Wily Pilgrims

What's this got to do with home building? When the sales staff starts selling energy efficiency, they are delivering a live, angry bear to the production staff to skin. Energy efficient homes require so much tighter control over the production process that just handing off the requirements of the construction to the production staff will not get the job done. There need to be other controls in place, such as training and strong relations with the trades.

The Professional Builder Builder of the Year, Ideal Homes of Norman, Okla., has been constructing energy efficient homes for nearly two decades. What began as a simple differentiator of putting in SEER 10 systems against the competition's SEER 8, has grown into a sophisticated construction process that includes clear scopes of work, and strong support and communication for the trades doing the work. The insulation contractor knows exactly what and how to insulate the home according to Ideal Homes standards. They have spent countless resources and hours over many years to get to the point where the building envelopes are tight and tidy.

Developing the systems, writing the detailed scopes of work, learning how to sell the product, all require years of development to ensure success. At a time when we desperately need to enact these changes in our industry, we need leading companies such as the wily Mountain Men of Ideal Homes to help show the way.