranda homes, we achieve that through third-party verification by Earth Advantage. See our post on what it means to be Earth Advantage Certified HERE for more details.

Whether you review the hard-core building science websites or the layperson friendly websites on building well, the main thing is to do your homework and become educated on the subject of a well built home. Then, when you’re ready to build well, we hope that you’ll consider Miranda Homes!

Vertical Integration

What is Vertical Integration and why should you care?
Let's start with what it means.

def. Vertical Integration: A form of business organization in which all stages of production of a good, from the acquisition of raw materials to the retailing of the final product, are controlled by one company.

An example of a vertically integrated company would be a farmer who tills the earth, plants the seed, harvests the crop, delivers it to a farmers market and sells it to the person who will consume it.

In home building it's a company like Miranda Homes. We are engineers, designers, schedulers, purchasers and craftsmen. We have the infrastructure in place that allows us build the entire home. We own all of the equipment, employ all of the people and have direct purchasing power for all of the materials needed to build your home quickly, efficiently and cost effectively.

So, why should you care?

By vertically integrating, Miranda Homes has eliminated the wasted time, chaos and cost of involving 20 or more companies to build a home. Traditionally each subcontractor sends in its own team of people whose main concern is getting their part done so they can get to the next job. If a problem comes up they typically aren't authorized to fix it. Instead they'll need to move on to another job site until the problem can be taken care of. Then they have to be rescheduled to come back. Not only that, each separate company has its own overhead in the form of office staff, tools, equipment and insurance. It's that type of wasted time and duplication of efforts that makes a home take so long to build using traditional methods.

Miranda Homes works differently. We start with our own internal engineering department. All of the planning is done before we start building. Engineering drives our purchasing and scheduling departments as well as our wall panelization shop. One crew of five creates the studs for wall panels out of coils of steel using our roll forming machines. They build the wall panels in the plant and use our own trucks to transport them to the job site. The same crew that built the walls forms and pours the foundation, sets the walls, installs siding, insulates, installs drywall, installs kitchen cabinets, paints, etc. Having all of these skills allows them to solve problems quickly and put processes in place to stop them from happening in the future. It's a model that encourages constant improvement.

We own our own crane, trucks, tools and other equipment and we stock critical building materials so that we can tightly control our schedule. Because we tightly control our schedule we need to have a supply chain and work force that we can rely on. Vertical integration allows us to do that.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Building Green in Clackamas, OR

by Lisa Pickert

Currently, Miranda Homes is building energy efficient, durable, environmentally sensitive homes in Clackamas, Oregon. Why Clackamas some ask? Green homes aren't just for urban areas. We need them in the suburban areas too. So what has attracted our home buyers to Clackamas? Location, location, location. We’re off 132nd and Sunnyside, in a development called Bella Ponte Cino. Check out the view from some of the lots!

In addition, the area boasts a protected greenbelt on one side, a public soccer and basketball park a block away and schools within walking distance. Did I mention the open air market in Clackamas? It features fresh produce and art every Sunday from April through October.

The second thing that has attracted our buyers is the quality and speed of our construction. Miranda Homes builds “green”. Green building means consideration of the environmental impact of how we build as well as the ongoing use of the home. That's important, especially as we see daily reminders of the ever widening environmental impact of the man-made gulf oil spill.

At Miranda, we build with 100% recycled steel instead of wood for the structure. We use insulated concrete forms on our foundations which minimize the labor and waste of temporary forms and we apply spray foam insulation that effectively and efficiently seals the home from unwanted air infiltration. As for speed, once ground is broken, we can complete the house in 45 days! Stay tuned for a blog posting on how Vertical Integration makes this all possible.

So what are you waiting for? Come check us out our most recently finished home at 14009 SE Sierra Dr. Call me for a personal tour at 503-208-4663. If you're looking for a builder we can use your plans or ours to build you what you want wherever you want it.

