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Kodiak Steel Homes® News Headlines

Updated September 1st, 2010

*New Project Planning Package
*2008 Storm Seasons Set Records
*Several States Revising Building Code

See below for details

NEW Project Planning Package

A great way to move forward with your Kodiak steel home project is by investing in our new "Project Planning Package." This package includes the drawings and budget planning informaton for estimating your costs and helping to provide the bank and contractors with what they will need. And when you purchase your home, we will deduct the $749 from the purchase price of your new Kodiak steel home.

To download our Project Planning Package form, Click Here.

Free Cost Estimate Worksheets, erection plans, floor plans and elevations are available for each model.

The Cost Estimate Worksheet shows item quantities needed and pricing for each model for items such as flooring, drywall, and windows. You can use this worksheet to prepare your building budget for your new home. Call us at 800-278-0888 for more information.

Many of you can also get some of your tax money back by building a new home.

Up to $8,000 tax credit is available this year if you occupy your new home by December 1st 2009. * Consult your tax professional for more information.

At last look, mortgage interest rates averaged 4.78% and some banks were offering rates as low as 4.25%.

If you compare a 4.25% loan to a 6.25% loan the savings are dramatic. A 30 year $150,000 loan would save $211 per month in payments every month. No one knows how long rates will stay this low so if possible, you should try to lock in these rates ASAP.

There has never been a better time to build a new, Kodiak Steel home!

Remember, we make the strongest steel frame home in the world. Our beautiful homes are fire, termite, mold and hurricane resistant. Plus they are low maintenance. Please give us a call today so we can visit with you about your project. We will be happy to answer all of your questions, give you cost estimate worksheets, and even send you plans for your home. Give us a call today our number is 800-278-0888.

Storms Set Records in 2008

Last year we saw one of the most deadly and damaging tornado seasons ever. By the end of October, 1621 tornadoes had been confirmed, making 2008 the second most active year on record (2004 had 1817 confirmed twisters). The official death toll of 125 was the highest number of tornado-related fatalities since 1998. Unfortunately, things got no better during the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. The fourth most active year of all time, 2008 produced a total of 16 named storms, including eight hurricanes with five of them category 3 or higher. It is the only year in which a major hurricane was recorded in the Atlantic during every month from July through November, and it was the first time six consecutive tropical cyclones made landfall in the U.S. (Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike). For sheer destructiveness, 2008 ranked just behind 2004 and 2005 with more than $40 billion in property damage.

Several States Adopting Updated Code

Last year, the International Congress of Building Officials (ICBO) released its 2006 revision of the International Building and Residential Codes (IBC/IRC 2006), which contains many changes from earlier versions. Although a handful of states adopted the new code last year, as of January 1, 2008 it takes effect in much of the country. Even the California Building Code has been revised to conform to the new IBC 2006. In order to comply with this code, we will have to slightly modify some of our designs, and these changes could increase our delivery times by two or three weeks in some cases. We appreciate your understanding as we work as hard as we can to provide you the most up-to-date, cost-effective, and secure pre-engineered housing available.

Kodiak Model Energy Home

Kodiak Steel Homes® model energy project The Kodiak Steel Homes® Augusta model being built by Dawn and Wesley Howard of Tumbling Shoals, Arkansas was chosen as a model energy home project by Arkansas First Electric Cooperative and energy consultant Doug Rye.

Click here for more information.

New Color Selector is Up and Running

The Kodiak Steel Homes® site now offers two animated tools to help you visualize the colors and materials you want for your home. The standard color selector is a 3D rendering of our Pendleton model that allows you to change the siding, roofing, and trim colors or even substitute brick and shingle to get the look you want. The special Windmaster color selector is based on our Windmaster Palm Beach model. Since Windmasters only come as a complete package, it doesn't show the brick and shingle, but you can choose from all the available colors for our steel roofing, steel siding, and Polar Wall insulated vinyl siding. We think you will have a lot of fun with both of these.

Click here to try the standard Color Selector (opens a new window)
or
Click here to try the Windmaster Color Selector (opens a new window)

Kodiak steel homes qualify for multiple LEED points.

If you want to achieve LEED certification or simply want to build an energy efficient home, Kodiak can help:

  • ID 1.1: Durability Management
    Merely selecting the kit should satisfy at least part of the requirement to "develop specific measures to respond to [durability] issues." Every component of a Kodiak Steel Home kit provides an increased measure of durability over the more common materials it typically replaces. The use of our kit materials also eliminates or greatly reduces many of the more common threats to the durability of a home such as termites, mold, settling, and rot.
  • SS Credit 3 / New Construction SS Credit 7.2: Heat Island Effect: Roof
    Kodiak Steel Homes® steel roof system qualifies for this one-point credit. The LEED specification for New construction requires an SRI rating of at least 29 for roofs with a slope greater than 2:12. Our Energy-Star certified roof panels feature a highly reflective Kynar finish, and all color selections meet the LEED specs, with several far exceeding it.
  • SS 5: Non-Toxic Pest Control
    We cannot say why LEED specifications make no mention of steel framing in this category. Nevertheless, building with a Kodiak Steel Homes® kit drastically reduces if not totally eliminates the threat of termites and the need for any measures to control them. The all-steel framing is immune to termite damage, and a kit with steel siding and roofing can be finished out without using any wood at all.
  • EA 2: Insulation
    A Kodiak Steel Homes® kit can be one of the most energy-efficient homes you can build. In addition to the substantial effect of our Energy Star certified roof system, the radiant barrier created by our reflective foil insulation wrap will greatly increase the effective R-value of your roof and walls while creating a thermal barrier between the metal frame and the environment. Our 6-inch walls allow for almost 2.5 inches more insulation than can be installed in a typical 2x4 wood-stud wall.
  • MR 1.1: Material-Efficient Framing: Framing Order Waste Factor Limit
    The precut/prepunched framing of a Kodiak Steel Homes® kit will leave virtually no excess material and therefore create hardly any waste at all.
  • MR 1.2: Material-Efficient Framing: Detailed Framing Documents
    Unlike a typical stick-built house, which may be constructed with no framing documents by following a prescriptive method, every Kodiak Steel Homes® kit is a fully engineered structure with a full set of construction drawings that include framing elevations for all frame lines, frame cross sections for all assemblies, and connection details. In other words, the location and connection of every component is illustrated in these drawings.
  • MR 1.3: Detailed Cut List
    Every Kodiak Steel Homes® kit comes with a bill of materials that lists every component supplied for the home and that not only includes all framing members but even all the connectors used to assemble them.
  • MR 1.4: Material-Efficient Framing: Framing Efficiencies
    All Kodiak Steel Homes® models should qualify for at least 3 of these criteria -- precut framing package, ceiling joist spacing greater than 16" centers, roof rafter spacing greater than 16" centers -- and some may qualify for more.
  • MR 2.2A Environmentally Preferable Products - Recycled Content
    The steel used in a Kodiak Steel Homes® kit will consist of approximately 60% post-consumer recycled content. For some reason, the LEED documents neglect to mention steel or metal specifically; however, an appeal to the examiners through this category or the Innovation in Design category should certainly yield some points.
  • MR 2.2B Environmentally Preferable Products - Low Emissions
    When our steel siding and roofing is installed over our pre-engineered steel framing with no need for a plywood sheathing board or a plywood roof deck, the Kodiak Steel Homes® kit eliminates a number of materials used in wood-framed structures that contain volatile organic compounds (VOC) which can contaminate or otherwise reduce the quality of indoor air. These materials include various types of wood, structural glazing adhesives, and structural wood member adhesives.