The FreeGreen Blog

Our custom house plan service is here to stay!

Ben — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 07:19:00 -0600

Start from scratch and get a design created with your own specific lifestyle in mindwith our custom house plans service. We launched this affordable customhome design service a few months ago because we realized that no matter howmany designs we produce there will sometimes be specific lifestyle, budget, orproperty constraints that need a custom home design approach. Our earlycustomers have needed designs that fit challenging sites, tight budgets, and unconventionalfamily structures. We are confidentthat our custom houseplan service can produce better results at a lower pricethan anyone else’s if you find a service for less let us know and we willmatch. So no matter if you are aprospective homeowner or builder consider us for your custom houseplan needs.

FreeGreen Audio PodCast series

Ben — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:22:00 -0600

check out our first audio podcast, where i interview ZeroEnergy Design Director, Stephanie Horowitz. We discuss her latest projects and the Passive House Standard. We are still experiementing with these new media options so forgive the productions flaws while we figure out what works best.

Preview of our new Hi-Impact Series

Ben — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 04:20:00 -0600

Over the last few years Green has become a common term that is attached to all sorts of products and processes. This trend was good because it indicates increased levels of environmental awareness but is bad in that the term green has little specific meaning. Our Hi-Impact Series of house plans are designed for consumers that want real quantifiable environmental performance. We will be offering three different types of Hi-Impact homes, Passive House plans Zero energy house plans and LEED gold and platinum House plans.

Here is a sneak peak at one of our upcoming Hi-Impact house plan that was inspired by the rigorous passive house standard. For more information on this exciting new standard read about our sister company, ZeroEnergy Design in the NY times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/business/energy-environment/26smart.html?_r=1&src=busln

House Plans Design Focus for 2010 and Beyond

Ben — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:40:00 -0600

FreeGreen’s design team has decided to re-commit to our original design intentions and focus on the following design areas\concepts for the rest of 2010 and beyond:

Small and Affordable

Our commitment to accessible green design isn’t just about free downloads it is about producing designs that are buildable on even the tightest of budgets. We are going to focus on the types of homes that typically neglected by custom architects, and that tend to be smaller houses with budgets under 300,000. FreeGreen ‘s house plans are not a substitute for full service custom architectural design but rather a way to give financially challenged consumers access to high quality content that is subsidized by the multiplicity of use.

Simple Modern

Most house plans site boast thousands of designs yet few offer a substantial collection of modern home designs. FreeGreen is going to emphasis affordable modern design.

High Impact

Over the last few years "Green" has become a common term that is attached to all sorts of products and processes. This is good in that it indicates increased levels of environmental awareness but is bad in that the term "Green" has no specific meaning (besides being a color). Our high-Impact series of house plans will be designed for consumers that want real quantifiable environmental performance. We will be offering three different types of high-impact homes, Passive house plans, Zero Energy house plans, and LEED Gold and Platinum house plans.

Right fit

We are not going to design just for the hypothetical average family. Instead we will find common niche profiles and house plans designs that meet specific needs. There were enough generic 2600 s.f. houses built during the housing boom. We are going to provide house plans that fit specific lifestyles for smart consumers who only want to pay for what they will use.

FreeGreen as a New House Plans Based Online Magazine

David — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 09:19:00 -0600

At FreeGreen we have taken the past two years to do a deep study on the house plans and home media spaces. What we have found is that there is a fundamental gap where design inspiration meets useful information. There are a lot of glossy magazines that show photos of homes which drive inspiration, but given no real useful information. Then there are a number of house plans and other more trade related websites which give lots of useful information but lack the design quality and rendering ability to give inspiration.

To fill this gap we at FreeGreen are going to use our Premium Membership subscription service as a way to help you bring your new home to reality. For the cost of a magazine you will be able to get access to our entire house plans library, making FreeGreen Premium Membership a must have subscription for anyone planning a new home project. More than just photos our subscriptions allow you to access the critical design content that will save you money on your new home project. Digital CAD files, kitchen designs, and DIY project instructions are just a few of the content offerings that come with the subscription. So stop window shopping and start assembling the information and design content that will help you complete your new home project.

The Future of Free House Plans at FreeGreen

David — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:50:00 -0600

We are committed to providing free high quality green house plans. Our Free house plans have been a great resource not just for prospective home owners looking to save money but also for other architects and professional builders who want to learn about high performance constructions details. Our free house plan initiative has had a viral impact and we have countless stories of other building professionals borrowing from our designs. We will be continuing to produce Free house plans that will serve as virtual show homes that introduce to progressive design features, high quality building products and provocative domestic ideas. This collection of Free House plans will demonstrate the full variety of FreeGreen’s design agendas and is our way of showcasing the building techniques and products that can lead to a more sustainable building culture in America.

New FreeGreen Additional Content and Programs in 2010

Ben — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:49:00 -0600

Audio podcasts:

Short conversations with building professionals all about things to consider when taking on a new home project. Avoid mistakes, save money or just learn about green design from building industry professionals. Open Open Source/Who’s Next:

FreeGreen will be continuing it’s Who’s Next design competitions in the interest of finding design talent, developing diverse and exciting new design options, while supporting the residential design community.

