Unlike traditional stick-built wooden houses, Blu’s strong and durable steel frames make them suited for many high-wind areas, including the U.S. coastline now bracing for the impact of hurricane Earl. On the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, category 1 hurricanes have sustained winds of 74 – 95 mph and are capable of producing significant damage to homes, while category 5 hurricanes have sustained winds of more than 155 mph and are “catastrophic,” causing widespread destruction. Standard Blu and mkDesigns homes can currently withstand wind intensities of a category 3 hurricane, and can be engineered to withstand the devastating winds up to a category 5. (For a complete overview of The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, visit the National Hurricane Center website at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/sshws.pdf).

Blu’s team utilizes state of the art 3D modeling to assess each individual building site to determine its loading needs based on its location and ground topography, regardless of published wind loads. For extra protection, Blu’s homes can also be outfitted with high performance hurricane-resistant windows.

Blu Homes will deliver its first homes to St. Croix, in the Caribbean, in 2011, where hurricane-force wind concerns are high. Lorraine Soucy, COO of Indigo Island Homes and distributor of Blu|Homes in the Caribbean region, explains “We were excited to discover Blu|Homes, as their heavy duty framing system creates a safer haven for families on our island. Their proprietary steel framing system also allows us to ship inexpensively to the Caribbean, making these products an obvious choice for this environment.”

“Hurricanes can huff and puff but they won’t blow a Blu Home down!” said Maura McCarthy, co-founder and VP of sales & marketing. “With hurricane Earl around the corner, and storms Fiona and Gaston brewing in the tropics, Blu’s uniquely solid construction gives homeowners peace of mind during even the most extreme weather conditions.”

Visit the National Weather Service’s National Hurricane Center (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml) or Stormpulse (http://www.stormpulse.com) to keep tab on current hurricanes.

About Blu

Blu Homes, Inc. has a variety of residential and commercial eco-friendly, green prefabricated home designs and has delivered homes to families and businesses across the U.S., from New York to the Colorado mountains and the California coast. With the application of Blu’s folding technology, mkDesigns are now available across the country, beginning with the Glidehouse. For more information on Blu Homes or mkDesigns , contact info@bluhomes.com, or visit www.bluhomes.com or www.mkd-arc.com.

As anyone who lives on the coast can tell you, hurricanes are intense. Just how intense is measured by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale which classifies hurricanes into 5 general categories – with category 1 (often written as H1) being least intense and category 5, most – based on the observed or estimated maximum wind speed.

To give you a sense, on the “low end” of the scale, category 1 hurricanes have sustained winds of 74 – 95 mph and are capable of producing significant damage to windows, roof shingles, gutters, siding and porch coverings and can uproot shallow trees. On the other end of the scale, Category 5 storms have sustained winds of over 155 mph and can only be described as “catastrophic” with high rates of injury and death and widespread destruction to homes, buildings and societal infrastructures. For a complete overview of the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, visit the National Hurricane Center website at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/sshws.pdf.

As coastal dwellers, we at Blu are keenly aware of the wrath that hurricanes bring and the worry and stress they cause homeowners eager to protect their families and their property.

Blu home products are designed and engineered with extreme weather conditions in mind.

Built with specialized, unique structural steel framing, our standard Blu and mkDesigns homes are engineered to withstand wind loads of up to 120 mph – this is the mid-range of a category 3 hurricane – and can be custom engineered to withstand wind loads of up to 180 mph! In addition, our homes can be outfitted with high performance hurricane resistant windows, if the homeowner chooses this option.

When you build with Blu, we look at each individual site to determine what its loading needs are based on its location and ground topography, regardless of what the published wind loads state. In this way, you could say that our homes are “over-engineered.” But given the fluctuating rhythms of the earth and changes in weather patterns, our strong frames provide homeowners with the reassurance of knowing that their investment will be protected, no matter which way the wind blows.

And on that note, if any of you are storm chasers like us, check out the Stormpulse website – http://www.stormpulse.com – to see what’s brewing in the Pacific and Atlantic. It seems like it’s going to be a busy season!

Blu Homes continues to dominate the green prefab world. Today the company announced the relaunch of Glidehouse, a gorgeous home originally made famous by Michelle Kaufmann. Glidehouse will be available nationally and built in Blu’s own factory using the company’s proprietary steel and wood framing system. The new Glidehouse retains all of the signature features of the old design and can be purchased for $360,000+.

When constructed, Glidehouse will be airtight, energy efficient, and built to the standards of the American Lung Association Healthy House program. More specifically, green elements include no-VOC paints, dual-pane windows and doors, FSC certified woods, bamboo flooring, PaperStone countertops, etc.

Massive window walls give Glidehouse fabulous panoramic views, while retractable cedar sunshades can be used to filter light and air as needed.

The home is available with 2-4 bedrooms, 2-3 bathrooms, and anywhere from 1,632-2,244 square feet. Moreover, an optional pod is available from $75,000.

