A Little Something Extra

No stress. No worries. From extra inspections during construction to engineered steel rebar foundations to guaranteed heating & cooling costs, your Antares home will provide peace of mind.

Sometimes you just want that little bit more.  Something extra.  We get it.  And we think that little bit more is peace of mind.  With the hustle and bustle of life, you don’t need any more stress and worry than absolutely necessary.  So we go out of our way to provide our customers with a worry-free experience.  Let’s examine the ways:

 

  1. Guaranteed Heating and Cooling.  Seriously.  Not Kidding.  It’s a warranted item.  Our 3098 square foot floor plan in Garden Heights is GUARANTEED to average 907.5 kWh/month to heat and cool.  At a price of $0.084/kWh that’s $76.23 on average to run the HVAC.  Incredible, and true.
  2. Extra Inspections.  We go above and beyond to get additional third party inspections on each home.  We want to make sure that a second set of eyes has inspected our homes to catch mistakes we may have missed.  The result?  Fewer Warranty Requests from our Home Owners.
  3. Rebar Foundation.  Each foundation is tailored to the specific needs of each neighborhood.  Did you know that Tarrant County soils can vary so much that a soils test in one neighborhood can yield completely different results when compared to another?  We always take the most conservative approach with our foundations and it shows in our record with Bonded Builders — our Third Party Warranty Partner.  We have been claims free on our foundations since the company was founded in 1998.
  4. Graduate Master Builders.  Astonishing as it may be, all of our Construction Managers that build our homes are Graduate Master Builders.  Continuing education is vital for anyone who desires to be the best in their field.  We are no different.  Experience and education make a difference in the end product.  We are very proud to have such a great team building our homes, and you will be too.
  5. Top Notch Salespeople.  Our Sales Team is the best in the business.  Why?  What’s different about them?  They are highly trained in areas that make the most difference to our Customers.  They are very knowledgeable about the latest loan programs for first time buyers, repeat buyers and credit challenged buyers.  If there is a way to save you money and get you the Home of your Dreams, they can find it.  They are most concerned with helping people, not selling people.  And our Customer Service Surveys reflect their hard work.

 

And if you still want more, call one of our Sales Offices to find out what’s so special about their neighborhood!

 

More Than A Label

I have been on a health kick lately and have been dieting and reading all sorts of information about what is good for you and what is bad for you.  It is amazing how much conflicting information is out there!

I have a girlfriend who only feeds her family Organic foods.  She has been doing that since her children were born and she spends a lot of time and energy and money to do this.  She tells me that because of budget constraints she has had to make some hard decisions about whether or not Organic and whole foods take priority over other things in her kids’ lives.

So since I have been trying to get healthy, I have looked into what makes Organic foods better.  Well there is a Label, The Label to look for that makes something Certified Organic.  But what does that mean?  It means a lot of different things based on the type of food.  Well since I love fish so much, especially Salmon, I looked into what it means to buy an Organic Salmon.  What I found is very eye opening.  Only farmed Salmon can be labeled Organic because they can control what the Salmon eats.  And then the Salmon is fed Organic Plant matter.  Well, that doesn’t make sense!  Salmon are carnivorous fish!  And wouldn’t wild caught fish (free range if you will) be better than farmed?  So I came to the conclusion that a Label doesn’t necessarily make things better!

And then that dawning realization thing happened and I began to think about us.  Green is the big catchphrase, The Label, in home building right now.  Every program has it’s parameters that may or may not make sense to the big picture of building an efficient home.  Also, the cost to the consumer can increase exponentially as a builder strives to meet The Label’s standard.  You may end up with a home that is out of our buyer’s price range.  Well, don’t we all deserve access to energy efficient homes?

We think “Green” in the sense of using fewer resources over all as well as consumption for the long run.  Meaning that we are not only concerned with the production of the home and it’s component elements being what is Green, but also the impact the home has environmentally.

“Our star has been green for years,” says Ron Formby, Antares president. “Antares has been quietly setting world-class benchmarks for energy efficiency, air quality, and environmental responsibility, then setting them higher. That’s the Antares Beyond Green philosophy.”

