Hmm. . .well if it's the place that I'm thinking of all the builders currently building homes there are pretty experienced at this sort of thing. If it's not the place I'm thinking of - I really want to know where it is as there aren't too many high-demand infill projects like you describe going on right now. But - assuming we are talking about the same neighborhood, and since you haven't named it, I'll just say if you google the name of the neighborhood and forum you should be directed to the discussion page. There is a builder specific information section and you might be able to search under it to see if anyone has had similar issues. BTW - its a pretty great neighborhood and only going to get better. Might want to see if you can work it out as you are right - not too many options in Austin right now for people who want central and new - but not spend a fortune.

Residential pre-packaged "master" specifications are written to include just about every material and system that might be used in building a house. The designer must then select the appropriate items and delete the rest which is a tedious difficult process if you are not familiar with the elements, how they are used together, and the requirements of the applicable building codes, etc. Companies and brand names may or may not be included in the master and the detailed specifications offered may or may not be specific to those brands so you might have to add that information yourself. There is a very steep learning curve involved in writing and/or editing specifications and doing it right is important if you want them to be useful and enforceable. Small builders and owner-builders usually rely on "outline specifications" that have a limited scope and don't have installation requirements and other detailed information normally found in a full specification. However, such documents afford less protection to the owner. I wish I could tell you the name of a good residential master spec but I have had to take the best parts from several and add my own information. Keeping it up to date has been quite a chore. I would say it is the least pleasant task in the design of a house so I recommend delegating it to a professional.

The up front cost of our geo system was about $18k, A-Z - including re-landscaping; that was 7-years ago. It was maybe $8k -$10k more than a conventional system. However IâÂÂm sure we have already seen our payback. In retrospect I would certainly do it again - even at todayâÂÂs higher installation costs. The major difference in cost between a conventional system and a geothermal system is the ground loop. Your 1st costs of any system will be always be the lowest. These costs can be further reduced in new construction by planning to have the borehole(s) drilled within the envelope of the foundation right where the mechanical room is planned - before the slab is poured. That way your project will not require digging & trenching, insulated runouts etc.. I canâÂÂt understand why air-source heat pumps are not common for your climate as itâÂÂs not any colder than ours. Air-source heat pumps are very common here and are set to cut out at ~10ðF. However, your electrical rates are indeed higher. Keep in mind that even with your electrical rate of ~15â/kW and a 4-COP, with a geothermal HP, the cost per kW of heat delivered into your house would be ~3.75â/kW. Regarding the use of heat strips, remember that a 15kW heat strip can be staged so that not all 15kW come on at once, particularly if theyâÂÂre not all needed. Be sure to have ductwork that is properly designed and installed for the cfm required. Now would be the time to consider zoning, if it may be required. If your house will be tight and requires an HRV be sure to calculate some additional heat loss because of the HRV. If you choose an air-source HP and want to âÂÂup-sizeâ then perhaps choose a 2-stage HP and definitely a variable speed air-handler or furnace. Tigerdunes suggestion of a gas fireplace is an excellent suggestion since you plan to have propane anyway, but you still need a plan (plenum heater) in case you run out of propane. SR

My husband and I are building a new home on the coast just south of San Francisco and need help choosing which window brand to spec. We can get strong winds with rain and plan to live in the house forever, so we want quality and longevity. Our architect suggested Marvin Integrity Fiberglass and our builder includes Kinro vinyl. Please advise, especially if you have long term experience with a brand that you love in wind and rain.