User Choice Programs:

We encourage our users to submit images and descriptions of the types of designs they want FreeGreen to produce. We will review the suggestions quarterly and have a poll to determine which get turned into FreeGreen house plans.

FreeGreen's 2010 Thru 2012 Focus & Direction

David — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 07:09:00 -0600

Hello FreeGreen Users,

Since our launch in 2008 we at FreeGreen have been experimenting with a lot of different content offerings and business models. We have learned a lot since then and truly appreciate all of you who have interacted with our site. After 2 years of work we are now able to define a clear path for achieving FreeGreen’s original goal of making Green design accessible to all.

We will discuss this new path over the next couple of blog posts which will be separated by subject. We look forward to hearing from you on this new vision please see the following blog posts to learn more about our new direction over the next 2 years:

Custom House Plans for the Same Price as a Stock House Plan

David — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 05:09:00 -0600

Hello All,

After a month of Beta Testing (and thanks to our 10 Custom House Plan Beta Customers) we are now ready to launch this great new service. For those who haven't been following this development, FreeGreen's Custom House Plan service has been developed to take advantage of our ability to quickly create quality home designs. In doing so we are now able to bring a custom home design and house plan services to the masses. At a price point of just $1,950 per custom house plan, we can literally offer this service for the same price that one would pay for a stock (pre-existing) house plan on other for-sale house plans sites.

We are looking forward to showing you the creations from our initial beta customers soon (the home above is a custom house plan that is now just being completed for a customer). Please click on the image above and head to our Custom House Plans page where you can learn more about this new service, download samples, and see early testimonials. We look forward to designing all of your homes.

Affordable Green Homes | Ask Ben | FreeGreen.com

David — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:50:00 -0600

Hello All,

See below for our very first Ask Ben segment where users can ask FreeGreen.com Co-Founder, Ben Uyeda their green home questions. If you would like to ask your own questions please send them to AskBen@FreeGreen.com.

Water Savings in Your Green Home | An Interesting Idea

David — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 02:01:00 -0600

Hello All,

Below is the first of our Green Home Ideas Segments from FreeGreen.com. Here FreeGreen.com Co-Founder, Ben Uyeda gives us an interesting idea around how to save water (and potentially marital stress) in our green homes.

Green Home Design Competition From FreeGreen | Who's Next

David — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:25:00 -0600

Today, FreeGreen is proud toannounce our next home design competition, Who’sNext. see below for why we think you should enter, and click on thelogo to view the competition site. We look forward to seeing your design,and finding out Who’s Next:

It’s Easy: Just 9Images, No Boards, and No Hassles

It’s Affordable: Only $50 to Enter

It’s Useful: $5,000 First Prize, 400KViewers, & You Retain the Rights

If you have any questionsplease contact us at WhosNext@FreeGreen.com

A Sneak Peak at the Farmhouse House Plan

David — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:39:00 -0600

Hello All,

As we are sure many of you have heard, we are in the process of creating three new Sponsored and Free House Plans. These plans will be, The Colonial, The Ranch, and The Traditional Farmhouse, which is depicted above. We are really excited about the way that this Farmhouse House Plan is turning out so we wanted to share our progress. We are looking forward to releasing these designs in the late fall\early winter and are excited to have these new free house plans to offer. Please see below for some early words from our designers about this Farmhouse House Plan.

"Families who enjoy the freedom and privacy of open space in rural settings will love FreeGreen's Traditional Farmhouse House Plan. The first in the line of Farmhouse style home plans this design offers spacious rooms, an open floor plan and a large eat in kitchen and dining area ideal for families of all sizes. The Traidtional Farmhouse has a timeless New England appeal while incorporating some modern green building materials such as a standing seam metal roof that will last for generations, fiber cement clap board siding and high efficiency windows."

A Study on Green Homes by FreeGreen

David — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:00:00 -0600

Hello All,

As many of you have recently read about FreeGreen has conducted an independent study of what makes a green home green, according to the average consumer.

You can read the highlights here at Jetson Green: http://www.jetsongreen.com/2009/08/what-makes-a-green-home-green.html

See the full press release with a comparison of our findings to the LEED-H Standards: http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/08-11-2009/0005075652&EDATE=

Or download a the full study here: http://www.freegreen.com/E22B903_EXPANSION_WTD_240709.pdf

We hope you enjoy this study and look forward to the discussion it will bring.

Ranch House Plans are Launched

David — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:57:00 -0600

Hello All,

The Modern Ranch House Plans are here. This is a great modern design which represents the true classic feel of the west coast ranch style. This design is being launched as a Premium House Plan, and is only available to our Premium or Professional Members. As we say on the site:

The Modern Ranch was designed with family and a neighborhood setting in mind. It has three large bedrooms, two baths and a large communal space which includes the kitchen, dining room and living room. The exterior maintains some classic features such as a single story, low pitched roof, long proportions and clap board siding but also includes some modern upgrades such as large sliding glass doors, sliding window shade screens and a sleek metal roof. The interior also embraces a clean modern look.

We are very excited by the addition to our house plan offerings, and will be updating our blog with a sneak peak at some of the free house plans that we are currently working on (which are coming down the pike).