Environmentally Certified Homes

By Lisa Pickert

Previously I talked about how green building programs differ from code built homes (see Blog May 20). Now I’d like to go deeper into their methods and value.
Every green building program requires extensive third-party verification that a home built to their standards (typically higher than existing building code) indeed meets those standards. Most green building programs have their own employees who go on-site to provide actual testing and an independent rating of various aspects of the home’s actual achieved (vs. modeled) energy efficiency. These include testing for things like unplanned air infiltration, HVAC duct leakage and carbon monoxide leakage. For example, Earth Advantage technicians came to our Riverview model home and used a blower door to test to identify that our home had less than 0.6 air changes per hour vs. the required maximum allowed 7 air changes per hour.

Another method of third party verification is through compliance forms that are required to be signed off by suppliers or installers. This ensures that what is specified for the home during the planning stages actually gets delivered during the construction phase. For example, at Miranda, we use a hardwood flooring called Tigerwood. When this wood is delivered to our site, we look for a stamp on the bundle from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). The Forest Steward Council has specific criteria that describe how the forests have to be managed to meet the social, economic, ecological, cultural and spiritual needs of present and future generations

So what does this mean to the buyer of Miranda Homes? It translates to money back in your pocket when you pay smaller utility bills for our homes as opposed to the cost for the same square footage from builders who don't subscribe to these higher standards. Third party verification means you can count on actual health benefits in a Miranda Home because the conditioned air you breathe inside the home will be planned and filtered at all times. See Rob’s blog on May 26.

Best of all, buying a home that is third party certified “green” is proving to provide better resale for our homeowners when they decide to sell. See this recent study in the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce entitled, “Green Homes Outselling Rest of Market” for more details. http://www.djc.com/news/en/12015059.html

Come to the Open House This Weekend. 11-6 Saturday and Sunday

We have a newly completed home available for sale. This is the home you've seen featured recently in our Blog. We had the blower door test done and scored an amazing 1.67 ACH. That translates to huge energy savings for the future owners.

The home is located at 14009 SE Sierra Drive in Clackamas, Oregon and features a classic look with a covered front porch and craftsman style posts. Despite its classic look it has modern features like year-round climate control, under and over cabinet lighting, and Hardie siding with a 15 year paint guarantee.The floor plan has formal and informal dining areas adjacent to the kitchen making everyday living and entertaining easy. The main floor ceilings are 9' high to enhance the open feeling of the great room and kitchen. The main floor also includes a centrally located powder room. As you've seen from earlier posts we've installed solid Tigerwood hardwood floors and a gas fireplace with a mantle and marble surround.
Upstairs are four bedrooms including a master suite with a vaulted ceiling, double doors, walk in closet and master bathroom with granite counter tops and two sinks. The laundry room is also conveniently located upstairs next to the second full bathroom.

If you've been following our Blog you've seen all of the methods and materials used in this house (and all Miranda homes). The Earth Advantage Certificate for this house will be posted soon, as well as our Energy Performance Score.

If you'd like to come see it for yourself, give us a call at 503-208-4663. We'll also have it open on weekends from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Now Offering Custom Homes

Until now, we've been building a library of home plans for buyers to choose from. We've selected floor plans that we feel will satisfy a range of customers while incorporating all of the features you've been reading about here.

Well, now we're offering custom homes too. Buyers can bring us a floor plan from their architect, a plan book or a website. We will re-engineer the plans to incorporate all of the things that make a Miranda Home a Miranda Home.

We'll apply all of our methods and materials to build your dream home in a way that reduces the impact of construction on the environment and provides you with a home that is long-lasting, comfortable, low maintenance and energy efficient.

We're still expanding the library of "in-house" designs and will continue to offer a growing variety to choose from. But, if you've been wishing you could have a Miranda Home with your custom plan, now you can.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Is a tight house dangerous?

Only if it is improperly designed. To give you a comparison, can you imagine if the drinking water that came out of your faucet came from under your door jams, dirty window sills, off of your garage floor, down from your roof with bird poop on it, without going through any filtration process before you drank it? Your water is filtered and goes through a controlled process before you drink it. Why do you allow the air you breathe to be handled any differently?

Consumers today confuse a tight house with a house that doesn't breathe and thus would get stale and moldy. If the builder doesn't mechanically ventilate the house, then they're right.