We place a lot of emphasis on our Energy Guarantee.  Our energy costs are in writing and are a warranted item.  For example we Guarantee that our the HVAC system for our 2752 square foot four bedroom, two story home will average 807.50 Kilowatts/hour per month.  On an electric plan that is charging $00.084 per Kilowatt Hour, that will cost you $67.83 a month to air-condition your home.  Isn’t that mind boggling?  People living in 900 square foot apartments pay more than that!  I am amazed every time a homeowner comes back to the office after they have moved in to show me their low electric bills.  It is one thing to speak about our guarantee to folks thinking of buying a home from us and quite another thing to see it in practice!   See for yourself, visit one of our sales offices to view actual home owner’s bills and a sample of our Comfort Home Warranty.

Our homes are more efficient than Energy Star Standards.  We have even won an award from Oncor for Outstanding Energy Efficient Construction.  We won the 2007 Excellence in Energy Performance from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as well as their 2009 and 2010 Leadership in Housing Award.  We are Beyond Green and beyond any “Green” label.

The biggest impact our company has is on the consumer, the person who buys and lives in our homes.  Getting healthy will save me money on fewer doctor’s bills and medicines, it will lengthen my life and allow me to have a better quality of life.  Buying a home that is focused on a lower energy draw will save the buyer money on electricity bills, maximizing the potential for enjoyment of said home and the life led in it.  Isn’t that better than any label?

 

What is Cellulose Insulation?

If you have ever visited one of our sales offices, chances are you had a very excited sales person tell you all about our amazing Cellulose Insulation.  We have our noise and heat demonstrations and our Kilowatt/hour guarantee, but still you ask yourself: What in the world is this cellulose insulation?  Great question!  Cellulose insulation is a recycled fiber made mostly out of newspaper.  It is mixed with glue powder and various fire-retardant and insect repellant chemicals and is installed by being sprayed or blown into the wall cavity.  We choose to use this insulation because of its superior performance. 

What proof do we have of its superior performance?  Well we do a blower door test on all of our homes before they close and as a result of this test each home is certified Energy Star Qualified.  We are even listed on the Energy Star website as a company that builds 100% Energy Star QUALIFIED homes!

We also provide each home owner with a warranty through Comfort Home guaranteeing the Kilowatt per Hour usage of the HVAC.  It is primarily because of our insulation that we are able to provide this feature for our Home Owners.

There seems to be a lot of great information on Cellulose insulation on the web.    Here is a list of FAQ about Cellulose Insulation geared towards Builders.  This particular piece answers questions we often hear in our sales offices about settling, whether it is a fire hazard and if it harbors insects.  There is also a neat video on This Page called “The Big Burn” about cellulose’s performance under fire conditions.  They proved that homes insulated with Cellulose instead of fiberglass are 57% more fire resistant.

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst published an article online touting the superiority of cellulose insulation. 

My favorite part of the article?

“Sprayed cellulose is an eco-friendly material that is installed at a high density. Coverage is complete. There are no voids in the walls. All wire and plumbing penetrations are automatically and completely sealed. A professionally installed application is airtight, comfortable, energy efficient, and safe. There are fewer thermal short circuits and virtually no convective currents within the wall cavities. On the whole, customers report a less drafty, more comfortable living experience. As a bonus, many people think the superior air-tightness and absorptive qualities of sprayed cellulose provides a quieter indoor environment.”

Oh yeah, did I mention its shhhh, quiet? 

CIMA has a wonderful website with lots of great information on Cellulose also.  It answers questions like, What is R-Value?  Why is cellulose insulation considered a Green Product?  Also a lot of detractors state that cellulose insulation is prone to mold and is not very fire resistant.  CIMA answers those questions Here.

If you have more questions about our insulation call one of our experts: 1-800-ANTARES.  We are definitely VERY EXCITED when we get talking about our insulation so please excuse our excessive exuberance! 😉