puerto penasco home builders – Rocky Point Home Buldiers

Take Charge of your Home’s Electrical System in Rocky Point

By Joseph Sanchez
President, Rocky Point Home Builders

When building a new home or renovating an existing home here in Puerto Peñasco, it is crucial to ensure a proper electrical installation because a faulty wiring job can result in a fire and/or electrocution but a proper installation will reduce your energy costs by increasing the overall efficiency of the system saving you money over the long run.

Choosing the Right Cable
Many older homes here in Puerto Peñasco are not adequately wired to serve today’s electrical loads and that can be dangerous and cause a fire. Choosing the correct size cable for a new electrical installation or when updating an older installation is crucial to ensuring the home can handle today’s loads. The selection of an incorrectly rated cable could cause the cable to overheat, which may result in a fire. Using the correct-sized cable will make your system efficient reducing your energy consumption because good wiring systems are safe and energy-efficient. If you are building a new home inspect the cable the contractor is providing ensuring it is the proper size and that cheaper wire is not being substituted.

An electrical technician with Rocky Point Home Builders verifies the amps being drawn from a breaker during a recent electrical inspection here in Puerto Peñasco.

Updating your Electrical Panel
Many people in older homes choose to upgrade their electrical panels to meet the demand of modern electrical appliances. A panel that does not meet the demands of today or a faulty wiring job can result in an electrical fire and/or electrocution so it is important to look for the following signs especially if you live in an older home here in Puerto Peñasco. Wiring problems can be evident through the smells of ozone and burning plastic or fuses blow and circuit breakers trip often. If you see any damage or scratch marks on the surface of the electrical connections that can be a red flag as well. A major sign of a wiring and/or panel issue is a history of overheating appliances or any flickering of the lights when operating an appliance. Your home does not have enough power if your circuit breaker trips frequently while multiple appliances are running simultaneously. If you have witnessed any of these events we recommend an electrical inspection and evaluation immediately.

Looks are Everything
The worse the wiring installation looks inside the panel, the less likely the installation was completed correctly by a professional electrical contractor. When wirings are installed properly, wires are tightened up and aligned in proper places. Professional electrical contractors will follow a certain pattern or design in wiring to reflect good installations. An electrical panel installation should be clean, neat and orderly and not like a bowl of spaghetti as we sometimes witness out in the field. Open your panel and if it is not neat and orderly then we recommend contacting an electrical contractor for an inspection.

Proper Labeling Saves Time and Money
Proper installations require clear labeling on wiring with tags, connection jacks, and other fixtures. Some wires also have different colors to determine their functions. When wires are in proper places, it would be easy for the electrician to determine which wire needs fixtures using color coding. The less time the electrician spends per fixture, the less you pay especially if the electrician charges per hour.

If your home is 15 years or older we recommend an electrical inspection by a professional contractor to determine if any fire hazards exist. One of the main causes of fires here in Puerto Peñasco is related to faulty electrical installations so have your home inspected. Also if you are planning to renovate your home make sure to upgrade your electrical system. Don’t make the mistake of giving attention only to the cosmetic items while ignoring your electrical system. If your home needs cosmetic updating I can assure you it needs electrical updating as well!

About the author: Joseph Sanchez is president of Rocky Point Home Builders a design/build contractor specializing in custom home design, construction and renovations. He resides here in Puerto Peñasco with his wife and two children and is originally from Chicago. For more information email him at sales@rockypointhomebuilders.com

Insulation Options for your Rocky Point Home

by Joseph Sanchez
President, Rocky Point Home Builders

There are ways to insulate your existing or new home that will not break the bank and provide an improved level of energy efficiency. Insulating a home is a practical way to achieve energy efficiency but most homes constructed here in Puerto Peñasco typically do not incorporate any insulation because concrete block naturally offers a minimal level of R-protection (typically 2.5-3.0), insulation can be expensive for people building on a budget and although hot in the summer, Puerto Peñasco is pretty moderate during the winter so some people feel that they can get by without it. The three options below are all economical ways to insulate your existing or new home construction.

Perlite Foam

Perlite Foam is a loose-fill masonry insulation that is used to fill in the cores or tunnels of hollow masonry walls. Perlite is an inorganic mineral that has thermal properties and is the least expensive way to insulate your new construction home. This can be used only on new-home construction and cannot be retrofitted to an existing home. Perlite offers excellent fire resistant properties, is lightweight and does not require any special equipment or skills. You could expect an R value around 5-6 depending on the size of block you are using. Perlite Foam only adds about $3 sq. ft. to the overall construction price of the home. This option should be considered if you are building a new home. With the R-value of concrete block combined with the R-value of Perlite Foam, you could achieve a total R-value of 7.5-9 depending on the size of your concrete block.

Den Glass Exterior Insulation

Pictured is Den Glass Insulation an effective way to insulate the exterior walls of your home.

An effective way to insulate the home is to apply Den Glass Sheathing to the home’s exterior walls. Den Glass has excellent thermal properties while being air, water, mold and fire resistant. It can achieve an R-value of around 4.5 per inch of thickness used. This is a product is great for people who have an existing home because it can be retrofitted to an existing home. With the R-value of concrete block combined with the R-value of Den Glass, you could achieve a total R-value of 7.0-7.5 depending on the size of your block. Combine the Den Glass and Perlite Foam with the block and you are achieving an R-value of 12-13.5. Den glass can add $7 U.S.D per sq. ft. to the cost of constructing your home!

Conventional Insulation System

Of course you can also use the traditional means of insulating a home by erecting metals studs inside the home over the interior walls and inserting the type of insulation with the R-value you desire. Once your insulation is installed you would then install your sheet rock, tape, mud and sand the walls. This would achieve the best R-value but combined with the other two options your home would be highly energy efficient. Installing a conventional insulation system will add $12-$15 U.S.D. a sq. ft. to the construction of a home depending on level of R-value.

For more information about how you can insulate your home properly or about any other construction concerns feel free to contact me at sales@rockypointhomebuilders.com or by phone at 815-553-2683.

About the author: Joseph Sanchez is president of Rocky Point Home Builders a design/build contractor specializing in custom home design, construction and renovations.

Rocky Point Home Builders constructing three new homes

Tremendous Growth Expected for 2016

We are the largest home builder in Puerto Peñasco and we are excited to announce three new home builds, one in Las Conchas Lot 5, Sec 5 and another located within the city and a new home to start in whale hill. We invite everybody to stop by and take a look at our projects the next time you are in the area.

A render of current home under construction
in Las Conchas, Sec 5, Lot 5.

We are a design/build home contractor so we take your job from conception to completion. Our architectural and engineering services are unmatched and we have a two-step easy payment process in place that allows most people to build a home. We design and build beautiful custom homes in Rocky Point while eliminating the headaches and logistics associated with construction in a foreign country.

We added services in 2016 to include our Vacation Home & Condo Preventative Maintenance Program which includes a 30 day inspection, maintenance and repair service for a low monthly cost which is important given the salt-air climate. It is insurance against future in-home disasters and is great for people who don’t live in their properties full time.

A render of the second home under construction
by our company in town.

Combine our Preventative Maintenance Program with our Property Management Program for a single source solution that covers all your maintenance, repairs, bill paying, house cleaning, laundry and 24/7 emergency service.

Thank you for taking time to learn about our company each month. We appreciate any referrals you can pass our way. Contact us at 815-553-2683 today for more infor