Air entering a tight house with a fresh air intake, high off the ground, going through a filtration system and then being forced out of the house mechanically is the key. It removes dust, allergens, and other pollutants before you breathe them. The tight house closes off the passages that allow dirty air in. Just as you wouldn't drink dirty water, you shouldn't breathe dirty air.

Rob Boydstun - Miranda Homes

Sorting through the Green Building Programs and Certifications

• Earth Advantage Homes Silver, Gold and Platinum
• Energy Star Homes
• LEED for Homes
• Homes Built to Code
• Oregon Energy Code

I'm in the building industry and I have a hard time keeping all of these new programs straight!

Let's start with the easy part, the least energy efficient building program. Surprisingly, building to current residential building code in Oregon creates the least energy efficient home! What!?! How can this be possible? Sadly, it's because building codes take a long time to be adopted and the process for changing them is even longer.

Instead of waiting for code to change or trying to influence this process, the eager beavers in energy performance for buildings decided to take the problem into their own hands. These various entities gathered the latest research on sound building science and created optional, prescriptive building paths. Earth Advantage, Energy Star, and LEED for Homes are all examples of these incentive based programs. These programs, while meeting code, guide and inform a builder on how to build a better, more energy efficient home; in other words, a home that will use less energy and cost the owner less to operate.

So what is the best green building program? After examining all the programs mentioned above, along with similar programs in California and their Title 24 Energy Code, my own education and research brought me to Miranda Homes. Exciting! Stay tuned while I do my best to sort them out.

Lisa

Earthquakes and Steel Framed Homes

On occasion, we get questions about how our homes will react in an earthquake. Luckily for all of us, none of our homes have been put to the real world test of a high magnitude earthquake. However, there has been scientific testing and real world testing of strong ground movements on light gauge steel buildings. Nucon Steel has recently published an article in NuTimes magazine that outlines the benefits of steel as they relate specifically to earthquakes. The article covers both commercial and residential use of light gauge steel in construction. These benefits also transfer to other types of disasters as well as regular wear and tear that homes undergo year after year. Steel structures simply remain dimensionally and structurally stable much longer than wood ones. Steel is not a food source for termites, ants or mold and it's not combustible so it doesn't contribute fuel to a fire. As we've said before, there are reasons commercial buildings are made of steel. The same reasons apply to residential construction.

You can read the full article on pages 9 and 10 of NuTimes Magazine HERE or by clicking on either of the pictures above.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

How to Follow Your Own Home Being Built

We've started something new for our customers. For each pre-sold home we will have a dedicated blog with regular updates about where we are in the process. It will be mostly photographs but there will be the opportunity for the home owners, or anyone else, to ask questions and make comments.

How many builders do that? We only know of one. (It's us...)

Of course, we'll still be keeping up on our regular blog here but a dedicated blog for each home will be a great way for people to see the progress of their home and to easily share it with friends and family.

You can visit www.miranda-colby.blogspot.com to see the first of what will be many dedicated blogs to come. Mark it as a favorite and watch it all come together.

Give us a call at 503-208-4663 if you'd like to visit one of our completed homes or a home in process.





Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Newly Completed Miranda Home Available

We have a newly completed home available for sale. This is the home you've seen featured recently in our Blog. We had the blower door test done yesterday and scored an amazing 1.67 ACH. That translates to huge energy savings for the future owners.

The home is located at 14009 SE Sierra Drive in Clackamas, Oregon and features a classic look with a covered front porch and craftsman style posts. Despite its classic look it has modern features like year-round climate control, under and over cabinet lighting, and Hardie siding with a 15 year paint guarantee.The floor plan has formal and informal dining areas adjacent to the kitchen making everyday living and entertaining easy. The main floor ceilings are 9' high to enhance the open feeling of the great room and kitchen. The main floor also includes a centrally located powder room. As you've seen from earlier posts we've installed solid Tigerwood hardwood floors and a gas fireplace with a mantle and marble surround.
Upstairs are four bedrooms including a master suite with a vaulted ceiling, double doors, walk in closet and master bathroom with granite counter tops and two sinks. The laundry room is also conveniently located upstairs next to the second full bathroom.

If you've been following our Blog you've seen all of the methods and materials used in this house (and all Miranda homes). The Earth Advantage Certificate for this house will be posted soon, as well as our Energy Performance Score.

