LandSmith Construction

120 Seale Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301
Phone: (650) 328-4663
Fax: (650) 328-1833

info@landsmith.net

Inside Your New Home

by LandSmith Construction

Ceiling Heights

When you decide on an interior look and feel ceiling height plays an important role. Historically very high ornate ceilings were common in homes. This gave way to today’s standard 8 foot flat ceiling brought about by common material sizes and lower heating costs.

With today’s energy efficient designs combined with ceiling fans, higher ceilings have become more economical in the long run. More and more you will see wall heights of 9 feet or more. Flat ceilings remain popular though vaulted ceilings are not uncommon.

LandSmith recommends ceiling heights of at least 9 feet to give you that wonderful open spacious feeling, only achievable with a higher ceiling. The energy penalty will be negligible unless you go even higher. Despite this, ceiling fans go a long way toward efficiently circulating conditioned air throughout your home.

Wall and Ceiling Finishes

Drywall or sheetrock is now the most common wall and ceiling surface in use today. Most of the time an orange-peel light texture or the heavier knockdown texture is applied. Wallpaper is also still in use though not nearly as common as paint and texture.

Your most important choice from an aesthetic standpoint will be the texture type. LandSmith recommends an orange-peel finish with Low or Zero-VOC paints applied.

The next choice you will need to make is corners. Round or radius corners give a soft and elegant look and feel and are less likely to be damaged.

LandSmith includes orange-peel finishes, Low or Zero-VOC paints and rounded corners as part of LandSmith Superior Building Practices.

Interior Colors

Light and bright colors dominate most home interiors due to just that, they make the interior light and bright. This allows for an attractive contrast with painted trim or natural woodwork and cabinets.
LandSmith recommends light bright colors in your new home.

Moldings

You should think about trim molding that exceeds the typical small understated moldings so prevalent in today’s standard residential construction.

Crown molding in key rooms is a great way to bring your home that extra luxury lacking in many “standard” homes. LandSmith provides crown molding in the master bedroom, dining room, and living room. The rest of your LandSmith home will have large 5” base and 2 ½” casings for an outstanding look and superior finish when compared to other homes.

Attic Storage

Another design and construction consideration to think about early on is storage. Will the garage be enough? Freestanding storage structure? Designed in attic space? Basement?

Think about possibly designing your roof to allow for an attic space to be created accessed by drop-down stairs in a hallway, or stairs in your garage. Ask us for more information about storage possibilities.

Garage Finishes

You may want to consider installing paneling and pegboard on the walls in the garages instead of drywall to eliminate maintenance and keep that new look for many years.

You can also paint your garage floor with a special garage floor paint that will virtually eliminate dust in your garage.

Garage Doors

Your garage door choices in a home are typically wood or metal construction in various styles, commonly either roll-up or regular overhead types.

Steel construction in a garage door is much lower maintenance than wood. Both can have the raised panel look that ties in with your home design matching interior and exterior doors.

Plumbing Fixtures

An often overlooked item and an area where you can get a big shock with some builders when you realize your fixtures are cheap and won’t last are your plumbing fixtures.

LandSmith uses only the best high quality fixtures in luxurious finishes for long-lasting functionality and appeal. You need to be sure when comparing builders that only top quality fixtures are used.

Another consideration is the tub and master bathtub. Are the tubs steel or cast-iron? Is the master bathtub a regular tub or luxury whirlpool tub?

If your master bath is far from your water heater consider a supplemental water heater installed in or near the master bath. Up front costs may be a little more but you will save energy and have nearly instant hot water in the long-run.

Just make sure you go over the specifications of any proposed project with your builder. These specifications should clearly spell out exactly what you are getting in each of these areas.

Working with LandSmith you will find there are no surprises, everything is spelled out exactly because we are working WITH you, not just for you.

Plumbing Systems

You should consider AquaPEX water lines due to their extreme resistance to bursting and elimination of metals in your water.

Copper pipes, long a favorite, can add copper to your water, cause stains, corrode and fail, and are getting costlier and costlier.

LandSmith recommends and includes AquaPEX poly pipe in all our homes.

