Remodeling your Kitchen with Environmentally Friendly Building Practices

Most homeowners know that nothing adds more value to a home, both in terms of financial value and family value, than a new kitchen. Kitchen remodeling experts from Bucks County, like Gavin Construction, strive to deliver high quality kitchens with the latest designs and features while still utilizing environmentally friendly building practices.

There are a number of things that homeowners can incorporate into their designs to make their new kitchen design both functional and environmentally friendly. Beautiful floors, walls and cabinets are about more than design. Look beyond the surface of the materials and construction to be sure that you utilize Zero-VOC (Volatile organic compounds) paints and finishes for floors, walls and cabinetry.

The best Bucks County kitchen remodeling and construction companies will work with the plumbing contractor to ensure the shortest and most direct plumbing runs to save energy. By ensuring that plumbing runs are placed on the interior rather than exterior walls, homeowners can reduce the potential for mold and frozen pipes.

Bucks County, kitchen remodeling professionals understand how window structure and placement can provide a thermal barrier. These structural attributes are as important as the natural light, connection with the outdoors, warmth and fresh air that windows provide. When considering which windows to purchase, look for types that open for natural ventilation and have a low-e coating or some type of standard suspended film, which provides greater energy savings. In terms of placement, the goal is to put the right type of window in the right strategic spot for best views, ventilation and energy performance.

Energy-efficient stoves, refrigerators and other appliances are a must to ensure that your renovation is environmentally friendly. Placement and choice of appliances is crucial to decrease the buildup of ambient heat or making some appliances work harder. For example stoves, ovens and dishwashers should be kept away from refrigerators. Experienced kitchen remodeling design experts in Bucks County will attend to the details. For example, that the kitchen range hood exhaust vents directly to the outdoors rather than filtered back into the kitchen or into the attic or crawlspace. This ensures a better air quality throughout the home.

Proper kitchen lighting and placement can bring a kitchen alive with warmth. However, it also ensures that there is no additional physical warmth or high-energy consumption. The right mix of task and ambient lighting, using energy efficient fixtures, can reduce warmth while consuming less energy.

These are just a few of the tips that can create your dream kitchen, while maintaining environmentally friendly practices that save energy while providing a higher indoor air quality.