If you'd like to come see it for yourself, give us a call at 503-208-4663. We'll also have it open on weekends from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Introducing Lisa Pickert

We've added a new associate to our team. Lisa Pickert will be hosting our open houses as well as providing education about what we do and why we do it. She comes from a background of sustainable building practices and materials. Hit her with your toughest questions and I'm sure you'll find her expertise impressive.

Lisa will also be contributing to our blog on a regular basis. Below is Lisa's first post of what will be an ongoing series.

It's all about the "green", but what exactly is "green" building anyway?

Many years ago, my soft heart and worried mind gave me a sense of urgency about how to protect the environment when building. I've studied "green" building for a number of years now and it is complex. So here it is in a nutshell.

Green Building encourages a "whole-systems" approach, through design and building techniques, to minimize environmental impact and reduce the energy consumption of buildings while contributing to the health of its occupants. It evaluates the impact of construction, the impact of the building's use for its entire lifespan and the impact of its disposal at the end of its lifespan.

I told you it was complex!

So just what is a "whole system" approach? It is the premise that a building is more than the sum of its parts. Only by understanding how each part of a house functions in relation to the other parts can you understand how to build the highest quality house. At Miranda, this means engineering every aspect of the building process and making important decisions about the products that go into it.

How can builders minimize their environmental impact? At Miranda, one example of how we minimize impact is by forming 100% recycled steel studs in our plant to the exact measurements needed. The only waste created is from the punched holes for electrical and plumbing service. The small amount of waste we do create is sorted and recycled. At the end of its lifespan the steel we use is 100% recyclable as well.

Reducing the energy consumption of the final product is another huge driver at Miranda. By using our processes and products like insulated concrete forms, spray foam insulation and energy saving windows we are able to cut the home-owner’s energy use by an estimated 40%.

So, now that you know what Green Building is, you should know this: I think Green Building is important. That's why I've joined Miranda Homes.

Lisa Pickert - Miranda Homes

Making "Cents" of the EPS Score

Last week I posted our latest Energy Performance Score. The Energy Performance Score is a great tool for illustrating how much energy a house will use and how much carbon it will produce. However, it only has relevance if people can compare it to their current home or other homes they are considering buying. Today, I wanted to break that score down into something we can all relate to. Dollars and cents.

We've been told by the City of Portland's Office of Planning and Sustainability that the average household in Portland uses 11,500 kWh of electricity and 600 therms of natural gas per year.

If you dig up your latest PGE bill and divide the total amount due by the number of kWh you used you'll find that, with all of the fees, taxes and public purpose charges it comes out to around 10.5 cents per kWh. So, .105 x 11,500 kWh = a total average electricity bill of $1,207.50 per year.

Running through the same math with your NW Natural Gas bill you should see that usage and fees come to about $1.27 per therm. So, 600 therms per year at $1.27 is $762 per year.

So the energy cost for the average house in Portland is $1207.5 + $762 = $1,969.50 per year

Now, let's look at the EPS sheet provided to us by Energy Trust of Oregon. In the lower right hand corner you'll see that our home is projected to use $1,128 of energy per year.
Of course, some homes are better than average and some are worse but if you subtract our $1,128 from the average $1,969.50 you get a savings of $841.50 per year or $70.12 per month. That's a savings of 42% on your monthly energy bill and it's all done through conservation. The methods and materials we use to build homes allow the home owners to use less energy without sacrificing comfort or lifestyle.

Keep in mind that energy rates have been rising faster than incomes so, you can expect that in the future, the savings from buying an energy efficient home will only increase.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

This is Worth Watching

This aired on The History Channel yesterday. It's definitely worth seven minutes of your day.


Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

New Article in the Daily Journal of Commerce

There's a new article in the Daily Journal of Commerce about the project we're working on in Newport.

Click the picture below to read the article.



Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Open House This Weekend

We'll have the house at 14009 SE Sierra Drive in Clackamas, Oregon open on Sunday this weekend.

Hours will be 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.

Come by and meet Lisa. She has a great background in sustainable building practices and materials and will be able to show you what makes a Miranda Home different.


By the way.... Keep an eye out for our unique sign posts. When you see one you'll know there's a Miranda Home coming.....