Interior Doors

Think about your ceiling height when selecting your door height. Anything over 9 feet will dwarf a standard 6’8” door so seriously consider going to 8’ doors to keep a balanced and appealing look.

Consider raised panel hollow core doors for an accented look with solid durability and value, or choose wood panel doors.

For those desiring the aesthetics and ecology of recycled wood doors LandSmith offers custom recycled wood doors produced here locally.

Pocket Doors vs. Swinging Doors

A pocket door is typically used in openings where a swinging door gets in the way or the door stays open or closed most of the time. Pocket doors are great space savers but in high use situations are not a durable or long lasting and can be a real pain.

Door Hardware

In addition to all the obvious aesthetic considerations, you may want to think about using lever style door hardware for ease of use and for accessibility to those with disabilities.

Don’t skimp on door hardware. In the long-run you will be forced to replace them with better quality hardware.

LandSmith always includes high-quality lever style door handles with various top-quality finishes.

Sliding Doors vs. French Doors

This is largely a style, budget and aesthetic choice. Sliding doors offer the obvious space saving advantages but French doors offer that timeless aesthetic appeal.

Consider transom glass above doors if you have 10’ high or higher ceilings. Also consider using 8’ doors throughout in the same situation. Bringing your home into scale can prevent feeling like you are living in a giant’s house. Always make sure everything is clearly spelled out in the specifications for your project.

Windows

This is the area where you can affect large savings in energy use and reduce fading and heat gain in your new home.

Be sure to always use double-pane low emissivity windows with the construction of your choice. Wood is beautiful, such as Pella or Anderson, but costs substantially more. Aluminum tends to conduct heat out or in depending on the season and can have condensation problems.

Vinyl has become the local favorite for its wood like ability to resist heat conductivity, good value, and comes in colors to match color schemes.

Scale comes into play with windows, just like doors, if you have very high ceilings. To maintain scale, windows should be taller with 10’ high or higher ceilings and should have transom glass installed above them.

Window Openings

Think about full wood wrap on all four sides of the window opening instead of just a wooden sill with sheetrock sides and top or an all sheetrock finish. Better look, better feel, more durable.

Ceiling Fans

Ceiling fans are a great way to move conditioned air around your home to keep the interior feeling just right and keep those energy bills down.

Install them in your major living areas and bedrooms. Always make sure that the wiring of your new home can handle ceiling fans and lighting.

Skylights

Natural lighting is yet another area where you can help reduce you energy consumption and save money. Using skylights in key areas can bring an even more open, light, bright feeling to a room. Get the best most energy efficient models available.

Appliances

Look at getting Energy Star rated appliances for the best in efficiency and function. Your savings will offset the modest increase in price. The longer lasting appliance will not need replacement as soon as the lower cost less efficient models.

Passive Solar Heating

When designing your new home a more and more common consideration is passive solar heating. The design along with the home’s orientation on your property can combine to give you free heat in the winter and keep heat gain at a minimum in the summer.

Solar for electricity and water is still relatively rare but we do have a local solar expert ready to assist you should you decide you want to go the full solar route.

As certified green builders LandSmith can take you every step of the way through the green building process.

Floor Coverings

Another one of those areas that is greatly impacted by aesthetics is floor coverings. The warmth of carpet, the cleanliness and openness of tile, hardwood warmth and beauty, all are personal choices you will make.

In terms of function, tile can’t be beat for value, beauty and durability. Carpet is also a solid value. Make an informed decision and be sure your home will last for a long, long time.

Since floor tile is installed directly on the slab there can be some cracking. We largely eliminate the unevenness of these cracks by using a full 2’ by 2’ rebar matte in your slab.

Always keep a couple boxes of tile from the initial install for future replacement in the event that a tile does crack. You will not be able to match the original tile as all tiles are unique.

Tile

Water damage in the shower area can be avoided by using full mortar beds or at least concrete backer board. Never use moisture resistant drywall or greenboard. If water gets behind the tile in your shower the damage will be very costly to repair, and is sometimes undetectable until great damage has already occurred.

Ready? Contact LandSmith Construction

(650) 328-4663
(650) 328-1833 fax
Construction@LandSmith.ne