Pricing includes the house, standard materials and finishes, delivery, set up, and finish work by Blu Homes. Pricing does not include permits, excavation, foundation, finish painting, outdoor elements, and some engineering aspects.

Read article and see photos here: http://www.jetsongreen.com/2010/08/blu-relaunches-glidehouse-prefab-design.html

“The Glidehouse is an elegant and innovative green design, and we are delighted to offer this spectacular home,” said Bill Haney, CEO of Blu Homes, Inc. “Artfully harmonizing indoor and outdoor living, the Glidehouse truly proves that sustainability can be both beautiful and cost-effective.”

Starting at $360,000, the Glidehouse is designed for clean, green, contemporary living. Using the most modern and environmentally friendly building methods and materials, the Glidehouse is now constructed entirely in Blu’s state-of-the-art 80,000 square-foot Massachusetts factory. The Glidehouse is now also built with Blu’s proprietary steel and wood hybrid framing, making it more spacious than ever before, able to handle the most challenging weather conditions and quickly and conveniently completed on site. Available with two or three bedrooms and two full baths, and with optional features including additional bedrooms, carports, garages and fireplaces, the Glidehouse brings custom-home beauty and features to prefab in this single floor home.

Glidehouse signature features are:

• Sleek storage bars to keep clutter at bay
• Breathtaking, energy-efficient glass “walls” that create panoramic views
• Extraordinarily wide, open and spacious rooms
• Clever window placement to draw in fresh air and natural light
• Exquisite cedar sunshades, and other optional extras, that allow for desired light and air flow

Healthy and efficient for green and affordable living

This high performance home is airtight, energy efficient, and built in a controlled factory environment to maintain the highest construction standards. In addition, non-VOC paints, clean and beautiful glazing like Andersen® or NanaWall® windows and doors, FSC certified wood and bamboo flooring, water-saving fixtures by Kohler®, and Paperstone countertops are a few of the high-quality, eco-friendly finishes the Glidehouse features.

The Glidehouse also uses water-saving plumbing fixtures, on-demand water heaters, and a mechanical ventilation system that is significantly more efficient than typical forced-air systems. Optional radiant hot water flooring is the standard for colder climates.

The Glidehouse meets the Energy Star® program standards for energy efficient homes and the performance standards of the American Lung Association Health House program. Blu can work with your local green rating program, as well.

Each Glidehouse home is solar ready. Other renewable energy systems such as geothermal, wind generator or hybrid systems can also be added to your Glidehouse design.

Blu Homes’ advantaged business model

Blu is a team of architects, designers, engineers, construction professionals and business folks working to build the highest quality, beautiful green homes. We design and engineer our homes ourselves, then build in our own factory and ship to you. Blu employees then come to your site to finish your home on your foundation, offering unmatched service to ensure your satisfaction. With this full range of control, Blu can offer a guaranteed price as well as free architectural consultation on customizing your Blu home.

If you are interested in owning your own Glidehouse home, please contact us at info@bluhomes.com.

Some of our customers ask whether building a Blu home requires different financing.  As far as financing goes, building a factory-built Blu home is just like building a new site-built home – it requires two types of financing in order to make your dream of a new home a reality.

First, the homeowner must procure construction financing – a short term, interest only loan that will give the homeowner the funds to pay Blu and the site contractor the costs of construction.  Second, when your Blu home is built and ready for occupancy, the homeowner will need to obtain permanent financing – a long term loan that replaces the construction loan, giving the homeowner an extended term (usually 15 or 30 years) by which he or she can repay the loan with a monthly payment of principal and interest.  In many cases, the same lender works with the homeowner on both loans – and some lenders even offer a one–time closing construction/permanent loan mortgage product.

Does Blu create a better homebuilding experience?  You bet!   Blu’s factory construction process can be more attractive to lenders than site-built construction, because homeowners are (i) unlikely to experience budget increases or schedule delays and (ii) the quality is predictable – all of which is music to lenders’ ears!   And now Blu is working to create a better financing experience as well.

Blu is working with its lending partners to make sure Blu customers have great lending options in their state.  US Bank (serving 26 states) and M&T Bank (serving 4 states) are two of the newest lending partners that can help you build your Blu home.

As Blu continues to add lending partners and build its lending network, Blu customers should keep in mind a couple of important tips:

• First, your own financial health is as important as ever.  Review your finances, check your credit report, and make sure that you are financially ready to start the home building process.
• Second, the days of 100% financing are behind us. Consequently, most lenders will require a loan to value ratio (“LTV”) around 80%, which means the amount of your construction loan (and the permanent loan that will replace it) cannot exceed 80% of the appraised value of your completed Blu home.  Because of the LTV requirements, homeowners will likely be required to contribute their own funds to the construction cost (especially in situations where the homeowner is seeking financing to buy the land and build a Blu home) – which makes reviewing your finances and assembling a thoughtful construction budget a must.

Contact us today – and we can start the process of selecting your Blu home, outlining budget scenarios and introducing you to one of our great lending partners.  We look forward to working with you!