(click on it to make it bigger)

Our Latest Energy Performance Score

We’ve just received our EPS score for the latest house.
Just like the MPG sticker in the window of a new car the EPS or Energy Performance Score is a scoring system for homes that gives consumers a way to compare. It was developed by Energy Trust of Oregon and is being adopted by states across the country. You can learn more about it HERE.

Here's our score sheet.



Today, more than ever, it’s vitally important to take all of a home’s costs into account when considering which one to buy.

Your mortgage broker can calculate your monthly payment quickly and easily. Property taxes and hazard insurance tend to go up over time, but generally not too drastically. There are some expenses however, that home buyers often underestimate; energy is one.

Energy costs have been increasing faster than incomes over the past few years. The newer methods for generating electricity, although “greener”, are not any less expensive. There doesn’t seem to be any near term relief in the cost of a unit of energy but if we can reduce how many units we use we can relieve the strain on the infrastructure and our own wallets. That’s where conservation comes into play.

By choosing a home that uses half, or less than half, of the energy a typical home uses, a family can regain control over the amount they spend on energy.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

That's "Tigerwood".... Not "Tiger Woods"

Hardwood floors are going in today. We're installing FSC Tigerwood floors in the living, dining, kitchen and family rooms.

For more on what FSC means click here or on the picture below.


Stay tuned for weekend open house hours....

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Builder Advantage Newsletter

The latest issue of Builder Advantage is out and Miranda Homes is on the top of the front page.Click here to see it.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

What's That Hanging in the Window?

It's the schedule. Before we even put a shovel in the dirt we've laid out the schedule. It's a day-by-day display of exactly what's going to happen and when. We hang one on each job site to be visible to our crew, subcontractors, inspectors, visitors, real estate agents, and anyone else who visits.

In previous posts we've talked about how important scheduling is. By keeping a tight leash on the schedule we ensure:

• All of the supplies are at the job site when they are needed; but not until they're needed which makes a less cluttered work area.


• Inspections can be scheduled with plenty of lead time.


• Subcontractors can be scheduled with plenty of lead time.


• New home owners know what to expect for closing and move-in.


• Provide consistent work for the crew.


• Complete a home in 45 days.

It seems simple but, as you can see, keeping the schedule is one of the most important things we do. Next time you visit one of our homes in process you'll see one.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Homes Built from Different Products

Another article has been written that includes Miranda Homes. Click on the image below to be directed to the full article.


Below is the text about Miranda Homes from the article.

3. Recycled junk cars

Rob Boydstun got into home building because he realized that his metal works business (which built commercial car carriers) likely wasn’t going to survive the economic downturn on its own. Still, he didn’t take a particularly easy route: Miranda Homes, the company he founded, is dedicated to building affordable green homes. Part of the design the new company created involves steel framing for homes… and that steel comes from “the crushed carcasses of junked vehicles. (About four to six cars per house).”

While an unusual material goes into the house’s frame, the homes themselves are pretty conventional… they’re also very green in other ways. Miranda has several dozen photos available on its Facebook page.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Earth Advantage Article about Miranda Homes

Earth Advantage has published an article about Miranda Homes.
Click on the image to be redirected to the Earth Advantage website or read the full article below.
Green Engineered: The Miranda Homes' Way
March 30, 2010

You're a new homebuyer. Imagine hearing the builder say, "Construction is set to begin tomorrow. In 45 days, you can move into your new house. And by the way, it will achieve the highest level of green certification." Yes, you heard right: 45 days. You could be living in a brand new, green-certified home in less than two months. Most people cannot find an apartment to rent in such little time. Thanks to new thinking and existing production capabilities, Miranda Homes is changing the face-and building schedule-of new home construction.

The concept for Miranda Homes was sparked several years ago when its owner, Rob Boydstun, also owner of Boydstun Metal Works, started exploring new ways to use his company's existing materials and machinery. "The initial idea was to use our machine shops to build roll-forming machines to make steel studs. But after studying the entire value stream of building homes, we determined that steel studs alone were not the answer to improving housing," recalls Mark Mecklem, VP of Sales and Marketing for Miranda Homes. It was time for a fresh start.

