By now almost everybody in Dallas is aware that we have a severe drought issue. Water restrictions are in place and might get even more severe as the drought progresses. It might even impact our power grid, because power plants don’t have enough cooling water to run as mentioned in a recent article in the Dallas Business Journal. All the more a reason to build your next custom home in Dallas with EGC Custom Homes. One of the standard features in all of our homes is “water efficiency”. That means that all appliances and plumbing fixtures are designed to use minimal mater, but most importantly, you won’t know the difference. In the past low-flow plumbing fixtures got a bad wrap, people complained about toilets not flushing properly and shower heads not putting out enough water to feel comfortable in the shower. That’s not the case anymore in todays’ market. At EGC, we have used watersense certified plumbing fixtures for over three years, and we have not had one client complaint so far.

But where water efficiency is most important is in landscaping and irrigation, where most of the water is used. The EPA estimates that more than 50% of the outdoor water used goes to waste, either by runoff or evaporation – this should tell you how important a well designed and installed irrigation system is. Most importantly, we install landscapes that are designed for our climate zone and can survive the hot Texas summers without a lot of water.

If you would like to find out more about EGC’s water efficiency program, contact us today.

Some of the homes’ features include a solar thermal wall, a garden, and edible wall system, green roof system and a modular constructed wetland that helps filter and recycle greywater from the shower, clothes washer, and dishwasher.  The interior has two liquid desiccant waterfall systems for humidity control and a home automation system. To check it out in detail, check out their website (link above) or go to http://www.solardecathlon.gov/

You can find more pictures and videos on team Maryland’s website here.

5816 W. Plano Pkwy. • Plano, TX 75093 • (972) 931-4840 • FAX (972) 267-0426 • www.DallasBuilders.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Phil Crone, Director of Government Affairs, 972-244-3217 or phil.crone@dallasbuilders.com

June 7, 2011

Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas Endorses Mike Rawlings for Mayor of Dallas

Dallas, TX, June 6, 2011 – The Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas (HBA), a 1,200-member organization representing residential home builders, announced its endorsement of Mike Rawlings for City of Dallas Mayor. Prior to making this decision, the HBA conducted in-person candidate interviews.

“Each candidate in the mayoral race brings a unique skill set and experiences that they can draw on to serve them while in office,” said Keller Webster, chairman of the HBA’s Government Relations Committee. “Our industry supports Mike Rawlings because his business background will bring an entrepreneurial culture to City Hall. That, combined with his proven track record on issues such as economic development and homelessness, will help residential home builders facilitate the continued growth of our city.”

Early voting for the runoff elections for mayor and City Council District 12 begins today and Election Day is Saturday, June 18.

About the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas:
The Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas is a non-profit trade association dedicated to enhancing its members’ ability to provide safe, affordable, and quality housing to citizens of local communities. The association does this by participating in the legislative process and by promoting new home ownership, industry advancements, and community good works.  The HBA covers a seven-county area of some 5,500 square miles with a population of more than 3 million and is the local affiliate of the Texas Association of Builders and the National Association of Home Builders.  The HBA’s membership includes more than 1,200 builders, developers, and remodelers, suppliers, vendors, and associated businesses and services.

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Dallas, TX  - April 21, 2011

Starting the 2nd quarter of 2011 strong, EGC Custom Homes is happy to announce yet another new custom home project. The single family residence, to be built in the Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas will be built to Green Built Texas, Energy Star and Environments for Living standards.

The project at 6622 Norway in Preston Hollow will enter the design phase in late April with an anticipated construction start of July 2011.

For more information on this project, please contact Marc Kleinmann.

EGC Custom Homes is happy to announce our latest project, to be built in the Devonshire neighborhood of Dallas. Being built to Green Built Texas standards, this highly energy efficient, Mid-Century Modern styled residence will nicely integrate into a well established neighborhood of mainly single-story/single-family homes. Currently in the conceptual planning phase, the home will feature 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths with approx 3,200 sqft of living space. The anticipated construction start is June of 2011 with an anticipated completion date by the end of the year. As always, design and construction progress will be documented on our website – so anyone interested should make sure and subscribe to our RSS feed.

For more information on this project, please contact Marc Kleinmann.

On April 22-23, 2011, Earth Day Dallas, a not-for-profit organization led by environmentalist Trammell S. Crow and other community leaders, hopes to catalyze a “green” movement in Dallas by staging the inaugural Earth Day Dallas Festival in the heart of downtown.

Events will focus on entertaining, inspiring and educating Dallasites with various ways to think, work and live green by showcasing emerging green technology, providing eco-friendly family activities, presenting enlightening lectures from environmental leaders, a variety of music and much more.

With more than 200 civic, corporate and not-for-profit partners engaged, organizers forecast the 2011 celebration will go down as the biggest and most impactful Earth Day celebration in the history of Dallas!

So if this sounds interesting to you, come see us at booth #636 Friday and Saturday from 10am – 5.00pm.

Think it’s time to buy… or not?? Been on the fence to buy a new home, buy an existing home and remodel it or even finally tackle building that new home? Well… now may be the time . Good buying opportunities are cropping up in select local markets. According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the worst in the housing market is over in most areas. Data from Local Market Monitor Inc, , a real-estate research company based in Cary, N.C, confirms that here in Dallas we’re blessed with one of the better markets in the Nation.

So what does that mean for you as a potential home buyer? Well, from our point of view, the window to get a real “deal” on a lot or existing home with remodeling potential might be closing. We have seen a sharp uptick in buyer interest, had some clients who locked into deals, and a couple that lost out on an opportunity because of competing offers – all signs that the time to buy is now. But don’t rely on our opinion to make that decision. There are plenty of good resources out there for you to do your own research on the home building market. Check out NAHB.org, The Wall Street Journal, and our local Home Builders Association for some good information on the issue.

On that note… if you do decide to build a new home or buy an existing home and tackle a remodeling project, we would like for you to stop by our office first. Being specialists in building and remodeling sustainable, energy efficient homes makes us the first choice for many buyers. We can offer a full service package – from initial consultation to design and building your home – a one-stop shop and turnkey solution that is designed to make the homebuilding and remodeling project enjoyable and easy for our clients. Contact us today.

Some of the speaker highlights for the event are:

John Tooley (Advanced Energy) is one of the nation’s leaders in the area of building science technologies, especially in southern climate zones. Hailed as a visionary in energy efficiency, Tooley has diagnosed and repaired more than 5,000 homes. He has participated in the weatherization of more than 10,000 homes. He is recognized for his contributions to many of the largest utility and building programs in the nation.

Tooley’s philosophy is that doing something right the first time trumps everything when it comes to building homes. The simple materials we have used for the last 100 years, when used correctly, will render very efficient homes. Until we abandon the “silver bullet” new product approach to energy efficiency, we will never affect the masses. Better products do not improve the process of building houses, improving processes improves processes.

Dave Porter (PorterWorks) is one of the nation’s leading experts on the issue of valuing green and energy efficiency in the appraisal process. The lack thereof is commonly cited by builders as a primary detriment to sustainable construction. Mr. Porter will energetically inform residential professionals of what can be done now and what should be done in the future to address this problem.

He has presented and taught to thousands for scores of organizations including the National Association of Home Builders, the National Association of Realtors® and the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Most recently he was Senior Vice President for builder business covering 13 states for Countrywide Bank. He holds four designations from the NAHB: MIRM, CGP, CGA, CAPS. He specializes in building, marketing and financing best practices and sustainability.

For more information, schedule, sponsor & exhibitor info and to sign up for this event, please visit http://TexasGreenHomeSummit.com .