At
Rare Earth, we do only green new construction and green
remodeling and additions. We also offer consulting services, whether it
involves siting the home, a review of the design or acting as the
consulting general contractor for a DIY project.
We
believe a home should inspire with beauty, be functional, durable and
promote healthy, comfortable living. What it should not be is
parasitic on the environment.
We
build our homes to work with Nature. They harvest sunlight for
winter heat and daylighting, for domestic hot water and in some cases
for electricity. Or in the right locale, wind and/or water is put to
work generating the power to run the house. The home's landscaping can
bring the farmer's market to the front doorstep,whether it's a small
kitchen garden of herbs, tomatoes and salads or a full-blown organic
garden. Berry bushes, fruit trees and other edible plants add more
treats for the home dwellers and neighboring
animals
and add to the beauty of the home's surroundings.
We
began doing green building in 1999, and were one of the early green
builders in western North Carolina. We have worked with most of the
energy efficient building systems on the market today: Aerated
Autoclaved Concrete (AAC), Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), Insulated
Concrete Forms (ICFs), Geodesic domes and Optimum Value Engineered
(OVE) framing.
We
are always on the lookout for new products or technologies that will
help us create better-performing homes. Currently, we do only custom
homes and remodels, working with a number of architects and home
designers in western North Carolina. We try to get involved with the
design process on the front end so that we can offer our suggestions on
the most efficient, economical and environmentally sensitive way to
build the structure.