The first step in improving traditional home construction came in the form of a panelized wall system. Traditional framing practices cause excessive jobsite waste, allow insulation voids, and are susceptible to insects and the elements. Miranda Homes' 100% recycled, steel-framed panelized wall systems are produced with minimal waste, will last forever, and are not affected by moisture or pests. The wall panels are shipped to the jobsite and assembled in just one day.

The only problem with steel frames is that metal conducts heat and cold more than wood, so it is more susceptible to thermal bridging than a wood framed house. Thermal bridging is the loss of heating or cooling through the uninsulated studs. Miranda Homes solves this issue with insulation. The panelized wall systems are assembled with plywood sheathing and a layer of external, rigid foam insulation. Once assembled at the jobsite, spray-foam insulation is applied to the walls. Spray-foam insulation has the highest R-Value of all the types of insulation and it forms a complete seal in the wall cavity.

Another cause of heating/cooling loss is a home's foundation. To prevent this problem, Miranda Homes insulates the slab of the foundation and uses insulated concrete forms (ICFs) to create insulated foundation walls. This system, called a "mechanically vented crawlspace," improves a home's efficiency by eliminating passive vents and keeping any heating/cooling loss from hot water piping and ductwork from escaping. Additionally, Miranda Homes pours the entire foundation in just one day. This practice reduces waste, creates a stronger foundation, and cuts labor costs by two-thirds.

A complimentary step to insulation is air sealing. The more tightly sealed a home is, the less it is going to leak heated or cooled air. Blower door tests are the industry standard for evaluating how efficiently a home is sealed. To qualify for ENERGY STAR® certification and Earth Advantage® certification, a home must test less than 7 air changes per hour (ACH). On average, an Earth Advantage certified home tests between 6 - 6.5 ACH. A score of 2 - 3 ACH is considered excellent. Recently, a blower door test performed on a Miranda Home recorded a 1.5 ACH, but this wasn't good enough. "We identified some problem areas and sealed them up," says Mecklem.

Earth Advantage returned to the home for a follow-up blower door test. The result: a jaw-dropping 0.6 ACH. "I couldn't believe it," says MacKenzie Winchell, the Earth Advantage residential technical specialist who performed the test. "I retested it two more times to make sure the test was accurate."

The blower door test not only confirmed that the Miranda Homes' system is working, but that it is working incredibly well. For them, it's really just another step in the right direction. The company is constantly looking for ways to improve. To date, Miranda has made improvements to the truss system, air sealing, and whole house ventilation systems. In fact, every essential mechanical system (i.e., plumbing, HVAC) is carefully pre-engineered. The company's process has been refined to six distinct phases of construction and Miranda Homes only uses a select few subcontractors, reducing costs, eliminating delays, and improving the quality and efficiency of each home.

While some established builders seek reasons not to change, Miranda Homes embraces change and improves on it. The future for the company looks bright. Currently in the middle of constructing its fourth home, Miranda Homes offers seven floor plans and is developing the eighth. Additionally, according to Mecklem, "Miranda Homes is always researching new products to see how they fit into our building principles and methods. We're looking for products that improve safety for our people, reduce impact on the environment, and increase the quality, monthly savings, and longevity of our homes for the homeowners." Don't be surprised if you hear about a 30-day house in a couple of years.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Video of Spray Foam Doing its Job

I always enjoy watching this. I thought you might too.

Spray Foam Video from Miranda Homes.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Spraying Foam Insulation.

We're spraying foam insulation into the exterior walls and the underside of the roof today.

We use spray foam insulation because it seals all of the possible air passages better than traditional insulation. Since expanding spray foam is so good at finding and filling all of the possible air leaks it works much better than batting, which can leave air leaks in every cavity.

20-40% of a typical new home's heat loss is due to infiltration. Infiltration is simply the air that finds its way through holes in the house. Infiltration is measured by performing a Blower Door Test. As we've mentioned in a previous post, spray foam insulation is one of the big ways that we stop "The Stack Effect" and achieve amazing results.

We own our spray foam truck rather than using a subcontractor so that we can control scheduling, cost and quality. As you may know, we use a five person crew to build the entire house. Two from that crew spray the insulation.

We spray Demilec's open cell SealEction Agribalance.

From the Demilec website:

SEALECTION Agribalance® is a two-component, polyurethane foam system that contains more than 20% renewable agricultural-based materials (refined vegetable oils).

During the 1990s, the EPA rated indoor air pollution as one of the five most urgent environmental issues, accounting for over $1 billion in direct health care costs annually. The culprit is improper ventilation and poor building practices.

With the focus on improving building standards, each step in the process is being scrutinized and improved, especially the insulation process. Demilec (USA) is well ahead on the technology curve when it comes to improving indoor air quality.

According to the American Lung Association, in excess of 40% of American households have at least one person suffering from asthma or allergies making the quality of indoor air crucial to their good health. Properly insulating a home can have a positive impact on the quality of the indoor air.

By sealing out dust, allergens, odors and pollutants SEALECTION Agribalance® allows the air management system to be designed so that the indoor air quality is healthier than the outside air.

Because the foam adheres to whatever it's sprayed on, all of the floors, windows, doors, and vents are covered for protection. The insulation is sprayed into the wall cavities where it expands instantly to fill all of the voids.

Later, the foam that has expanded beyond the steel studs is trimmed off with an electric reciprocating saw. The waste will be used for sound control inside the house.

When we're done with the spray foam we'll be ready to sheet rock.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

A Fifteen Year Finish Warranty ?!?!

The James Hardie Siding is going up today. The product we use is engineered specifically for our climate and comes with a ColorPlus factory-applied finish. The boards are painted in the Hardie plant and baked before ever being exposed to the elements. All of the temperature and moisture conditions and airborne paint are completely controlled, unlike site painted homes. It's this method and their attention to quality that allows Hardie to provide a 15 year finish warranty on the ColorPlus product.

ColorPlus comes in a variety of different forms so we are able to use it for the lap siding, trim, fascia, shingles and soffits. It keeps our homes looking good longer and provides a low maintenance exterior for our home owners.

Click HERE to read a past posting on siding.

Inside the house we're getting the rough-in plumbing, electrical and the HVAC installed. We'll be talking more about those systems in an upcoming post.

Our next step will be to apply the Spray Foam Insulation.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Dirt to This in 20 Days

In 20 working days our crew of five has:

• Excavated
• Built Walls and Trusses in the Shop
• Installed the Windows in the Wall Panels
• Set Form-A-Drain
• Set ICF Forms
• Set First Floor Joists
• Poured the Foundation and Earth Slab
• Parge Coated the Foundation Walls
• Decked the First Floor
• Stood First Floor Walls
• Set Second Floor Joists
• Decked the Second Floor
• Stood Second Floor Walls
• Set the Roof Trusses
• Sheathed the Roof

The exterior doors are going in today and we'll start siding tomorrow.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Open House This Weekend

We'll have the house at 13981 SE Sierra Drive in Clackamas, Oregon open this weekend.

Hours will be Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Come by to see the finished home and you'll be able to see the unfinished one next door. It will be a great opportunity to see what the framing looks like before insulation and drywall.

Drop by and learn more about what else makes Miranda Homes different.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Find It. Fill It. Forget It.

Next week we'll be doing the spray foam insulation. One of the best traits of spray foam insulation is its ability to find and fill gaps where conditioned air can leak out. It's impossible to find all of the air leaks and fill them with traditional batting insulation. That's why we use spray foam.

Below is a picture of a house we built a couple of years ago. True to its nature the spray foam expanded to seal some infiltration points that would have been impossible to find and fill with batting.

This is simple to clean up but it illustrates how superior spray foam is to other methods of insulating. Spray Foam is one of the most important ways that we get to 0.6 Air changes per hour.

It's choices like this, our insulated and mechanically vented crawl space, our sealed HVAC ductwork and others and that make our homes more energy efficient and more comfortable to live in.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes

Trusses Installed

The trusses have been installed.
As with the walls, the trusses are built in our plant prior to the on site construction.
They are delivered on a truck and set in place using our crane.

Next week we'll be installing the plywood sheathing, fascia and keystones and getting ready for roofing.

Mark Mecklem - Miranda Homes